WikiFur - User contributions [en]

Dinosaur

2011-07-08T15:32:26Z

Palaeofox: Very minor edit

{{Wikify}}
[[Image:Deinonychus Portrait by Ferahgo the Assassin.jpg|right|thumb|[[Ferahgo]]'s Deinonychus character, Ixerin]]A '''dinosaur''', also known as a '''dino''', is a [[prehistoric]] form of [[animal]]. It is from the greek meaning "terrible lizard" and was coined in 1842 by Richard Owen.

Dinosaurs arose in the Early Triassic from archosaurs (a division including dinosaurs, [[crocodiles]], [[pterosaurs]], and many other less well known groups) and the dinosaur lineage survives today in modern [[bird]]s. The group underwent a dramatic reduction in diversity during the Cretaceous–Paleogene ('''KT Event''') extinction event(s)<ref>[[Wikipedia:Dinosaur|Wiki - Dinosaurs]]</ref>. During this time, the 'non-avian' dinosaurs became extinct, which are considered by most laymen to be 'dinosaurs'.

== Non-avian Dinosaurs ==
=== Morphology and ecology ===

Dinosaurs in popular culture have often been depicted as giant, lumbering, and cold-blooded beasts. In reality, the group was highly diverse with organisms ranging in size from 28 cm ('Ashdown Maniraptor' — unknown species<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2003349/Smallest-dinosaur-amateur-fossil-hunter--kept-drawer-2-years.html Daily Mail report of the discovery of the Ashdown Maniraptor.]</ref>) to 60 m in length (''Amphicoelias'' — rough estimate) and were dynamic, active animals. As a whole, dinosaurs were highly likely to have been warm-blooded. This is reflected in the development of feathers in the theropods (the bipedal, largely carnivorous dinosaurs) as insulators.

There are two basic 'types' of dinosaur:
* Saurischians including two major groups:
:* '''Theropods''' - Bipedal animals that were mostly carnivorous and contain some of the most well known dinosaurs (''Tyrannosaurs'' and ''Velociraptor''). They are generally considered to be the most intelligent group of dinosaurs and this is reflected by their relatively large brain cases. There is also evidence of complex social behavior similar to that of modern birds. This group includes the smallest dinosaur ever discovered and this lineage gave rise to aves (extant birds).
:* '''Sauropods''' - Quadrupedal animals that were almost certainly all herbivorous (however, some early Prosauropods were likely omnivorous). The group developed elongated necks and tails as well as columnar limbs to support their massive bulk. They had a large gut for processing tough plant material and were generally very large. This group includes the largest dinosaur ever discovered.<ref name=Dinosauria/>
* Ornithischians including four major groups:
:* '''Ankylosaurs''' - Heavily armored (extensive osteoderms), quadrupedal herbivores. Many species also had an associated bony club on the tail and/or shoulder spikes. They had exceptionally wide hips and large guts to digest plant matter.
:* '''Ceratopsians''' - Quadrupedal herbivores and omnivores that have distinctive head ornamentation. This often includes bony horns and neck crests. The neck crests may have been for defensive and/or display reasons. In some animals, the crests are simply a frame with large gaps that would have been filled with soft tissue. These would have provided little to no defense, but could have been filled with blood to give a vivid display. Another group that is closely related are the Pachycephalosaurs.
:* '''Ornithopods''' - Bipedal herbivores that are often known as the 'duck billed dinosaurs'. Many of them did indeed have duck-like bills along with elaborate head crests. It is likely that the head crests were used for species recognition and sexual display.
:* '''Stegosaurians''' - Quadrupedal herbivores with relatively small heads and armor plating. They are most well known for the bony plates (osteoderms) that often run along their backs and the presence of tail spikes (thagomizers).<ref name=Dinosauria>D. B. Weishampel, P. Dodson, and H. Osmólska, (2004), ''The Dinosauria'', University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, California, Pp 861.</ref>

All dinosaurs are known to be terrestrial, with flight developing in theropods around the Middle Jurassic. There are no known marine dinosaurs, although trace fossil evidence proves that they could swim very well.

=== Skin and coloration ===
[[File:Anchiornis huxleyi.jpg|thumb|right|Anchiornis huxleyi]]
Exceptional preservation is required to preserve anything other than bone and teeth. This is exceptionally rare, but, despite this, a large number of theropod dinosaurs have been discovered with extensive downy feathers covering their whole bodies. They also had have been shown to have long display feathers on the forelimbs, tail ends, backs of their heads, and the back of the hips (depending on the species). It is, however, becoming more apparent that possibly all theropod dinosaurs had feathers. Some ceratopsians have also been discovered with 'quill' like structures along their hides. It is now being considered that quill-like structures evolved in early archosaurs and that the 'fuzz' on pterosaurs is related to both the ceratopsian quills and the theropod feathers. Preserved skin samples of some ornithopods and sauropods suggest that they at least partially lost these features and had a tough scaly hide.

The color of dinosaurs has long been a heated debate. Until very recently, it was impossible to determine the actual colors of a dinosaur. However, a new technique has been developed to accurately determine the color of feathered dinosaurs. This has so far only been used to completely establish the colors of the dinosaur ''Anchiornis huxleyi''<ref>[http://news.nationalgeographic.co.uk/news/2010/01/100127-dinosaurs-color-feathers-science/o/ Article on ''Anchiornis huxleyi''.]</ref>. Since this technique can only be used on samples with exceptional preservation, there is still a wide scope for coloration among many groups of dinosaurs. Research is currently being done to color more species.

==Extinction==

Although the dinosaur lineage still exists today in birds, dinosaurs underwent a massive extinction event approximately 65.5 million years ago. Their diversity was greatly reduced, with the loss of all ornithischians, all sauropods, and most of the theropods. The extinction occurred at the end of the Late Cretaceous (also the end of the Mesozoic). The extinction event is commonly known as the KT event (K representing Cretaceous and T representing Tertiary, which has since been renamed as the Paleogene) and it greatly affected many other groups too. Pterosaurs, mosasaurs, pliosaurs, plesiosaurs, belemnites, ammonites, and many others were all wiped out and plantic forams, calcareous nanofossils, land plants, and rudist bivalves were all severely affected. The extinction even had little to no visible impact on the insect populations<ref name=VP>Benton, M. J. (2005), ''Vertebrate Paleontology'', 3rd ed. Blackwell Science Ltd, London, Pp 472.</ref>.

There is still heated debate about the actual cause of the extinction event(s). The paleontological community is roughly equally divided among it. Although there is a prominent iridium layer present at the KT boundary (strongly suggesting a bolide impact), the associated tsunami deposits that should be associated with it don't seem to be present at sites across the world where they should be and there is still no impact crater recorded of the right size '''with the right age'''<ref name=Gale>Peers Coms - Professor Andy Gale, Chairman of Stratigraphy Commission, Geological Society of London, http://www.port.ac.uk/departments/academic/sees/staff/title,63666,en.html</ref>. Many of the groups in question here were already in decline and there is also an associated volcanic event that occurred at the same time. This volcanic event is known as the Deccan Traps and undoubtedly would have had a significant impact on the planets climate and animals (as was shown with the Siberian Traps and the Permo-Triassic extinction). Research into the Deccan Traps is still ongoing. The currently accepted 'middle ground' is that it was probably a combination of events that lead to the final decline and extinction of these taxa.

==Dinosaurs and furry==
[[File:1308260904.willow141 raptorrapto.png|thumb|'Pecky' the Troodon - Copyright willow141&Palaeofox]]
[[File:Super-Dinosaur.jpg|thumb|[[Super Dinosaur]] cover]]
[[File:Ice age dawn of the dinosaurs01.jpg|thumb|''[[Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs]]'']]
[[File:Les Dinosaures.png|thumb|''[[Les Dinosaures]]'']]
There are many dinosaur [[character]]s present within the [[furry fandom]] as a popular [[scalie]] choice. The majority of these tend to be theropod dinosaur characters and are almost always based on the Jurassic Park misrepresentation of a ''Velociraptor'' with some feathers and quills stuck on. They also tend to be described as [[cold-blooded]], due to a general misconception. Characters based on other species of dinosaurs are rare and complete [[fursona]]s based on them are even rarer.

In an attempt to expand public ideas of dinosaur character creation, Palaeofox developed the character 'Pecky'. Pecky is a ''Troodon formosus'' and so is somewhat similar morphological to a ''Velociraptor'', but is more slender with a narrower snout and was probably an [[omnivor]]e. His aim in developing this character was to allow furries to see that there are many different species of dinosaur they could base a character on, even if they specifically like the 'theropod look'.

=== Artists ===

*[[Chris Sawyer]] -
*[[Macroceli]] -
*[[Fossil]] -
*[[Kaa]] -

=== Groups ===

*[http://anthro-reptiles.deviantart.com/ Anthro-reptiles] on [[DeviantArt]]

=== Characters ===

*''[[Dinosaurs in relation to furry lore]]''
*''[[Dinosaur characters|Dinosaur characters in the fandom]]''

=== Media and Literature ===

=====Webcomic=====

*[[Generic Dinosaur Comic]] -

===== Comic/graphic novel=====

*'''Super Dinosaour''' -

===== Books =====

*''[[Jurassic Park]]'', is a book about an island where actual dinosaurs are created. As expected, things go a bit wrong and the dinosaurs escape out of their pens. They then wreak havoc on the various people who are in the park at the time. A total of three movies were made from the franchise.

*The ''[[Dinotopia]]'' books feature [[human]]s living alongside dinosaurs in harmony on an isolated island, surrounded by a large storm over a reef that prevents contact with the outside world. The majority of the dinosaurs within the story are sentient and able to talk. This is due to magical glowing stones that keep order in their world. Dinotopia was also made into a TV miniseries.

===== Television =====

*''Dinosaurs'' was an American TV sitcom, based around a family of anthropomorphic dinosaurs approximately 60 million years BC. The series concept was designed by [[Jim Henson]] a few years before his death, and it ran for 4 seasons between 1991 and 1994. Strangely, each member of the family seemed to be from a different species of dinosaur, and the few humans who appeared were portrayed as [[cavemen]].

====Movies====

*[[The Land Before Time]] (1988) is an animated film, featuring a cast of entirely [[anthropomorphic]] dinosaurs. It is the story of a group of hatchling herbivorous dinosaurs that are isolated from their parents in a dangerous and dying world. They set out on an adventure to find 'The Great Valley', where they will be reunited with their parents. The success of this movie spawned an astounding 12 more movies in which they have various adventures within The Great Valley itself.

*''[[Dinosaur]]'' (2000) is a [[CGI]] animated [[Disney]] film. A stolen dinosaur egg hatches into an iguanodon named Aladar, who is raised by [[lemur]]s on a lush island devoid of other dinosaurs. When a [[meteorite]] destroys their island home, the lemur family and Aladar become part of a dinosaur troop roaming the mainland deserts looking for the lush nesting grounds. All the animals are portrayed as anthropomorphic, given human voices and characteristics.

== Trivia ==

*In [[J.R.R. Tolkien]]'s ''[[Lord of the Ring]]'', the name '''Sauron''' comes from the greek word for lizard '''saur'''.

