December 22nd, 2023

| Patricia Bujard

Day #22 on our Christmas Countdown is…

Velociraptor!

Velociraptor: the “Swift Thief”

Velociraptor, the ferocious predator from Late Cretaceous Mongolia with a reputation far larger than its size…

When Michael Crichton decided to include this dinosaur in his famous book, Jurassic Park, he actually knew of the much larger Deinonychus. Writing books is a difficult business though, and authors are always making decisions based on what would best drive the story. And the sound and flow of names is part of that.

He thought the name Velociraptor would capture the imagination better than Deinonychus, while the size of the latter is far more terrifying as a predator.

Even though anyone who’s been mobbed by a turkey (or even a rooster) can easily see how ferocious they can be, absolutely no one can deny the terror of a human-sized predator armed with tooth and claw.

So Velociraptor is forever the subject of misunderstandings and misleading publicity…

But is this publicity bad?

There are many who are quick to complain about the Jurassic Park franchise and all of its inaccuracies, and for many years I was the same. Now I have slowly come to simply enjoy the franchise for what it is- a monster movie inspired by our fascination with dinosaurs.

The original Jurassic Park is what inspired my enthusiasm for all things prehistoric at the tender age of six. So much so that I was dead set on a career in paleontology all the way till I turned 13, and then I started doing serious research and discovered the realities of studying extinct animals for a living. (not to discourage anyone, I just discovered it wasn’t for me)

My point is that Jurassic Park is what inspired me and fueled my love for dinosaurs and science in general. It fueled my curiosity to discover more about this wonderful world, because dinosaurs are captivating creatures.

They are mysterious, often huge, and the more we discover the more strange and wonderful they are…which is the huge appeal of mythical creatures. And yet unlike dragons and other creatures of mythology, dinosaurs actually lived on the same planet!

Dinosaurs are often the introduction to learning more, and movies and books like Jurassic Park are often how people are introduced to dinosaurs in turn. (unless the kid has a parent who is already obsessed with accurate dinosaurs)

Stories and movies that captivate the imagination and inspire questions are where deeper knowledge starts.

Would it be nice to have more accurate representations of dinosaurs? Yes of course! And I am excited beyond words that documentaries like Prehistoric Planet are finding success. It’s awesome to think that we are in a golden age of paleoart.

But is it a truly awful thing that franchises like Jurassic Park exist? In my humble opinion as someone who started with Jurassic Park, and then later expanded into the Walking With series, and now dedicate a good deal of my time into research as I try to illustrate accurate (but still cute) prehistoric critters…I would say dinosaurs in any media no matter their form have some value for paleontology as a whole.

What do you think? I’d love to hear your opinion in the comments!

See you tomorrow for day 23 of the Critter Christmas Countdown!

10 thoughts on “December 22nd, 2023”

  1. Here within an hour and thirty minutes of the posting of this entry. I think that different versions of prehistoric animals have their differing audiences. Some people, like me, often prefer more accurate dinosaurs. But even with that, I have still watched the Jurassic World trilogy, even if the featured creatures have their fair share of inaccuracies. Sometimes, prehistoric-themed franchises from many years ago will still stand, but most don’t in terms of accuracy to this day. This doesn’t mean they’re bad, though.
    I’ve been fascinated by prehistory since I was about four years old, and still do have the career idea of paleontologist in mind (though of course it isn’t the only one). But I am aware that the career isn’t for everyone.
    Also, I want to bring up a famous Velociraptor fossil that shows it locked in combat with a Protoceratops and that I believe a Velociraptor fossil determined the dinosaur having direct evidence of feathers.
    For my focus, I will dedicate to the early bird Confuciusornis. This early bird was from the Early Cretaceous of China, specifically from the Yixian and Jiufotang formations. It had a toothless beak, which is like modern birds and was thought to be the oldest bird with this feature until relative Eoconfuciusornis was described. Named after the Chinese philosopher Confucius, Confuciusornis was one of the most abundant vertebrates in the Yixian Formation, with several hundred specimens of this bird found and five known species.
    Confuciusornis was about the size of a crow and shows a mix of basal and derived traits. It also had two long tail feathers, which have been found in some specimens but not all known specimens had this feature, implying that it was the result of sexual dimorphism.
    The foot pads, presence of only reticulate scales on the underside of the foot, which increases flexibility, and curved foot claws of Confuciusornis are all traits shared with modern perching birds, suggesting that Confuciusornis may have had a similar lifestyle. The bird was capable of powered flight according to the most recent conclusions. An egg is also known from this ancient bird, and it would have coexisted with a plethora of different species in a rich ecosystem when it was still alive.
    Name ideas for each:
    Velociraptor: Swift
    Confuciusornis: Weiyu (meaning “tail feathers” in Simplified Chinese)

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      1. I’m not trying to be rude, but where exactly did you get the idea of the name “Jade” for Velociraptor? Also, on the topic of a male-female species pair, have you looked at my comment from yesterday’s post? I speak about the ungulate Prolibytherium and proposed a male-female pair, especially considering the dimorphism between males and females of this genus.

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        1. The pose reminded me of Jade from Jake Chan Adventures. Also since Birds are Dinosaurs and birds are sexually dimorphic. Dinosaurs would likely have been as well

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        2. Unfortunately simply stating that one is not trying to be rude does not negate the actual rudeness of the statement.

          This is the second time in a very short time that I must speak on this, AngelicWarrior. I have said before that this website is meant to be a place that is fun and engaging for anyone who wishes to talk about dinosaurs.

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