Nat'l Geo-Xtreme Dinos

[Buttercup]

This month's issue of National Geographic caught my eye as I was waiting for pictures to print at my local drugstore. It had a picture on the front of a fleshed out "Dracorex Hogwartsia" on it. The Article title is Extreme Dinosaurs. There was no way that I could resist so I picked it up and took it home to read after my son went to bed. It is an impressive 25 pages long look at some of the more "bizarre" adaptations of certain dinosaurs.

The article is divided up to take a look at 11 different dinosaurs and offers scientific speculation as to why certain adaptations came about and what they might have been used for.

1) Amargasaurus from Argentina
X-factor= Double row of spines on neck and back.
limited defense against predators but possible cooling system or for attracting mates?

2) Carnotaurus from Argentina
X-factor= Bull horns and tiny arms
Horns for battering and maybe a hyena lifestyle? No need for arms to scavenge...

3) Parasaurolophus from North Amarica
X-factor= Trombone crest
trumpeting noisemaker for communication or supporting a flap of skin for mating practices?

4) Masiakasaurus from Madagascar
X-factor= Large forward protruding hooked teeth
stabbing prey before using typical blade-like serrated back teeth for actual consumption?

5) Spinosaurus from North America
X-factor= Really tall vertebrae spines
supporting a sail for temperature regulation or mating practices? A bison-like hump of muscle and fat (argued for by the fact that the spines are so massive rather than delicate so better suited for being embedded in muscle than just skin)?

6)Tuojiangosaurus from China
X-factor= Shoulder spikes
Protection on the flanks from predators?(Let them stab themselves on your shoulders? ) But the plates along the backbone are easily chomped through... Why really protect the side and not the top?

7) Deinocheirus from Mongolia
X-factor= Enourmous arms with giant claws
*Note* Scientists have no idea what the body looks like of this dino but can only guess seeings as the arms were found near a lot of other dinos* appear to be related to ornthomimids. The arms are 8-feet long and a body-to-arm ratio would put the dino at roughly 40-feet long if the ratio is correct...but if it isn't, then what is it?

8) Nigersaurus from North America
X-factor= Shovel-like mouth with over 600 teeth
*Note* Only 50 teeth appear at a time, the rest are lined up 8 at a time as backups for lost or worn teeth, like a shark* The front of the mouth is shovelike with a flat surface that seems best suited for one really large lawn mower. Weak jaw muscles would prevent any real ambition for food other than soft river plants (did overspecialization lead to this groups extinction?)

9) Dracorex hogwartsia from North America (yes the one named after Harry Potter movies! ;D)
X-factor= Spiky head and snout
"resembled a flower-eating pig more than the 'dragon king' it's name implies" Battering ram?

10) Epidendrosaurus from China
X-factor= Tiny body and one really elongated finger out of three
(other than universal bad body finger language with one finger up...ambiguous enough?!) sparrow-sized dino with one digit longer than the length of the other two combined? probing holes in trees for grubs and insects? Possibly for hanging from trees?

11) Styracosaurus from North America
X-factor= Massive horned frill
significantly larger frill than any other predecessors... blood pumped along the skin covering it maybe allowed it to change colors for mating or defense?

The article touches base on several other related species as the pertain to certain aspects of the adaptations but these 11 have pictures of parts of teh skeletons and/or created versions of what they looked like with skin and muscle (presumably).

Now that I have actually taken the time to type all of this out and double check the dinos spelling, I would like to hear some comments on these unusual adaptations and whether or not anyone has any other ideas or info about them. I only re-worded the info stated in the article (other than my witty remarks) so I haven't placed my speculations yet...anyone?

[Buttercup]

I forgot to add that there is a really neat pull out poster included! It is double sided with Laurasia, the Northern Hemisphere on one side and dinos pictured from there with brief descraiption and the reverse side is Gondwana, the Southern Hemisphere with some of it's dinos. Pretty cool...guess where it is going....Liam's room! Lucky kid!

[Aven Bluewing]

Wow! Great article! Incredibly interesting! I've got to check this month's issue out for myself!
I remember watching "Behind the Scenes of Walking with dinosaurs" and they were talking about a Torosaurus, who had a huge frill (like Styracosaurus) and discovered that there were huge holes in it, and was concluded to not have been used as an implement of deffence but as a display to threaten enimies and attract mates. I think the same might be true for Stracosaurus, since both have been said to have pumped blood through the skin to change colors. That would be cool to be able to do that (well, at least changing into a color more interesting than red when we blush) *tries to turn purple and orange, then passes out*
*regains consciousness* *still feels light-headed*
That's all I'll say for now, before I *passes out again*

Thanks for sharing it, Buttercup!

[Buttercup]

Deinocheirus...personally, this is the one that caught my eye because of the fact that no body has ever been able to be proven to belong to the arms that were found...how funny would it be if the ratio was off and it was discovered that in fact the body was smaller than the ratio would suggest and the arms were actually longer than the hind legs...

The walk and the stature of the dino would then put me in mind of a gorilla with an elevated front end and a lowered back end made. I bet they would be able to really move with a gait like that...just food for thought, the mystery allows the imagination to conjure at will.

[Barry]

Cool, I can't wait to get my hands on that issue. Looks very interesting. I just found out that I'm getting a roboraptor for Christmas. I can't wait! ;D ;D ;D

— Dwaggie

[Buttercup]

I am jealous, those things look so cool! Have fun and take some piccys for us!

[jewelspike]

Thanks for the info, Buttercup!