==References==
<references/>

== See also ==

*[[wikipedia:Dinosaur|Dinosaurs]] on [[Wikipedia]]
*[http://dino.wikia.com/wiki/Dinosaur_Wiki Dinosaurs] on [[Dino Wiki]]
*[[Wikipedia:Dinosaurs (TV series|Dinosaurs'TV series]] on Wikipedia

==External links==

*[http://www.dinosaurfact.net Dinosaurs'] official website
*[http://fan.geekish.net/dinosaurs/ Dinosaur'] Fan listing
*[http://www.dinosauria.com/ Dinosaurias'] On-line

{{net-stub}}
[[Category:Dinosaur species]]
[[ru:Динозавры]]

Dinosaur

2011-07-07T21:58:05Z

Palaeofox:

{{Wikify}}
[[Image:Deinonychus Portrait by Ferahgo the Assassin.jpg|right|thumb|[[Ferahgo]]'s Deinonychus character, Ixerin]]A '''dinosaur''', also known as a '''dino''', is a [[prehistoric]] form of [[animal]]. It is from the greek meaning "terrible lizard" and was coined in 1842 by Richard Owen.

Dinosaurs arose in the Early Triassic from archosaurs (a division including dinosaurs, [[crocodiles]], [[pterosaurs]], and many other less well known groups) and the dinosaur lineage survives today in modern [[bird]]s. The group underwent a dramatic reduction in diversity during the Cretaceous–Paleogene ('''KT Event''') extinction event(s)<ref>[[Wikipedia:Dinosaur|Wiki - Dinosaurs]]</ref>. During this time, the 'non-avian' dinosaurs became extinct, which are considered by most laymen to be 'dinosaurs'.

== Non-avian Dinosaurs ==
=== Morphology and ecology ===

Dinosaurs in popular culture have often been depicted as giant, lumbering, and cold-blooded beasts. In reality, the group was highly diverse with organisms ranging in size from 28 cm ('Ashdown Maniraptor' — unknown species<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2003349/Smallest-dinosaur-amateur-fossil-hunter--kept-drawer-2-years.html Daily Mail report of the discovery of the Ashdown Maniraptor.]</ref>) to 60 m in length (''Amphicoelias'' — rough estimate) and were dynamic, active animals. As a whole, dinosaurs were highly likely to have been warm-blooded. This is reflected in the development of feathers in the theropods (the bipedal, largely carnivorous dinosaurs) as insulators.

There are two basic 'types' of dinosaur:
* Saurischians including two major groups:
:* '''Theropods''' - Bipedal animals that were mostly carnivorous and contain some of the most well known dinosaurs (''Tyrannosaurs'' and ''Velociraptor''). They are generally considered to be the most intelligent group of dinosaurs and this is reflected by their relatively large brain cases. There is also evidence of complex social behavior similar to that of modern birds. This group includes the smallest dinosaur ever discovered and this lineage gave rise to aves (extant birds).
:* '''Sauropods''' - Quadrupedal animals that were almost certainly all herbivorous (however, some early Prosauropods were likely omnivorous). The group developed elongated necks and tails as well as columnar limbs to support their massive bulk. They had a large gut for processing tough plant material and were generally very large. This group includes the largest dinosaur ever discovered.<ref name=Dinosauria/>
* Ornithischians including four major groups:
:* '''Ankylosaurs''' - Heavily armored (extensive osteoderms), quadrupedal herbivores. Many species also had an associated bony club on the tail and/or shoulder spikes. They had exceptionally wide hips and large guts to digest plant matter.
:* '''Ceratopsians''' - Quadrupedal herbivores and omnivores that have distinctive head ornamentation. This often includes bony horns and neck crests. The neck crests may have been for defensive and/or display reasons. In some animals, the crests are simply a frame with large gaps that would have been filled with soft tissue. These would have provided little to no defense, but could have been filled with blood to give a vivid display. Another group that is closely related are the Pachycephalosaurs.
:* '''Ornithopodans''' - Bipedal herbivores that are often known as the 'duck billed dinosaurs'. Many of them did indeed have duck-like bills along with elaborate head crests. It is likely that the head crests were used for species recognition and sexual display.
:* '''Stegosaurians''' - Quadrupedal herbivores with relatively small heads and armor plating. They are most well known for the bony plates (osteoderms) that often run along their backs and the presence of tail spikes (thagomizers).<ref name=Dinosauria>D. B. Weishampel, P. Dodson, and H. Osmólska, (2004), ''The Dinosauria'', University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, California, Pp 861.</ref>

All dinosaurs are known to be terrestrial, with flight developing in theropods around the Middle Jurassic. There are no known marine dinosaurs, although trace fossil evidence proves that they could swim very well.

=== Skin and coloration ===
[[File:Anchiornis huxleyi.jpg|thumb|right|Anchiornis huxleyi]]
Exceptional preservation is required to preserve anything other than bone and teeth. This is exceptionally rare, but, despite this, a large number of theropod dinosaurs have been discovered with extensive downy feathers covering their whole bodies. They also had have been shown to have long display feathers on the forelimbs, tail ends, backs of their heads, and the back of the hips (depending on the species). It is, however, becoming more apparent that possibly all theropod dinosaurs had feathers. Some ceratopsians have also been discovered with 'quill' like structures along their hides. It is now being considered that quill-like structures evolved in early archosaurs and that the 'fuzz' on pterosaurs is related to both the ceratopsian quills and the theropod feathers. Preserved skin samples of some ornithopods and sauropods suggest that they at least partially lost these features and had a tough scaly hide.

The color of dinosaurs has long been a heated debate. Until very recently, it was impossible to determine the actual colors of a dinosaur. However, a new technique has been developed to accurately determine the color of feathered dinosaurs. This has so far only been used to completely establish the colors of the dinosaur ''Anchiornis huxleyi''<ref>[http://news.nationalgeographic.co.uk/news/2010/01/100127-dinosaurs-color-feathers-science/o/ Article on ''Anchiornis huxleyi''.]</ref>. Since this technique can only be used on samples with exceptional preservation, there is still a wide scope for coloration among many groups of dinosaurs. Research is currently being done to color more species.

==Extinction==

Although the dinosaur lineage still exists today in birds, dinosaurs underwent a massive extinction event approximately 65.5 million years ago. Their diversity was greatly reduced, with the loss of all ornithischians, all sauropods, and most of the theropods. The extinction occurred at the end of the Late Cretaceous (also the end of the Mesozoic). The extinction event is commonly known as the KT event (K representing Cretaceous and T representing Tertiary, which has since been renamed as the Paleogene) and it greatly affected many other groups too. Pterosaurs, mosasaurs, pliosaurs, plesiosaurs, belemnites, ammonites, and many others were all wiped out and plantic forams, calcareous nanofossils, land plants, and rudist bivalves were all severely affected. The extinction even had little to no visible impact on the insect populations<ref name=VP>Benton, M. J. (2005), ''Vertebrate Paleontology'', 3rd ed. Blackwell Science Ltd, London, Pp 472.</ref>.

There is still heated debate about the actual cause of the extinction event(s). The paleontological community is roughly equally divided among it. Although there is a prominent iridium layer present at the KT boundary (strongly suggesting a bolide impact), the associated tsunami deposits that should be associated with it don't seem to be present at sites across the world where they should be and there is still no impact crater recorded of the right size '''with the right age'''<ref name=Gale>Peers Coms - Professor Andy Gale, Chairman of Stratigraphy Commission, Geological Society of London, http://www.port.ac.uk/departments/academic/sees/staff/title,63666,en.html</ref>. Many of the groups in question here were already in decline and there is also an associated volcanic event that occurred at the same time. This volcanic event is known as the Deccan Traps and undoubtedly would have had a significant impact on the planets climate and animals (as was shown with the Siberian Traps and the Permo-Triassic extinction). Research into the Deccan Traps is still ongoing. The currently accepted 'middle ground' is that it was probably a combination of events that lead to the final decline and extinction of these taxa.

==Dinosaurs and furry==
[[File:1308260904.willow141 raptorrapto.png|thumb|'Pecky' the Troodon - Copyright willow141&Palaeofox]]
[[File:Super-Dinosaur.jpg|thumb|[[Super Dinosaur]] cover]]
[[File:Ice age dawn of the dinosaurs01.jpg|thumb|''[[Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs]]'']]
[[File:Les Dinosaures.png|thumb|''[[Les Dinosaures]]'']]
There are many dinosaur [[character]]s present within the [[furry fandom]] as a popular [[scalie]] choice. The majority of these tend to be theropod dinosaur characters and are almost always based on the Jurassic Park misrepresentation of a ''Velociraptor'' with some feathers and quills stuck on. They also tend to be described as [[cold-blooded]], due to a general misconception. Characters based on other species of dinosaurs are rare and complete [[fursona]]s based on them are even rarer.

In an attempt to expand public ideas of dinosaur character creation, Palaeofox developed the character 'Pecky'. Pecky is a ''Troodon formosus'' and so is somewhat similar morphological to a ''Velociraptor'', but is more slender with a narrower snout and was probably an [[omnivor]]e. His aim in developing this character was to allow furries to see that there are many different species of dinosaur they could base a character on, even if they specifically like the 'theropod look'.

=== Artists ===

*[[Chris Sawyer]] -
*[[Macroceli]] -
*[[Fossil]] -
*[[Kaa]] -

=== Groups ===

*[http://anthro-reptiles.deviantart.com/ Anthro-reptiles] on [[DeviantArt]]

=== Characters ===

*''[[Dinosaurs in relation to furry lore]]''
*''[[Dinosaur characters|Dinosaur characters in the fandom]]''

=== Media and Literature ===

=====Webcomic=====

*[[Generic Dinosaur Comic]] -

===== Comic/graphic novel=====

*'''Super Dinosaour''' -

===== Books =====

*''[[Jurassic Park]]'', is a book about an island where actual dinosaurs are created. As expected, things go a bit wrong and the dinosaurs escape out of their pens. They then wreak havoc on the various people who are in the park at the time. A total of three movies were made from the franchise.

*The ''[[Dinotopia]]'' books feature [[human]]s living alongside dinosaurs in harmony on an isolated island, surrounded by a large storm over a reef that prevents contact with the outside world. The majority of the dinosaurs within the story are sentient and able to talk. This is due to magical glowing stones that keep order in their world. Dinotopia was also made into a TV miniseries.

===== Television =====

*''Dinosaurs'' was an American TV sitcom, based around a family of anthropomorphic dinosaurs approximately 60 million years BC. The series concept was designed by [[Jim Henson]] a few years before his death, and it ran for 4 seasons between 1991 and 1994. Strangely, each member of the family seemed to be from a different species of dinosaur, and the few humans who appeared were portrayed as [[cavemen]].

====Movies====

*[[The Land Before Time]] (1988) is an animated film, featuring a cast of entirely [[anthropomorphic]] dinosaurs. It is the story of a group of hatchling herbivorous dinosaurs that are isolated from their parents in a dangerous and dying world. They set out on an adventure to find 'The Great Valley', where they will be reunited with their parents. The success of this movie spawned an astounding 12 more movies in which they have various adventures within The Great Valley itself.

*''[[Dinosaur]]'' (2000) is a [[CGI]] animated [[Disney]] film. A stolen dinosaur egg hatches into an iguanodon named Aladar, who is raised by [[lemur]]s on a lush island devoid of other dinosaurs. When a [[meteorite]] destroys their island home, the lemur family and Aladar become part of a dinosaur troop roaming the mainland deserts looking for the lush nesting grounds. All the animals are portrayed as anthropomorphic, given human voices and characteristics.

