Re: four tiny _KONG_ questions

[noble22@verizon.net]

Hey, my opinions on your questions...

>Just got back from seeing the 2005 edition of _King Kong_...and two things 
>come to mind:
>
>* if everything there was named after the island, would it be _[genera]  
>skullensis_?

The naming would be at the discretion of whomever named them - not every genus 
and species name in existence honors the location of its discovery.  The 
infamous Tyrannosaurus rex, for example, is not named after Hell Creek, 
Montana, South Dakota, Saskatchewan, or anywhere else is has been located.  Not 
to mention with the greedy fame-seeking Denham, you would certainly have some 
sort of <genus> denhamensis (in my opinion that should go those blood-sucking 
naked-mole-rat bats).

>
>* my guess is that those were camarasaurs (the sauropods), but did they have 
>their nostrils there?

Didn't notice the nostrils during the mayhem that was that scene.  But they did 
look very 'old school' perhaps an homage to the restorations of sauropods from 
that time?  The website refers to them simply as Brontosaurus.

>
>* I'd guess that the "rex" was a giant maniraptoran of some sort.  (like how 
>Utahraptor got big in North America)

Jackson said, I believe, that he went the reverse for evolution of his 
'tyrannosaur,' giving it three-fingers as its evolutionary trait, as well as 
armor, a stout skull, and larger size.  Apparently, he did not look into the 
earlier tyrannosaurs, i.e. Eotyrannus and Dilong, who had three-fingers and 
that later, more-advanced species had lost the third; this was likely to pay 
tribute to the original, which also had three fingers, but more closely 
resembled an allosaur(?).  The snout of the individual it shows closeup (which 
later gets its jaws broken) has teeth on the premaxilla jutting out of 
position; he claims this is from punches to the snout from Kong or another 
island inhabitant.

>
>* was that scavenger a terrestrial croc or a monitor lizard?

Actually, much like the crickets in the pit are nods to the native New Zealand 
wetas, I think that the scavenging creature may be a nod to the tuatara of New 
Zealand, being some sort of relict rhynchocephalian scavenger (Tuataras 
themselves are actually scavengers and predators, even feeding on the young of 
the sooty shearwaters they share burrows with.).  Looks like a cross between a 
terrestrial croc and a tuatara in my opinion...

>
>thoughts?

Kong's website has actually created a bestiary of the species from the island, 
giving a majority their own latin names complete with translations, and 
explanations for differing anatomy.

Just my takes on your questions.

FTR, I enjoyed the movie very much.  I wasn't expecting it to be 100 % on the 
dinosaurs or anything else, except Kong, and he did certainly give the 
impression of a gorilla.  As was mentioned before, the scene where he nibbles 
the vegetation is one of my favorites, and then shortly thereafter when he's 
playfully knocking Ann over and getting himself all worked up.

The nods to the original were amusing as well, and of them, I was glad they 
chose to keep the dispatching of the final 'rex' the same, with the 
jaw-breaking and then Kong playing with the defeated dinosaur's jaws.

Apologies for any misspellings or grammatical errors, or anything obvious I may 
have missed or screwed up.  I jusy woke up *yawn*

Peace
J