Re: Animal Planet - Giants

[Mickey Rowe <rowe@psych.ucsb.edu>]

[ technical glitch held this back -- MPR ]

------- Start of forwarded message -------
Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2003 14:59:51 -0700
From: Jura <jura@reptilis.net>
To: dinosaur@usc.edu
Subject: Re: Animal Planet - Giants

Originally sent this 2 days ago, but it apparently got lost in that
dimensional limbo that is home to the Mailer Daemon and missing socks.

[ The followup ended up in the same place, but I think I've fixed the
  problem now -- MPR ]

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> Some months ago, the producers of some of the Animal Planet programming
> contacted me and asked me to do some comparative drag polars for
> eagles, hang gliders, and Quetzalcoatlus for them, and to provide some other
> Quetz information and comparisons for an upcoming episode with Jeff
> Corwin on Giant animals.  There wasn't much similarity between Quetz
> and the other two, but that wasn't quite what they wanted to hear.  It
> didn't take long to realize the segment was going to be on the far side
> of ridiculous.  Till I saw the episode tonight, I didn't realize quite
> how far on the other side.  

[ rest of quote deleted for brevity -- MPR ]

>JimC

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Tell me about it. Other than camp appeal, there really was no reason at
all to see that show. According to them:
 
) _Tyrannosaurus rex_ was a scavenger. 
  
) _Sarcosuchus imperator_ was the grandaddy of all crocodilians (*shh*
no one tell _Protosuchus_).

) Crocodilians haven't changed much since they came about 200 or so
mya (no one tell _Protosuchus_ that one either)

) _Smilodon_ used its sabre teeth for disembowelling its prey, even if
research over a year ago (and even shown on Discovery) suggest
otherwise.

) Komodo dragons have "nearly serrated" and "conical" teeth. Oh yes,
and they primarily hunt by the bite and release method.

) _Quetzalcoatlus_, or QUETZ-AL-COAT-AH-LUS, stood 30ft tall and flew
like a paper airplane.

) _Architeuthis dux_ has an affinity for cheap CG humans in scuba
gear.

About the only real thing one could take away from that program was
that nature documentaries are having a bit too much fun with the
recent wide availability of CGI, and Jeff Corwin should stick to
dealing with living critters.

Oh so very bad.

Jura 


======================================================

"I am impressed by the fact that we know less about many modern
 [reptile] types than we do of many fossil groups."  
- - Alfred S. Romer  Osteology of the Reptiles

http://reptilis.net
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