== Trivia ==

*In [[J.R.R. Tolkien]]'s ''[[Lord of the Ring]]'', the name '''Sauron''' comes from the greek word for lizard '''saur'''.

==References==
<references/>

== See also ==

*[[wikipedia:Dinosaur|Dinosaurs]] on [[Wikipedia]]
*[http://dino.wikia.com/wiki/Dinosaur_Wiki Dinosaurs] on [[Dino Wiki]]
*[[Wikipedia:Dinosaurs (TV series|Dinosaurs'TV series]] on Wikipedia

==External links==

*[http://www.dinosaurfact.net Dinosaurs'] official website
*[http://fan.geekish.net/dinosaurs/ Dinosaur'] Fan listing
*[http://www.dinosauria.com/ Dinosaurias'] On-line

{{net-stub}}
[[Category:Dinosaur species]]
[[ru:Динозавры]]

Talk:Dinosaur

2011-07-07T21:52:42Z

Palaeofox:

Should "Dino" really send people directly here? There should probably be a disambiguation page, since Dino is the name of the Dog-o-saurus on The Flintstones...
--[[User:Kattywampus|Kattywampus]] 17:30, 30 May 2007 (UTC)
:yes, yes, and what about the singer? Or the car? Until there is an article about Dino here on WikiFur, I don't see the need for disambig as dino is slang for dinosaur, and in fact where Dino's character name comes from.--[[User:KendricksRedtail|Kendricks Redtail]] 04:46, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

== Notorious BS in the article ==

Excuse me, but, in what century are editors living? It is obvious by they're anatomy and habitat that the animals we're completely warm blooded. And this isn't any new discovery, Bakker theorized in 70s that dinosaurs such as Deinonychus are warm blooded. It has been proved that even large sauropods such as Brachiosaurus and Diplodocus would have no problem being warm blooded. Not only that, but the anatomy of some of the very first dinosaurs, like Eoraptor for example, seem to support that they we're warm blooded, and even then, dinosaurs showed much differences than their reptilian counterparts. Much unlike retaining a roughly lizard-like form, written in the erroneous article. Talking about lizards, whats the shit about ranging from the size of the small lizard? Epidexipteryx, smallest, non avian dinosaur, is roughly about 20-25 cm. While the smallest of the lizards, Sphaerodactylus, is not longer than 20 millimeters. And it is known shy mammals and reptiles survived the KT extinction. Extinction it self was a long, and painful process, it didn't happen just in a night. Small mammals had plenty of food to eat in form of small land arthropods, while cold blooded reptiles required much less food to keep up their metabolism unlike they're warm blooded dinosaur contemporaries. Meteor just finished dinosaurs off, who by the end of Cretaceous we're a dying dynasty. It would be nice, to do some research before making an article, instead of just slapping on some piss poor misleading information. {{unsigned|Red Raptor}}

:First, while we encourage readers to point out and discuss any inaccuracies in Wikifur articles, we would ask that you please take more civil tone in doing so. Using insults and profanity only annoys people and could get you blocked. Second, if there are errors in the content of the article, then by all means feel free to edit the article to correct them yourself. The more people we have contributing to it, the better the results are. That is the nature and power of wikis! --[[User:Mwalimu|mwalimu]] 21:25, 26 June 2009 (UTC)

==Editing For Laymen==

I'm going to try fix this page without overloading it with too much information. Please contact me via email (Well_Tossed_Salad@hotmail.com) if you feel I have made a mistake or have missed out something important. Please '''do not''' contact me is you are stupid and upset that I have trampled on your beloved scalies by telling the world that they are more like avians X3. [[User:Palaeofox|Palaeofox]] 07:41, 5 July 2011 (EDT)

==Finished Editing==

Ok, all done. However, there isn't much in there now that associates to the furry fandom. I would ask anyone who would like to associate it more to please do so in a separate paragraph and not remove any of the scientific information I have entered. It will likely fill up with tripe again if it is removed.[[User:Palaeofox|Palaeofox]] 10:13, 5 July 2011 (EDT)

== Mind blank ==

Okay, there was a movie and a book, and I can't remember what they're called. There was a kid movie about some dinosaurs with long necks (not sure the exact species), and the book was about high school children turning into dinosaurs, and the cover art always featured an anthro dinosaur (which is why I read it in the first place). Does anyone know what I'm talking about? [[File:Scalesona.jpg|40x40px]][[User:Equivamp|Equivamp]] 11:07, 5 July 2011 (EDT)

:The movie is called 'The Land Before Time'. I watched it too many times as a kid... but I don't really remember much about it and I don't know anything about this anthro dinosaur book. The lack of sources is because most of the info there is from my lecture notes and the 'real' wiki + I'm not really sure how to add them and what style the referencing would be in. I can do them in the style of the Journal 'Palaeontology' if you like.. since that's pretty much the only way I know how to XD [[User:Palaeofox|Palaeofox]] 12:20, 5 July 2011 (EDT)
::No, not Land Before Time...it was something else. [[File:Scalesona.jpg|40x40px]][[User:Equivamp|Equivamp]] 14:47, 5 July 2011 (EDT)
::"Book about high school children turning into dinosaurs" is a little general. Without more specific plot details it's hard to say, but this could potentially be the ''[http://www.amazon.com/Dinoverse-Scott-Ciencin/dp/067988842X Dinoverse]'' series by Scott Ciencin.--[[User:Higgs Raccoon|Higgs Raccoon]] 12:29, 5 July 2011 (EDT)
:::Yes, that's what I was talking about! Thank God. That was starting to bug me. [[File:Scalesona.jpg|40x40px]][[User:Equivamp|Equivamp]] 14:47, 5 July 2011 (EDT)

== Dinosaurs ==

Since Dinosaurs redirects here, there was also the TV series "Dinosaurs".... Not sure about a "kid movie about dinosaurs with long necks", unless you're thinking of the scene from the film "One of our Dinosaurs is missing" where they have a dinosaur on the back of a lorry and are driving it through the fog ? [[User:Bezel|Bezel]] 12:33, 5 July 2011 (EDT)

==Referencing==

I've been snooping around for a guide to properly reference the stuff I have put down and I can't find how to do it properly/understand some of the instructions. The majority of the information was taken from 'THE DINOSAURIA' 3rd edition, by David b. Weishampel, Peter Dodson and Halszka Osmólska, or my own lecture notes (Dr. Dave Martill). The extinction information is from my lecture notes and conversations I've had with lecturers. I guess they would be recorded as 'Peers Coms' in that case? The tsunami stuff is from talking to Professor Andy Gale, who is one of the, if not the worlds top researchers into stratigraphy (I'm not joking..) and the paper he's working on for that hasn't even been written yet, let alone published.[[User:Palaeofox|Palaeofox]] 13:12, 5 July 2011 (EDT)
:Try this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Ref [[User:Bezel|Bezel]] 13:15, 5 July 2011 (EDT)

:Wikipedia has a [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia:Referencing for beginners|guide for beginners]], but it seems like you're more concerned over proper citation terminology . . . we're not a particularly formal bunch, so you're welcome to just use what makes sense to you and others will understand (e.g. "conversation with Prof. Andy Gale", linking to this person's home page). Original research is not forbidden here, it just has to be reasonable and presented along with other well-thought-of opinions. --[[User:GreenReaper|GreenReaper]]([[User talk:GreenReaper|talk]]) 13:17, 5 July 2011 (EDT)

::I think that's all done now. I've added in some citations to books that will actually tell people that stuff and I've avoided direct references to actual scientific papers (since no one would understand them). I think all that's left to do is fluff out the fandom-related stuff (that I can't do on my own) and that will improve with time :P. [[User:Palaeofox|Palaeofox]] 14:17, 5 July 2011 (EDT)

== Pero de que va esto?,... ==

In other words,... Why are we hosting an article containing 85% about the subject of Dinosaurs, where Wikipedia, online dedicated Wiki, and other sites about the subject could cover the 0.00005% remaining, where as the Dinosaur/Furry interconnection is related to a menial 15%?.

We are cherry picking bits of Dinosaur data, to form a large article, which is still missing so much data is useless. Meanwhile, furry becomes an after though... no Dinosaur artists?, books?, movies?,groups?, LJs,... Devia?, FA?.,...

Somebody just turn the page 180 degrees, and where are my Tylenols?...- [[User:Spirou|Spirou]] 22:32, 5 July 2011 (EDT)

:I've added a few books and movies, but I'm unaware of many others. There's a saying. "If you want something done, do it yourself." Undeniably, however, the article is more factual--if ommitting much--than it has been in the past. It just needs a more furry focus. [[File:Scalesona.jpg|40x40px]][[User:Equivamp|Equivamp]] 22:38, 5 July 2011 (EDT)

::"There's a saying. ''"If you want something done, do it yourself."''... Wise words, which I applied that saying to the 437 images that I had to (this weekend) search, seek, get a copy of ''PhotoZoom Classic 4'' ($$), enlarge/resize, cleanup (lovely #@*&% artifacts), apply all PS CS5 tricks at them, finding out that no miracles will not bring certain images back to viewing life... and this is just for the ''"characters"'' section for the Wiki.

::And before I let my headache override my brain's social skills, and say something really stupid on my part (not your fault, just today overall), no Equivamp, I'm sorry, but currently I can't provided any help or time regarding this article, just a fast critique - [[User:Spirou|Spirou]] 23:20, 5 July 2011 (EDT)

:::The page, before I changed it, was an offence to science and common sense. It was full of misinformation and errors. In my opinion, there is no point in having an article that is just plain wrong. I have presented a '''greatly''' condensed and summarized sample of information that is relevant for character creation (outlining the main groups so that people know what terms to search for in Google and a bit of info on how dinosaurs look etc) and then a little blerb about the extinction event that took place, since that's a pretty popular topic. If people want their characters to actually represent these animals and not just be reprints of the Jurassic Park 'Velociraptors', then this page should help.

:::In terms of the furry side of things; I don't know every furry dinosaur artist and it's not really my place to post anyone else's name on here, other than my own and people I have permission for. This was kinda demonstrated by Stokes wanting all his stuff removed. If you know some artists/comics/films etc that have relevance to the fandom, then add them. Please don't just bitch about it and do nothing. All that I ask, is that you don't remove the scientific information that I have painstakingly laid out. [[User:Palaeofox|Palaeofox]] 08:28, 6 July 2011 (EDT)

::::''"The page, before I changed it, was an offence to science and common sense."''...That's not our purpose. A small bit of data which leads to the main Furry connection is. A redirect to [[Wikipedia:Dinosaur|Dinosaurs]] on [[Wikipedia]], or the [http://dino.wikia.com/wiki/Dinosaur_Wiki Dinosaur Wiki] can more that cover the massive data not possible to jam into the page.

::::''"There is no point in having an article that is just plain wrong."'' further condense the data about dinosaurs until people and editors can see the connection between the two themes, then your going places,...

