crownedrose:

scipsy:

Some days ago, a friend on tumblr, knowing of my love for dinosaurs, sent me the link to this Ted talk by paleontologist Jack Horner: ‘Shape-shifting dinosaurs’. Horner proposes that a number of bones that paleontologists have classified as belonging to different species, belong in fact to the same dinosaur. He argues that the skull of some dinosaurs, like triceratops, changed with the the triceratops growing older, and the change was so remarkable that scientists, finding bones of young and older triceratops, thought they could not belong to the same species. Horner’s hypothesis is supported by some empirical evidence, in particular from the study of bones histology, but there are some that have doubts.

After watching that video, I found another one, in which Horner talked about his idea of building a dinosaur from a chicken. Basically, since birds are dinosaurs descendant, it’s possible, at least theoretically, through genetic engineering, to reactivate ancestral traits such as tail, teeth, hands, and create what Horner calls “chickenosaurus”. Cool, isn’t it?

I’m currently writing up a big post on how to tell the difference in theropod skulls/skeletons. Many mistake Allosaurus fragilis as a Tyrannosaurus rex, for example. It’s nice to see some more dinosaur posts on my dashboard other than just me and a few others I know, so more exposer is always great to see. It’s also good to know there are more dino-lovers on this site than I originally thought (seeing as most of the time anything I write up on dinosaur palaeontology goes unnoticed).

For the post itself, I’ve been in the dinosaur world all my life, so this information is no new news to me, but it may be to many of my followers! I’ve studied dinosaur skulls and remember thinking (before even news came out at times) that some were just juveniles instead of a new species; especially in the Ceratopsidae and Pachycephalosauridae. Of course, it’s hard to always know for sure since we’re examining extinct worlds. Though the more we dig (literally!), the more doors we will open. It’s like Sue, the Tyrannosaurus rex. Being one of the most complete and preserved skeletons ever found, we were able to look at “her” bones to see where muscles attached, which also lead to the knowledge that those little forearms were not as pathetic as once thought! I’ve seen her skeleton in person, and I can’t even begin to tell you how amazing it is. Though back to the topics at hand before I go geeking out! The Chickenosaurus is possible through the genetic engineering, which I personally think is very cool. Will we have a Jurassic Park in the future? Perhaps. Maybe not exactly like it was portrayed in the novels/film, but hey, a Chickenosaurus by genetic engineering is pretty close! Here’s the link from Wired back from September which talks all about it. There’s also a book out called, “How To Build A Dinosaur: Extinction Doesn’t Have To Be Forever” for anyone interested in picking it up. I don’t agree with everything Jack Horner says or has theorised, but I try to stay open as possible while I do my own research.

To be honest, I’m just really excited to see some love for the dinosaur palaeontology world on Tumblr that’s not from the people I already know who post it daily. Maybe perhaps dinosaurs (especially palaeontology in general) will be more featured on this website? It’s a great field to be involved in, and seeing as it’s practically my life, it makes me feel good to see it on here!