People who took the news of feathered dinosaurs like this:
And those who took it like this:
I hate it when people say “science ruined dinosaurs” as though dinosaurs are just some pop culture monster invention and not real things that existed and that we are continuing to make new discoveries about
Amen
Listen I don’t care if you think feathers on a dinosaur look stupid if a 9 ton apex predator is coming at you at 25 mph, you’re not going to laugh at its feathers. YOU’RE GOING TO HAUL ASS
Most of y’all are afraid of geese and they have feathers.
Imagine a 9 ton goose that’s about to fuck your shit up.
Naturally Erupted Elephant Rock in Heimaey in Iceland
I’ve often seen pictures of the elephant’s head, and have been amazed by it every time. But I’d never seen the picture from above, showing the whole body/tail and trunk. It’s incredible from this angle, and am convinced it is a real ancient mega elephant turned to stone by a dark or benevolent force long forgotten.
For my 3D production class I had to create a three shot short that was a remake of an existing movie scene- with muppets. I ran out of time to do the particle water effects, but this is basically Pacific Rim anyway.
…I just woke up from a dream in which there was an app that notified you when nearby LARPs needed an NPC, and you could, like, go pretend to be a surly shopkeeper or whatever and get paid, like, $10 for it.
this is primarily an obnoxious ad for the enamel pin above (pre-order it here, folks!), but I’m gonna use this opportunity to compare Velociraptor to modern descendants, and see how it stacks up!
Velociraptors & cassowaries evolved hypertrophied claws for entirely different purposes - the ‘slashing, killing claw’ of the Velociraptor is a myth, but modern-day cassowaries have the Real Deal, a ice pick-like weapon on their second toe that can grow to 5 inches.
“The inner or second of the three toes is fitted with a long, straight, murderous nail which can sever an arm or eviscerate an abdomen with ease. There are many records of natives being killed by this bird” - ornithologist Ernest Thomas Gilliard
notice how the cassowary has a straight dagger, while Velociraptor has a hook? modern equivalents to Velociraptor’s hypertrophied claw are eagle talons, used for gripping prey & maneuvering in trees. because it was a terrestrial runner, Velociraptor held this tool off the ground to keep it razor-sharp, but modern birds-of-prey (given the luxury of flight) have transformed ALL their talons into the famous Velociraptor sickle claw!
tl;dr turns out the group aves used the last 66 million years to advance their weaponry & out murder-bird their ancestors (sorry Velociraptor!)
interesting update!! another modern analogue exists, in the Seriema
though they can fly short distances. Seriemas prefer running from danger. they are the closest living relative to the flightless Terror Birds, which preyed upon proto-horses in the Miocene! the red-legged species is used by farmers to guard property against wild animals & human intruders & DEAR GOD you can easily see why:
Seriema feet are not used when capturing/killing prey, but the raised claw is apparently involved in intraspecies conflict, wherein two Seriemas will rear up & kick at eachother, flapping their wings to maintain balance
SO was Velociraptor’s claw used for arboreal maneuvering & RPR (raptor prey restraint) like an eagle, or intraspecies fighting like a Seriema? unfortunately they are quite dead, so we’ll never know (though I’d put money on it being a multipurpose tool!)