::::"''Please don't just bitch about it and do nothing.''" (...) >=) Really?... - [[User:Spirou|Spirou]] 23:28, 6 July 2011 (EDT)

:::::Well, here is an hour/two hours of adding a couple things to the article. Seems to be missing the "Non-avian dinosaurs" section, thou. Now sushi time and a Tylenol shake... - [[User:Spirou|Spirou]] 01:06, 7 July 2011 (EDT)

::::::''"That's not our purpose"'' - You would rather have misinformation than correct information? In my opinion, if the page had errors, then they should be removed. As I said before, the science part is in there for anyone who wants to create characters true to the animals (and it is a highly condensed version from the original information).
::::::''"Seems to be missing the "Non-avian dinosaurs" section."'' - Did you read the first paragraph? Avian Dinosaurs = Birds. Non-Avian Dinosaurs = the classic understanding of dinosaurs. Also, those links are pretty much pointless... 1 board page on dinosaurs will go far enough, we don't need sub pages on sister taxa.
::::::Thank you for adding more of the furry-connected side of things. Again, as I said before, I don't know many of the furry-paleo artists. I'm just a palaeobiologist who happens to be a furry. I am also not an artist, the picture of Pecky: Image Summary: ''"'Pecky' the Troodon formosus. Character copyrighted to Palaeofox (FA Palaeofox). Artwork copyrighted to Blizzard (FA willow141)."'' Willow141 is not a furry palaeoartist, she just drew that for me as a friend.
::::::It really does feel like you are just trying to make this difficult :/. Sorry if I'm coming across as aggressive. I don't mean to be and I guess it's just my typing style. [[User:Palaeofox|Palaeofox]] 17:52, 7 July 2011 (EDT)

Talk:Dinosaur

2011-07-06T12:28:39Z

Palaeofox:

Should "Dino" really send people directly here? There should probably be a disambiguation page, since Dino is the name of the Dog-o-saurus on The Flintstones...
--[[User:Kattywampus|Kattywampus]] 17:30, 30 May 2007 (UTC)
:yes, yes, and what about the singer? Or the car? Until there is an article about Dino here on WikiFur, I don't see the need for disambig as dino is slang for dinosaur, and in fact where Dino's character name comes from.--[[User:KendricksRedtail|Kendricks Redtail]] 04:46, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

== Notorious BS in the article ==

Excuse me, but, in what century are editors living? It is obvious by they're anatomy and habitat that the animals we're completely warm blooded. And this isn't any new discovery, Bakker theorized in 70s that dinosaurs such as Deinonychus are warm blooded. It has been proved that even large sauropods such as Brachiosaurus and Diplodocus would have no problem being warm blooded. Not only that, but the anatomy of some of the very first dinosaurs, like Eoraptor for example, seem to support that they we're warm blooded, and even then, dinosaurs showed much differences than their reptilian counterparts. Much unlike retaining a roughly lizard-like form, written in the erroneous article. Talking about lizards, whats the shit about ranging from the size of the small lizard? Epidexipteryx, smallest, non avian dinosaur, is roughly about 20-25 cm. While the smallest of the lizards, Sphaerodactylus, is not longer than 20 millimeters. And it is known shy mammals and reptiles survived the KT extinction. Extinction it self was a long, and painful process, it didn't happen just in a night. Small mammals had plenty of food to eat in form of small land arthropods, while cold blooded reptiles required much less food to keep up their metabolism unlike they're warm blooded dinosaur contemporaries. Meteor just finished dinosaurs off, who by the end of Cretaceous we're a dying dynasty. It would be nice, to do some research before making an article, instead of just slapping on some piss poor misleading information. {{unsigned|Red Raptor}}

:First, while we encourage readers to point out and discuss any inaccuracies in Wikifur articles, we would ask that you please take more civil tone in doing so. Using insults and profanity only annoys people and could get you blocked. Second, if there are errors in the content of the article, then by all means feel free to edit the article to correct them yourself. The more people we have contributing to it, the better the results are. That is the nature and power of wikis! --[[User:Mwalimu|mwalimu]] 21:25, 26 June 2009 (UTC)

==Editing For Laymen==

I'm going to try fix this page without overloading it with too much information. Please contact me via email (Well_Tossed_Salad@hotmail.com) if you feel I have made a mistake or have missed out something important. Please '''do not''' contact me is you are stupid and upset that I have trampled on your beloved scalies by telling the world that they are more like avians X3. [[User:Palaeofox|Palaeofox]] 07:41, 5 July 2011 (EDT)

==Finished Editing==

Ok, all done. However, there isn't much in there now that associates to the furry fandom. I would ask anyone who would like to associate it more to please do so in a separate paragraph and not remove any of the scientific information I have entered. It will likely fill up with tripe again if it is removed.[[User:Palaeofox|Palaeofox]] 10:13, 5 July 2011 (EDT)

== Mind blank ==

Okay, there was a movie and a book, and I can't remember what they're called. There was a kid movie about some dinosaurs with long necks (not sure the exact species), and the book was about high school children turning into dinosaurs, and the cover art always featured an anthro dinosaur (which is why I read it in the first place). Does anyone know what I'm talking about? [[File:Scalesona.jpg|40x40px]][[User:Equivamp|Equivamp]] 11:07, 5 July 2011 (EDT)

:The movie is called 'The Land Before Time'. I watched it too many times as a kid... but I don't really remember much about it and I don't know anything about this anthro dinosaur book. The lack of sources is because most of the info there is from my lecture notes and the 'real' wiki + I'm not really sure how to add them and what style the referencing would be in. I can do them in the style of the Journal 'Palaeontology' if you like.. since that's pretty much the only way I know how to XD [[User:Palaeofox|Palaeofox]] 12:20, 5 July 2011 (EDT)
::No, not Land Before Time...it was something else. [[File:Scalesona.jpg|40x40px]][[User:Equivamp|Equivamp]] 14:47, 5 July 2011 (EDT)
::"Book about high school children turning into dinosaurs" is a little general. Without more specific plot details it's hard to say, but this could potentially be the ''[http://www.amazon.com/Dinoverse-Scott-Ciencin/dp/067988842X Dinoverse]'' series by Scott Ciencin.--[[User:Higgs Raccoon|Higgs Raccoon]] 12:29, 5 July 2011 (EDT)
:::Yes, that's what I was talking about! Thank God. That was starting to bug me. [[File:Scalesona.jpg|40x40px]][[User:Equivamp|Equivamp]] 14:47, 5 July 2011 (EDT)

== Dinosaurs ==

Since Dinosaurs redirects here, there was also the TV series "Dinosaurs".... Not sure about a "kid movie about dinosaurs with long necks", unless you're thinking of the scene from the film "One of our Dinosaurs is missing" where they have a dinosaur on the back of a lorry and are driving it through the fog ? [[User:Bezel|Bezel]] 12:33, 5 July 2011 (EDT)

==Referencing==

I've been snooping around for a guide to properly reference the stuff I have put down and I can't find how to do it properly/understand some of the instructions. The majority of the information was taken from 'THE DINOSAURIA' 3rd edition, by David b. Weishampel, Peter Dodson and Halszka Osmólska, or my own lecture notes (Dr. Dave Martill). The extinction information is from my lecture notes and conversations I've had with lecturers. I guess they would be recorded as 'Peers Coms' in that case? The tsunami stuff is from talking to Professor Andy Gale, who is one of the, if not the worlds top researchers into stratigraphy (I'm not joking..) and the paper he's working on for that hasn't even been written yet, let alone published.[[User:Palaeofox|Palaeofox]] 13:12, 5 July 2011 (EDT)
:Try this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Ref [[User:Bezel|Bezel]] 13:15, 5 July 2011 (EDT)

:Wikipedia has a [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia:Referencing for beginners|guide for beginners]], but it seems like you're more concerned over proper citation terminology . . . we're not a particularly formal bunch, so you're welcome to just use what makes sense to you and others will understand (e.g. "conversation with Prof. Andy Gale", linking to this person's home page). Original research is not forbidden here, it just has to be reasonable and presented along with other well-thought-of opinions. --[[User:GreenReaper|GreenReaper]]([[User talk:GreenReaper|talk]]) 13:17, 5 July 2011 (EDT)

::I think that's all done now. I've added in some citations to books that will actually tell people that stuff and I've avoided direct references to actual scientific papers (since no one would understand them). I think all that's left to do is fluff out the fandom-related stuff (that I can't do on my own) and that will improve with time :P. [[User:Palaeofox|Palaeofox]] 14:17, 5 July 2011 (EDT)

== Pero de que va esto?,... ==

In other words,... Why are we hosting an article containing 85% about the subject of Dinosaurs, where Wikipedia, online dedicated Wiki, and other sites about the subject could cover the 0.00005% remaining, where as the Dinosaur/Furry interconnection is related to a menial 15%?.

We are cherry picking bits of Dinosaur data, to form a large article, which is still missing so much data is useless. Meanwhile, furry becomes an after though... no Dinosaur artists?, books?, movies?,groups?, LJs,... Devia?, FA?.,...

Somebody just turn the page 180 degrees, and where are my Tylenols?...- [[User:Spirou|Spirou]] 22:32, 5 July 2011 (EDT)

:I've added a few books and movies, but I'm unaware of many others. There's a saying. "If you want something done, do it yourself." Undeniably, however, the article is more factual--if ommitting much--than it has been in the past. It just needs a more furry focus. [[File:Scalesona.jpg|40x40px]][[User:Equivamp|Equivamp]] 22:38, 5 July 2011 (EDT)
::The page, before I changed it, was an offence to science and common sense. It was full of misinformation and errors. In my opinion, there is no point in having an article that is just plain wrong. I have presented a '''greatly''' condensed and summarized sample of information that is relevant for character creation (outlining the main groups so that people know what terms to search for in Google and a bit of info on how dinosaurs look etc) and then a little blerb about the extinction event that took place, since that's a pretty popular topic. If people want their characters to actually represent these animals and not just be reprints of the Jurassic Park 'Velociraptors', then this page should help.
::In terms of the furry side of things; I don't know every furry dinosaur artist and it's not really my place to post anyone else's name on here, other than my own and people I have permission for. This was kinda demonstrated by Stokes wanting all his stuff removed. If you know some artists/comics/films etc that have relevance to the fandom, then add them. Please don't just bitch about it and do nothing. All that I ask, is that you don't remove the scientific information that I have painstakingly laid out. [[User:Palaeofox|Palaeofox]] 08:28, 6 July 2011 (EDT)

Talk:Dinosaur

2011-07-05T18:18:08Z

Palaeofox:

Talk:Dinosaur

2011-07-05T18:17:36Z

Palaeofox:

Dinosaur

2011-07-05T18:12:37Z

Palaeofox:

[[Image:Deinonychus Portrait by Ferahgo the Assassin.jpg|right|thumb|[[Ferahgo]]'s Deinonychus character, Ixerin]]A '''dinosaur''' ('''dino''' for short) is a prehistoric form of [[animal]]. It is from the greek meaning "terrible lizard" and was coined in 1842 by Richard Owen. Dinosaurs arose in the Early Triassic from archosaurs (a division including dinosaurs, crocodilians, pterosaurs, and many other less well known groups) and the dinosaur lineage survives today in modern birds. The group underwent a dramatic reduction in diversity during the Cretaceous–Paleogene (KT Event) extinction event(s)<ref>[[Wikipedia:Dinosaur|Wiki - Dinosaurs]]</ref>. During this time, the 'non-avian' dinosaurs became extinct, which are considered by most laymen to be 'dinosaurs'. For simplicity, the reminder of this article will focus on the non-avian dinosaurs.

==Morphology and Ecology==

Dinosaurs in popular culture have often been depicted as giant, lumbering, and cold-blooded beasts. In reality, the group was highly diverse with organisms ranging in size from 28cm ('Ashdown Maniraptor' - unknown species<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2003349/Smallest-dinosaur-amateur-fossil-hunter--kept-drawer-2-years.html Daily Mail report of the discovery of the Ashdown Maniraptor.]</ref>) to 60m in length (''Amphicoelias'' - rough estimate) and were dynamic, active animals. As a whole, dinosaurs were highly likely to have been warm-blooded. This is reflected in the development of feathers in the theropods (the bipedal, largely carnivorous dinosaurs) as insulators.

There are two basic 'types' of dinosaur:
* Saurischians including two major groups:
:* '''Theropods''' - Bipedal animals that were mostly carnivorous and contain some of the most well known dinosaurs (''Tyrannosaurs'' and ''Velociraptor''). They are generally considered to be the most intelligent group of dinosaurs and this is reflected by their relatively large brain cases. There is also evidence of complex social behavior similar to that of modern birds. This group includes the smallest dinosaur ever discovered and this lineage gave rise to aves (extant birds).
:* '''Sauropods''' - Quadrupedal animals that were almost certainly all herbivorous (however, some early Prosauropods were likely omnivorous). The group developed elongated necks and tails as well as columnar limbs to support their massive bulk. They had a large gut for processing tough plant material and were generally very large. This group includes the largest dinosaur ever discovered.<ref name=Dinosauria/>
* Ornithischians including four major groups:
:* '''Ankylosaurs''' - Heavily armored (extensive osteoderms), quadrupedal herbivores. Many species also had an associated bony club on the tail and/or shoulder spikes. They had exceptionally wide hips and large guts to digest plant matter.
:* '''Ceratopsians''' - Quadrupedal herbivores and omnivores that have distinctive head ornamentation. This often includes bony horns and neck crests. The neck crests may have been for defensive and/or display reasons. In some animals, the crests are simply a frame with large gaps that would have been filled with soft tissue. These would have provided little to no defense, but could have been filled with blood to give a vivid display. Another group that is closely related are the Pachycephalosaurs.
:* '''Ornithopodans''' - Bipedal herbivores that are often known as the 'duck billed dinosaurs'. Many of them did indeed have duck-like bills along with elaborate head crests. It is likely that the head crests were used for species recognition and sexual display.
:* '''Stegosaurians''' - Quadrupedal herbivores with relatively small heads and armor plating. They are most well known for the bony plates (osteoderms) that often run along their backs and the presence of tail spikes (thagomizers).<ref name=Dinosauria>D. B. Weishampel, P. Dodson, and H. Osmólska, (2004), ''The Dinosauria'', University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, California, Pp 861.</ref>

All dinosaurs are known to be terrestrial, with flight developing in theropods around the Middle Jurassic. There are no known marine dinosaurs, although trace fossil evidence proves that they could swim very well.

==Skin and Coloration==
[[File:Anchiornis huxleyi.jpg|thumb|right|Anchiornis huxleyi]]

Exceptional preservation is required to preserve anything other than bone and teeth. This is exceptionally rare, but, despite this, a large number of theropod dinosaurs have been discovered with extensive downy feathers covering their whole bodies. They also had have been shown to have long display feathers on the forelimbs, tail ends, backs of their heads, and the back of the hips (depending on the species). It is, however, becoming more apparent that possibly all theropod dinosaurs had feathers. Some ceratopsians have also been discovered with 'quill' like structures along their hides. It is now being considered that quill-like structures evolved in early archosaurs and that the 'fuzz' on pterosaurs is related to both the ceratopsian quills and the theropod feathers. Preserved skin samples of some ornithopods and sauropods suggest that they at least partially lost these features and had a tough scaly hide.

The color of dinosaurs has long been a heated debate. Until very recently, it was impossible to determine the actual colors of a dinosaur. However, a new technique has been developed to accurately determine the color of feathered dinosaurs. This has so far only been used to completely establish the colors of the dinosaur ''Anchiornis huxleyi''<ref>[http://news.nationalgeographic.co.uk/news/2010/01/100127-dinosaurs-color-feathers-science/o/ Article on ''Anchiornis huxleyi''.]</ref>. Since this technique can only be used on samples with exceptional preservation, there is still a wide scope for coloration among many groups of dinosaurs. Research is currently being done to color more species.

==Extinction==

Although the dinosaur lineage still exists today in birds, dinosaurs underwent a massive extinction event approximately 65.5 million years ago. Their diversity was greatly reduced, with the loss of all ornithischians, all sauropods, and most of the theropods. The extinction occurred at the end of the Late Cretaceous (also the end of the Mesozoic). The extinction event is commonly known as the KT event (K representing Cretaceous and T representing Tertiary, which has since been renamed as the Paleogene) and it greatly affected many other groups too. Pterosaurs, mosasaurs, pliosaurs, plesiosaurs, belemnites, ammonites, and many others were all wiped out and plantic forams, calcareous nanofossils, land plants, and rudist bivalves were all severely affected. The extinction even had little to no visible impact on the insect populations<ref name=VP>Benton, M. J. (2005), ''Vertebrate Paleontology'', 3rd ed. Blackwell Science Ltd, London, Pp 472.</ref>.

There is still heated debate about the actual cause of the extinction event(s). The paleontological community is roughly equally divided among it. Although there is a prominent iridium layer present at the KT boundary (strongly suggesting a bolide impact), the associated tsunami deposits that should be associated with it don't seem to be present at sites across the world where they should be and there is still no impact crater recorded of the right size '''with the right age'''<ref name=Gale>Peers Coms - Professor Andy Gale, Chairman of Stratigraphy Commission, Geological Society of London, http://www.port.ac.uk/departments/academic/sees/staff/title,63666,en.html</ref>. Many of the groups in question here were already in decline and there is also an associated volcanic event that occurred at the same time. This volcanic event is known as the Deccan Traps and undoubtedly would have had a significant impact on the planets climate and animals (as was shown with the Siberian Traps and the Permo-Triassic extinction). Research into the Deccan Traps is still ongoing. The currently accepted 'middle ground' is that it was probably a combination of events that lead to the final decline and extinction of these taxa.

==Dinosaurs In The Fandom==
[[File:1308260904.willow141 raptorrapto.png|thumb|'Pecky' the Troodon - Copyright willow141&Palaeofox]]
There are many dinosaur [[character]]s present within the [[furry fandom]] as a popular [[scalie]] choice. The majority of these tend to be theropod dinosaur characters and are almost always based on the Jurassic Park misrepresentation of a ''Velociraptor'' with some feathers and quills stuck on. They also tend to be described as [[cold-blooded]], due to a general misconception. Characters based on other species of dinosaurs are rare and complete [[fursona]]s based on them are even rarer. '[[Stokes]]' the ''Kentrosaurus'' from Hampshire, England is an example of a non-Velociraptorian fursona.

In an attempt to expand public ideas of dinosaur character creation, [[Palaeofox]] developed the character 'Pecky'. Pecky is a ''Troodon formosus'' and so is somewhat similar morphological to a ''Velociraptor'', but is more slender with a narrower snout and was probably an omnivore. His aim in developing this character was to allow furries to see that there are many different species of dinosaur they could base a character on, even if they specifically like the 'theropod look'.

==Literature ==

The name '''Sauron''', the main enemy from J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Ring" Trilogy comes from the greek word for lizard '''saur'''.

''Jurassic Park'', is a book about an island where actual dinosaurs are created. As expected, things go a bit wrong and the dinosaurs escape out of their pens. They then wreak havoc on the various people who are in the park at the time. A total of three movies were made from the franchise.

The ''Dinotopia'' books feature [[human]]s living alongside dinosaurs in harmony on an isolated island, surrounded by a large storm over a reef that prevents contact with the outside world. The majority of the dinosaurs within the story are sentient and able to talk. This is due to magical glowing stones that keep order in their world. Dinotopia was also made into a TV miniseries.

==Movies==
[[The Land Before Time]] (1988) is an animated film, featuring a cast of entirely [[anthropomorphic]] dinosaurs. It is the story of a group of hatchling herbivorous dinosaurs that are isolated from their parents in a dangerous and dying world. They set out on an adventure to find 'The Great Valley', where they will be reunited with their parents. The success of this movie spawned an astounding 12 more movies in which they have various adventures within The Great Valley itself.

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.dinosaurfact.net Dinosaurs]
*[http://fan.geekish.net/dinosaurs/ Dinosaur Fanlisting]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaur Wikipedia article on Dinosaur]
*[http://www.dinosauria.com/ Dinosauria On-Line]

[[Category:Dinosaur species]]

[[ru:Динозавры]]

Dinosaur

2011-07-05T18:11:36Z

Palaeofox:

[[Image:Deinonychus Portrait by Ferahgo the Assassin.jpg|right|thumb|[[Ferahgo]]'s Deinonychus character, Ixerin]]A '''dinosaur''' ('''dino''' for short) is a prehistoric form of [[animal]]. It is from the greek meaning "terrible lizard" and was coined in 1842 by Richard Owen. Dinosaurs arose in the Early Triassic from archosaurs (a division including dinosaurs, crocodilians, pterosaurs, and many other less well known groups) and the dinosaur lineage survives today in modern birds. The group underwent a dramatic reduction in diversity during the Cretaceous–Paleogene (KT Event) extinction event(s)<ref>[[Wikipedia:Dinosaur|Wiki - Dinosaurs]]</ref>. During this time, the 'non-avian' dinosaurs became extinct, which are considered by most laymen to be 'dinosaurs'. For simplicity, the reminder of this article will focus on the non-avian dinosaurs.

==Morphology and Ecology==

Dinosaurs in popular culture have often been depicted as giant, lumbering, and cold-blooded beasts. In reality, the group was highly diverse with organisms ranging in size from 28cm ('Ashdown Maniraptor' - unknown species<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2003349/Smallest-dinosaur-amateur-fossil-hunter--kept-drawer-2-years.html Daily Mail report of the discovery of the Ashdown Maniraptor.]</ref>) to 60m in length (''Amphicoelias'' - rough estimate) and were dynamic, active animals. As a whole, dinosaurs were highly likely to have been warm-blooded. This is reflected in the development of feathers in the theropods (the bipedal, largely carnivorous dinosaurs) as insulators.

There are two basic 'types' of dinosaur:
* Saurischians including two major groups:
:* '''Theropods''' - Bipedal animals that were mostly carnivorous and contain some of the most well known dinosaurs (''Tyrannosaurs'' and ''Velociraptor''). They are generally considered to be the most intelligent group of dinosaurs and this is reflected by their relatively large brain cases. There is also evidence of complex social behavior similar to that of modern birds. This group includes the smallest dinosaur ever discovered and this lineage gave rise to aves (extant birds).
:* '''Sauropods''' - Quadrupedal animals that were almost certainly all herbivorous (however, some early Prosauropods were likely omnivorous). The group developed elongated necks and tails as well as columnar limbs to support their massive bulk. They had a large gut for processing tough plant material and were generally very large. This group includes the largest dinosaur ever discovered.<ref name=Dinosauria/>
* Ornithischians including four major groups:
:* '''Ankylosaurs''' - Heavily armored (extensive osteoderms), quadrupedal herbivores. Many species also had an associated bony club on the tail and/or shoulder spikes. They had exceptionally wide hips and large guts to digest plant matter.
:* '''Ceratopsians''' - Quadrupedal herbivores and omnivores that have distinctive head ornamentation. This often includes bony horns and neck crests. The neck crests may have been for defensive and/or display reasons. In some animals, the crests are simply a frame with large gaps that would have been filled with soft tissue. These would have provided little to no defense, but could have been filled with blood to give a vivid display. Another group that is closely related are the Pachycephalosaurs.
:* '''Ornithopodans''' - Bipedal herbivores that are often known as the 'duck billed dinosaurs'. Many of them did indeed have duck-like bills along with elaborate head crests. It is likely that the head crests were used for species recognition and sexual display.
:* '''Stegosaurians''' - Quadrupedal herbivores with relatively small heads and armor plating. They are most well known for the bony plates (osteoderms) that often run along their backs and the presence of tail spikes (thagomizers).<ref name=Dinosauria>D. B. Weishampel, P. Dodson, and H. Osmólska, 2004, ''The Dinosauria'', University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, California, Pp 861.</ref>

All dinosaurs are known to be terrestrial, with flight developing in theropods around the Middle Jurassic. There are no known marine dinosaurs, although trace fossil evidence proves that they could swim very well.

==Skin and Coloration==
[[File:Anchiornis huxleyi.jpg|thumb|right|Anchiornis huxleyi]]

Exceptional preservation is required to preserve anything other than bone and teeth. This is exceptionally rare, but, despite this, a large number of theropod dinosaurs have been discovered with extensive downy feathers covering their whole bodies. They also had have been shown to have long display feathers on the forelimbs, tail ends, backs of their heads, and the back of the hips (depending on the species). It is, however, becoming more apparent that possibly all theropod dinosaurs had feathers. Some ceratopsians have also been discovered with 'quill' like structures along their hides. It is now being considered that quill-like structures evolved in early archosaurs and that the 'fuzz' on pterosaurs is related to both the ceratopsian quills and the theropod feathers. Preserved skin samples of some ornithopods and sauropods suggest that they at least partially lost these features and had a tough scaly hide.

The color of dinosaurs has long been a heated debate. Until very recently, it was impossible to determine the actual colors of a dinosaur. However, a new technique has been developed to accurately determine the color of feathered dinosaurs. This has so far only been used to completely establish the colors of the dinosaur ''Anchiornis huxleyi''<ref>[http://news.nationalgeographic.co.uk/news/2010/01/100127-dinosaurs-color-feathers-science/o/ Article on ''Anchiornis huxleyi''.]</ref>. Since this technique can only be used on samples with exceptional preservation, there is still a wide scope for coloration among many groups of dinosaurs. Research is currently being done to color more species.

==Extinction==

Although the dinosaur lineage still exists today in birds, dinosaurs underwent a massive extinction event approximately 65.5 million years ago. Their diversity was greatly reduced, with the loss of all ornithischians, all sauropods, and most of the theropods. The extinction occurred at the end of the Late Cretaceous (also the end of the Mesozoic). The extinction event is commonly known as the KT event (K representing Cretaceous and T representing Tertiary, which has since been renamed as the Paleogene) and it greatly affected many other groups too. Pterosaurs, mosasaurs, pliosaurs, plesiosaurs, belemnites, ammonites, and many others were all wiped out and plantic forams, calcareous nanofossils, land plants, and rudist bivalves were all severely affected. The extinction even had little to no visible impact on the insect populations<ref name=VP>Benton, M. J. (2005), ''Vertebrate Paleontology'', 3rd ed. Blackwell Science Ltd, London, Pp 472.</ref>.

There is still heated debate about the actual cause of the extinction event(s). The paleontological community is roughly equally divided among it. Although there is a prominent iridium layer present at the KT boundary (strongly suggesting a bolide impact), the associated tsunami deposits that should be associated with it don't seem to be present at sites across the world where they should be and there is still no impact crater recorded of the right size '''with the right age'''<ref name=Gale>Peers Coms - Professor Andy Gale, Chairman of Stratigraphy Commission, Geological Society of London, http://www.port.ac.uk/departments/academic/sees/staff/title,63666,en.html</ref>. Many of the groups in question here were already in decline and there is also an associated volcanic event that occurred at the same time. This volcanic event is known as the Deccan Traps and undoubtedly would have had a significant impact on the planets climate and animals (as was shown with the Siberian Traps and the Permo-Triassic extinction). Research into the Deccan Traps is still ongoing. The currently accepted 'middle ground' is that it was probably a combination of events that lead to the final decline and extinction of these taxa.

==Dinosaurs In The Fandom==
[[File:1308260904.willow141 raptorrapto.png|thumb|'Pecky' the Troodon - Copyright willow141&Palaeofox]]
There are many dinosaur [[character]]s present within the [[furry fandom]] as a popular [[scalie]] choice. The majority of these tend to be theropod dinosaur characters and are almost always based on the Jurassic Park misrepresentation of a ''Velociraptor'' with some feathers and quills stuck on. They also tend to be described as [[cold-blooded]], due to a general misconception. Characters based on other species of dinosaurs are rare and complete [[fursona]]s based on them are even rarer. '[[Stokes]]' the ''Kentrosaurus'' from Hampshire, England is an example of a non-Velociraptorian fursona.

In an attempt to expand public ideas of dinosaur character creation, [[Palaeofox]] developed the character 'Pecky'. Pecky is a ''Troodon formosus'' and so is somewhat similar morphological to a ''Velociraptor'', but is more slender with a narrower snout and was probably an omnivore. His aim in developing this character was to allow furries to see that there are many different species of dinosaur they could base a character on, even if they specifically like the 'theropod look'.

==Literature ==

The name '''Sauron''', the main enemy from J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Ring" Trilogy comes from the greek word for lizard '''saur'''.

''Jurassic Park'', is a book about an island where actual dinosaurs are created. As expected, things go a bit wrong and the dinosaurs escape out of their pens. They then wreak havoc on the various people who are in the park at the time. A total of three movies were made from the franchise.

The ''Dinotopia'' books feature [[human]]s living alongside dinosaurs in harmony on an isolated island, surrounded by a large storm over a reef that prevents contact with the outside world. The majority of the dinosaurs within the story are sentient and able to talk. This is due to magical glowing stones that keep order in their world. Dinotopia was also made into a TV miniseries.

==Movies==
[[The Land Before Time]] (1988) is an animated film, featuring a cast of entirely [[anthropomorphic]] dinosaurs. It is the story of a group of hatchling herbivorous dinosaurs that are isolated from their parents in a dangerous and dying world. They set out on an adventure to find 'The Great Valley', where they will be reunited with their parents. The success of this movie spawned an astounding 12 more movies in which they have various adventures within The Great Valley itself.

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.dinosaurfact.net Dinosaurs]
*[http://fan.geekish.net/dinosaurs/ Dinosaur Fanlisting]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaur Wikipedia article on Dinosaur]
*[http://www.dinosauria.com/ Dinosauria On-Line]

[[Category:Dinosaur species]]

[[ru:Динозавры]]

Dinosaur

2011-07-05T18:11:13Z

Palaeofox:

{{Unreferenced}}
[[Image:Deinonychus Portrait by Ferahgo the Assassin.jpg|right|thumb|[[Ferahgo]]'s Deinonychus character, Ixerin]]A '''dinosaur''' ('''dino''' for short) is a prehistoric form of [[animal]]. It is from the greek meaning "terrible lizard" and was coined in 1842 by Richard Owen. Dinosaurs arose in the Early Triassic from archosaurs (a division including dinosaurs, crocodilians, pterosaurs, and many other less well known groups) and the dinosaur lineage survives today in modern birds. The group underwent a dramatic reduction in diversity during the Cretaceous–Paleogene (KT Event) extinction event(s)<ref>[[Wikipedia:Dinosaur|Wiki - Dinosaurs]]</ref>. During this time, the 'non-avian' dinosaurs became extinct, which are considered by most laymen to be 'dinosaurs'. For simplicity, the reminder of this article will focus on the non-avian dinosaurs.

==Morphology and Ecology==

Dinosaurs in popular culture have often been depicted as giant, lumbering, and cold-blooded beasts. In reality, the group was highly diverse with organisms ranging in size from 28cm ('Ashdown Maniraptor' - unknown species<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2003349/Smallest-dinosaur-amateur-fossil-hunter--kept-drawer-2-years.html Daily Mail report of the discovery of the Ashdown Maniraptor.]</ref>) to 60m in length (''Amphicoelias'' - rough estimate) and were dynamic, active animals. As a whole, dinosaurs were highly likely to have been warm-blooded. This is reflected in the development of feathers in the theropods (the bipedal, largely carnivorous dinosaurs) as insulators.

There are two basic 'types' of dinosaur:
* Saurischians including two major groups:
:* '''Theropods''' - Bipedal animals that were mostly carnivorous and contain some of the most well known dinosaurs (''Tyrannosaurs'' and ''Velociraptor''). They are generally considered to be the most intelligent group of dinosaurs and this is reflected by their relatively large brain cases. There is also evidence of complex social behavior similar to that of modern birds. This group includes the smallest dinosaur ever discovered and this lineage gave rise to aves (extant birds).
:* '''Sauropods''' - Quadrupedal animals that were almost certainly all herbivorous (however, some early Prosauropods were likely omnivorous). The group developed elongated necks and tails as well as columnar limbs to support their massive bulk. They had a large gut for processing tough plant material and were generally very large. This group includes the largest dinosaur ever discovered.<ref name=Dinosauria/>
* Ornithischians including four major groups:
:* '''Ankylosaurs''' - Heavily armored (extensive osteoderms), quadrupedal herbivores. Many species also had an associated bony club on the tail and/or shoulder spikes. They had exceptionally wide hips and large guts to digest plant matter.
:* '''Ceratopsians''' - Quadrupedal herbivores and omnivores that have distinctive head ornamentation. This often includes bony horns and neck crests. The neck crests may have been for defensive and/or display reasons. In some animals, the crests are simply a frame with large gaps that would have been filled with soft tissue. These would have provided little to no defense, but could have been filled with blood to give a vivid display. Another group that is closely related are the Pachycephalosaurs.
:* '''Ornithopodans''' - Bipedal herbivores that are often known as the 'duck billed dinosaurs'. Many of them did indeed have duck-like bills along with elaborate head crests. It is likely that the head crests were used for species recognition and sexual display.
:* '''Stegosaurians''' - Quadrupedal herbivores with relatively small heads and armor plating. They are most well known for the bony plates (osteoderms) that often run along their backs and the presence of tail spikes (thagomizers).<ref name=Dinosauria>D. B. Weishampel, P. Dodson, and H. Osmólska, 2004, ''The Dinosauria'', University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, California, Pp 861.</ref>

All dinosaurs are known to be terrestrial, with flight developing in theropods around the Middle Jurassic. There are no known marine dinosaurs, although trace fossil evidence proves that they could swim very well.

==Skin and Coloration==
[[File:Anchiornis huxleyi.jpg|thumb|right|Anchiornis huxleyi]]

Exceptional preservation is required to preserve anything other than bone and teeth. This is exceptionally rare, but, despite this, a large number of theropod dinosaurs have been discovered with extensive downy feathers covering their whole bodies. They also had have been shown to have long display feathers on the forelimbs, tail ends, backs of their heads, and the back of the hips (depending on the species). It is, however, becoming more apparent that possibly all theropod dinosaurs had feathers. Some ceratopsians have also been discovered with 'quill' like structures along their hides. It is now being considered that quill-like structures evolved in early archosaurs and that the 'fuzz' on pterosaurs is related to both the ceratopsian quills and the theropod feathers. Preserved skin samples of some ornithopods and sauropods suggest that they at least partially lost these features and had a tough scaly hide.

The color of dinosaurs has long been a heated debate. Until very recently, it was impossible to determine the actual colors of a dinosaur. However, a new technique has been developed to accurately determine the color of feathered dinosaurs. This has so far only been used to completely establish the colors of the dinosaur ''Anchiornis huxleyi''<ref>[http://news.nationalgeographic.co.uk/news/2010/01/100127-dinosaurs-color-feathers-science/o/ Article on ''Anchiornis huxleyi''.]</ref>. Since this technique can only be used on samples with exceptional preservation, there is still a wide scope for coloration among many groups of dinosaurs. Research is currently being done to color more species.

==Extinction==

Although the dinosaur lineage still exists today in birds, dinosaurs underwent a massive extinction event approximately 65.5 million years ago. Their diversity was greatly reduced, with the loss of all ornithischians, all sauropods, and most of the theropods. The extinction occurred at the end of the Late Cretaceous (also the end of the Mesozoic). The extinction event is commonly known as the KT event (K representing Cretaceous and T representing Tertiary, which has since been renamed as the Paleogene) and it greatly affected many other groups too. Pterosaurs, mosasaurs, pliosaurs, plesiosaurs, belemnites, ammonites, and many others were all wiped out and plantic forams, calcareous nanofossils, land plants, and rudist bivalves were all severely affected. The extinction even had little to no visible impact on the insect populations<ref name=VP>Benton, M. J. (2005), ''Vertebrate Paleontology'', 3rd ed. Blackwell Science Ltd, London, Pp 472.</ref>.

There is still heated debate about the actual cause of the extinction event(s). The paleontological community is roughly equally divided among it. Although there is a prominent iridium layer present at the KT boundary (strongly suggesting a bolide impact), the associated tsunami deposits that should be associated with it don't seem to be present at sites across the world where they should be and there is still no impact crater recorded of the right size '''with the right age'''<ref name=Gale>Peers Coms - Professor Andy Gale, Chairman of Stratigraphy Commission, Geological Society of London, http://www.port.ac.uk/departments/academic/sees/staff/title,63666,en.html</ref>. Many of the groups in question here were already in decline and there is also an associated volcanic event that occurred at the same time. This volcanic event is known as the Deccan Traps and undoubtedly would have had a significant impact on the planets climate and animals (as was shown with the Siberian Traps and the Permo-Triassic extinction). Research into the Deccan Traps is still ongoing. The currently accepted 'middle ground' is that it was probably a combination of events that lead to the final decline and extinction of these taxa.

==Dinosaurs In The Fandom==
[[File:1308260904.willow141 raptorrapto.png|thumb|'Pecky' the Troodon - Copyright willow141&Palaeofox]]
There are many dinosaur [[character]]s present within the [[furry fandom]] as a popular [[scalie]] choice. The majority of these tend to be theropod dinosaur characters and are almost always based on the Jurassic Park misrepresentation of a ''Velociraptor'' with some feathers and quills stuck on. They also tend to be described as [[cold-blooded]], due to a general misconception. Characters based on other species of dinosaurs are rare and complete [[fursona]]s based on them are even rarer. '[[Stokes]]' the ''Kentrosaurus'' from Hampshire, England is an example of a non-Velociraptorian fursona.

In an attempt to expand public ideas of dinosaur character creation, [[Palaeofox]] developed the character 'Pecky'. Pecky is a ''Troodon formosus'' and so is somewhat similar morphological to a ''Velociraptor'', but is more slender with a narrower snout and was probably an omnivore. His aim in developing this character was to allow furries to see that there are many different species of dinosaur they could base a character on, even if they specifically like the 'theropod look'.

==Literature ==

The name '''Sauron''', the main enemy from J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Ring" Trilogy comes from the greek word for lizard '''saur'''.

''Jurassic Park'', is a book about an island where actual dinosaurs are created. As expected, things go a bit wrong and the dinosaurs escape out of their pens. They then wreak havoc on the various people who are in the park at the time. A total of three movies were made from the franchise.

The ''Dinotopia'' books feature [[human]]s living alongside dinosaurs in harmony on an isolated island, surrounded by a large storm over a reef that prevents contact with the outside world. The majority of the dinosaurs within the story are sentient and able to talk. This is due to magical glowing stones that keep order in their world. Dinotopia was also made into a TV miniseries.

==Movies==
[[The Land Before Time]] (1988) is an animated film, featuring a cast of entirely [[anthropomorphic]] dinosaurs. It is the story of a group of hatchling herbivorous dinosaurs that are isolated from their parents in a dangerous and dying world. They set out on an adventure to find 'The Great Valley', where they will be reunited with their parents. The success of this movie spawned an astounding 12 more movies in which they have various adventures within The Great Valley itself.

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.dinosaurfact.net Dinosaurs]
*[http://fan.geekish.net/dinosaurs/ Dinosaur Fanlisting]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaur Wikipedia article on Dinosaur]
*[http://www.dinosauria.com/ Dinosauria On-Line]

[[Category:Dinosaur species]]

[[ru:Динозавры]]

Dinosaur

2011-07-05T17:44:18Z

Palaeofox:

{{Unreferenced}}
[[Image:Deinonychus Portrait by Ferahgo the Assassin.jpg|right|thumb|[[Ferahgo]]'s Deinonychus character, Ixerin]]A '''dinosaur''' ('''dino''' for short) is a prehistoric form of [[animal]]. It is from the greek meaning "terrible lizard" and was coined in 1842 by Richard Owen. Dinosaurs arose in the Early Triassic from archosaurs (a division including dinosaurs, crocodilians, pterosaurs, and many other less well known groups) and the dinosaur lineage survives today in modern birds. The group underwent a dramatic reduction in diversity during the Cretaceous–Paleogene (KT Event) extinction event(s). During this time, the 'non-avian' dinosaurs became extinct, which are considered by most laymen to be 'dinosaurs'. For simplicity, the reminder of this article will focus on the non-avian dinosaurs.

==Morphology and Ecology==

Dinosaurs in popular culture have often been depicted as giant, lumbering, and cold-blooded beasts. In reality, the group was highly diverse with organisms ranging in size from 28cm ('Ashdown Maniraptor' - unknown species) to 60m in length (''Amphicoelias'' - rough estimate) and were dynamic, active animals. As a whole, dinosaurs were highly likely to have been warm-blooded. This is reflected in the development of feathers in the theropods (the bipedal, largely carnivorous dinosaurs) as insulators.

There are two basic 'types' of dinosaur:
* Saurischians including two major groups:
:* '''Theropods''' - Bipedal animals that were mostly carnivorous and contain some of the most well known dinosaurs (''Tyrannosaurs'' and ''Velociraptor''). They are generally considered to be the most intelligent group of dinosaurs and this is reflected by their relatively large brain cases. There is also evidence of complex social behavior similar to that of modern birds. This group includes the smallest dinosaur ever discovered and this lineage gave rise to aves (extant birds).
:* '''Sauropods''' - Quadrupedal animals that were almost certainly all herbivorous (however, some early Prosauropods were likely omnivorous). The group developed elongated necks and tails as well as columnar limbs to support their massive bulk. They had a large gut for processing tough plant material and were generally very large. This group includes the largest dinosaur ever discovered.
* Ornithischians including four major groups:
:* '''Ankylosaurs''' - Heavily armored (extensive osteoderms), quadrupedal herbivores. Many species also had an associated bony club on the tail and/or shoulder spikes. They had exceptionally wide hips and large guts to digest plant matter.
:* '''Ceratopsians''' - Quadrupedal herbivores and omnivores that have distinctive head ornamentation. This often includes bony horns and neck crests. The neck crests may have been for defensive and/or display reasons. In some animals, the crests are simply a frame with large gaps that would have been filled with soft tissue. These would have provided little to no defense, but could have been filled with blood to give a vivid display. Another group that is closely related are the Pachycephalosaurs.
:* '''Ornithopodans''' - Bipedal herbivores that are often known as the 'duck billed dinosaurs'. Many of them did indeed have duck-like bills along with elaborate head crests. It is likely that the head crests were used for species recognition and sexual display.
:* '''Stegosaurians''' - Quadrupedal herbivores with relatively small heads and armor plating. They are most well known for the bony plates (osteoderms) that often run along their backs and the presence of tail spikes (thagomizers).

All dinosaurs are known to be terrestrial, with flight developing in theropods around the Middle Jurassic. There are no known marine dinosaurs, although trace fossil evidence proves that they could swim very well.

==Skin and Coloration==
[[File:Anchiornis huxleyi.jpg|thumb|right|Anchiornis huxleyi]]

Exceptional preservation is required to preserve anything other than bone and teeth. This is exceptionally rare, but, despite this, a large number of theropod dinosaurs have been discovered with extensive downy feathers covering their whole bodies. They also had have been shown to have long display feathers on the forelimbs, tail ends, backs of their heads, and the back of the hips (depending on the species). It is, however, becoming more apparent that possibly all theropod dinosaurs had feathers. Some ceratopsians have also been discovered with 'quill' like structures along their hides. It is now being considered that quill-like structures evolved in early archosaurs and that the 'fuzz' on pterosaurs is related to both the ceratopsian quills and the theropod feathers. Preserved skin samples of some ornithopods and sauropods suggest that they at least partially lost these features and had a tough scaly hide.

The color of dinosaurs has long been a heated debate. Until very recently, it was impossible to determine the actual colors of a dinosaur. However, a new technique has been developed to accurately determine the color of feathered dinosaurs. This has so far only been used to completely establish the colors of the dinosaur ''Anchiornis huxleyi''. Since this technique can only be used on samples with exceptional preservation, there is still a wide scope for coloration among many groups of dinosaurs. Research is currently being done to color more species.

[http://news.nationalgeographic.co.uk/news/2010/01/100127-dinosaurs-color-feathers-science/o/ Article on Anchiornis huxleyi.]

==Extinction==

Although the dinosaur lineage still exists today in birds, dinosaurs underwent a massive extinction event approximately 65.5 million years ago. Their diversity was greatly reduced, with the loss of all ornithischians, all sauropods, and most of the theropods. The extinction occurred at the end of the Late Cretaceous (also the end of the Mesozoic). The extinction event is commonly known as the KT event (K representing Cretaceous and T representing Tertiary, which has since been renamed as the Paleogene) and it greatly affected many other groups too. Pterosaurs, mosasaurs, pliosaurs, plesiosaurs, belemnites, ammonites, and many others were all wiped out and plantic forams, calcareous nanofossils, land plants, and rudist bivalves were all severely affected. The extinction even had little to no visible impact on the insect populations.

There is still heated debate about the actual cause of the extinction event(s). The paleontological community is roughly equally divided among it. Although there is a prominent iridium layer present at the KT boundary (strongly suggesting a bolide impact), the associated tsunami deposits that should be associated with it don't seem to be present at sites across the world where they should be and there is still no impact crater recorded of the right size '''with the right age'''<ref>Peers Coms - Professor Andy Gale, Chairman of Stratigraphy Commission, Geological Society of London, http://www.port.ac.uk/departments/academic/sees/staff/title,63666,en.html</ref>. Many of the groups in question here were already in decline and there is also an associated volcanic event that occurred at the same time. This volcanic event is known as the Deccan Traps and undoubtedly would have had a significant impact on the planets climate and animals (as was shown with the Siberian Traps and the Permo-Triassic extinction). Research into the Deccan Traps is still ongoing. The currently accepted 'middle ground' is that it was probably a combination of events that lead to the final decline and extinction of these taxa.

==Dinosaurs In The Fandom==
[[File:1308260904.willow141 raptorrapto.png|thumb|'Pecky' the Troodon - Copyright willow141&Palaeofox]]
There are many dinosaur [[character]]s present within the [[furry fandom]] as a popular [[scalie]] choice. The majority of these tend to be theropod dinosaur characters and are almost always based on the Jurassic Park misrepresentation of a ''Velociraptor'' with some feathers and quills stuck on. They also tend to be described as [[cold-blooded]], due to a general misconception. Characters based on other species of dinosaurs are rare and complete [[fursona]]s based on them are even rarer. '[[Stokes]]' the ''Kentrosaurus'' from Hampshire, England is an example of a non-Velociraptorian fursona.

In an attempt to expand public ideas of dinosaur character creation, [[Palaeofox]] developed the character 'Pecky'. Pecky is a ''Troodon formosus'' and so is somewhat similar morphological to a ''Velociraptor'', but is more slender with a narrower snout and was probably an omnivore. His aim in developing this character was to allow furries to see that there are many different species of dinosaur they could base a character on, even if they specifically like the 'theropod look'.

==Literature ==

The name '''Sauron''', the main enemy from J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Ring" Trilogy comes from the greek word for lizard '''saur'''.

''Jurassic Park'', is a book about an island where actual dinosaurs are created. As expected, things go a bit wrong and the dinosaurs escape out of their pens. They then wreak havoc on the various people who are in the park at the time. A total of three movies were made from the franchise.

The ''Dinotopia'' books feature [[human]]s living alongside dinosaurs in harmony on an isolated island, surrounded by a large storm over a reef that prevents contact with the outside world. The majority of the dinosaurs within the story are sentient and able to talk. This is due to magical glowing stones that keep order in their world. Dinotopia was also made into a TV miniseries.

==Movies==
[[The Land Before Time]] (1988) is an animated film, featuring a cast of entirely [[anthropomorphic]] dinosaurs. It is the story of a group of hatchling herbivorous dinosaurs that are isolated from their parents in a dangerous and dying world. They set out on an adventure to find 'The Great Valley', where they will be reunited with their parents. The success of this movie spawned an astounding 12 more movies in which they have various adventures within The Great Valley itself.

==External links==
*[http://www.dinosaurfact.net Dinosaurs]
*[http://fan.geekish.net/dinosaurs/ Dinosaur Fanlisting]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaur Wikipedia article on Dinosaur]
*[http://www.dinosauria.com/ Dinosauria On-Line]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Dinosaur species]]

[[ru:Динозавры]]

Talk:Dinosaur

2011-07-05T17:12:30Z

Palaeofox:

Talk:Dinosaur

2011-07-05T17:11:46Z

Palaeofox:

Dinosaur

2011-07-05T16:39:20Z

Palaeofox:

{{Unreferenced}}
[[Image:Deinonychus Portrait by Ferahgo the Assassin.jpg|right|thumb|[[Ferahgo]]'s Deinonychus character, Ixerin]]A '''dinosaur''' ('''dino''' for short) is a prehistoric form of [[animal]]. It is from the greek meaning "terrible lizard" and was coined in 1842 by Richard Owen. Dinosaurs arose in the Early Triassic from archosaurs (a division including dinosaurs, crocodilians, pterosaurs, and many other less well known groups) and the dinosaur lineage survives today in modern birds. The group underwent a dramatic reduction in diversity during the Cretaceous–Paleogene (KT Event) extinction event(s). During this time, the 'non-avian' dinosaurs became extinct, which are considered by most laymen to be 'dinosaurs'. For simplicity, the reminder of this article will focus on the non-avian dinosaurs.

==Morphology and Ecology==

Dinosaurs in popular culture have often been depicted as giant, lumbering, and cold-blooded beasts. In reality, the group was highly diverse with organisms ranging in size from 28cm ('Ashdown Maniraptor' - unknown species) to 60m in length (''Amphicoelias'' - rough estimate) and were dynamic, active animals. As a whole, dinosaurs were highly likely to have been warm-blooded. This is reflected in the development of feathers in the theropods (the bipedal, largely carnivorous dinosaurs) as insulators.

There are two basic 'types' of dinosaur:
* Saurischians including two major groups:
:* '''Theropods''' - Bipedal animals that were mostly carnivorous and contain some of the most well known dinosaurs (''Tyrannosaurs'' and ''Velociraptor''). They are generally considered to be the most intelligent group of dinosaurs and this is reflected by their relatively large brain cases. There is also evidence of complex social behavior similar to that of modern birds. This group includes the smallest dinosaur ever discovered and this lineage gave rise to aves (extant birds).
:* '''Sauropods''' - Quadrupedal animals that were almost certainly all herbivorous (however, some early Prosauropods were likely omnivorous). The group developed elongated necks and tails as well as columnar limbs to support their massive bulk. They had a large gut for processing tough plant material and were generally very large. This group includes the largest dinosaur ever discovered.
* Ornithischians including four major groups:
:* '''Ankylosaurs''' - Heavily armored (extensive osteoderms), quadrupedal herbivores. Many species also had an associated bony club on the tail and/or shoulder spikes. They had exceptionally wide hips and large guts to digest plant matter.
:* '''Ceratopsians''' - Quadrupedal herbivores and omnivores that have distinctive head ornamentation. This often includes bony horns and neck crests. The neck crests may have been for defensive and/or display reasons. In some animals, the crests are simply a frame with large gaps that would have been filled with soft tissue. These would have provided little to no defense, but could have been filled with blood to give a vivid display. Another group that is closely related are the Pachycephalosaurs.
:* '''Ornithopodans''' - Bipedal herbivores that are often known as the 'duck billed dinosaurs'. Many of them did indeed have duck-like bills along with elaborate head crests. It is likely that the head crests were used for species recognition and sexual display.
:* '''Stegosaurians''' - Quadrupedal herbivores with relatively small heads and armor plating. They are most well known for the bony plates (osteoderms) that often run along their backs and the presence of tail spikes (thagomizers).

All dinosaurs are known to be terrestrial, with flight developing in theropods around the Middle Jurassic. There are no known marine dinosaurs, although trace fossil evidence proves that they could swim very well.

==Skin and Coloration==
[[File:Anchiornis huxleyi.jpg|thumb|right|Anchiornis huxleyi]]

Exceptional preservation is required to preserve anything other than bone and teeth. This is exceptionally rare, but, despite this, a large number of theropod dinosaurs have been discovered with extensive downy feathers covering their whole bodies. They also had have been shown to have long display feathers on the forelimbs, tail ends, backs of their heads, and the back of the hips (depending on the species). It is, however, becoming more apparent that possibly all theropod dinosaurs had feathers. Some ceratopsians have also been discovered with 'quill' like structures along their hides. It is now being considered that quill-like structures evolved in early archosaurs and that the 'fuzz' on pterosaurs is related to both the ceratopsian quills and the theropod feathers. Preserved skin samples of some ornithopods and sauropods suggest that they at least partially lost these features and had a tough scaly hide.

The color of dinosaurs has long been a heated debate. Until very recently, it was impossible to determine the actual colors of a dinosaur. However, a new technique has been developed to accurately determine the color of feathered dinosaurs. This has so far only been used to completely establish the colors of the dinosaur ''Anchiornis huxleyi''. Since this technique can only be used on samples with exceptional preservation, there is still a wide scope for coloration among many groups of dinosaurs. Research is currently being done to color more species.

[http://news.nationalgeographic.co.uk/news/2010/01/100127-dinosaurs-color-feathers-science/o/ Article on Anchiornis huxleyi.]

==Extinction==

Although the dinosaur lineage still exists today in birds, dinosaurs underwent a massive extinction event approximately 65.5 million years ago. Their diversity was greatly reduced, with the loss of all ornithischians, all sauropods, and most of the theropods. The extinction occurred at the end of the Late Cretaceous (also the end of the Mesozoic). The extinction event is commonly known as the KT event (K representing Cretaceous and T representing Tertiary, which has since been renamed as the Paleogene) and it greatly affected many other groups too. Pterosaurs, mosasaurs, pliosaurs, plesiosaurs, belemnites, ammonites, and many others were all wiped out and plantic forams, calcareous nanofossils, land plants, and rudist bivalves were all severely affected. The extinction even had little to no visible impact on the insect populations.

There is still heated debate about the actual cause of the extinction event(s). The paleontological community is roughly equally divided among it. Although there is a prominent iridium layer present at the KT boundary (strongly suggesting a bolide impact), the associated tsunami deposits that should be associated with it don't seem to be present at sites across the world where they should be and there is still no impact crater recorded of the right size '''with the right age'''. Many of the groups in question here were already in decline and there is also an associated volcanic event that occurred at the same time. This volcanic event is known as the Deccan Traps and undoubtedly would have had a significant impact on the planets climate and animals (as was shown with the Siberian Traps and the Permo-Triassic extinction). Research into the Deccan Traps is still ongoing. The currently accepted 'middle ground' is that it was probably a combination of events that lead to the final decline and extinction of these taxa.

==Dinosaurs In The Fandom==
[[File:1308260904.willow141 raptorrapto.png|thumb|'Pecky' the Troodon - Copyright willow141&Palaeofox]]
There are many dinosaur [[character]]s present within the [[furry fandom]] as a popular [[scalie]] choice. The majority of these tend to be theropod dinosaur characters and are almost always based on the Jurassic Park misrepresentation of a ''Velociraptor'' with some feathers and quills stuck on. They also tend to be described as [[cold-blooded]], due to a general misconception. Characters based on other species of dinosaurs are rare and complete [[fursona]]s based on them are even rarer. '[[Stokes]]' the ''Kentrosaurus'' from Hampshire, England is an example of a non-Velociraptorian fursona.

In an attempt to expand public ideas of dinosaur character creation, [[Palaeofox]] developed the character 'Pecky'. Pecky is a ''Troodon formosus'' and so is somewhat similar morphological to a ''Velociraptor'', but is more slender with a narrower snout and was probably an omnivore. His aim in developing this character was to allow furries to see that there are many different species of dinosaur they could base a character on, even if they specifically like the 'theropod look'.

==Literature ==

The name '''Sauron''', the main enemy from J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Ring" Trilogy comes from the greek word for lizard '''saur'''.

''Jurassic Park'', is a book about an island where actual dinosaurs are created. As expected, things go a bit wrong and the dinosaurs escape out of their pens. They then wreak havoc on the various people who are in the park at the time. A total of three movies were made from the franchise.

The ''Dinotopia'' books feature [[human]]s living alongside dinosaurs in harmony on an isolated island, surrounded by a large storm over a reef that prevents contact with the outside world. The majority of the dinosaurs within the story are sentient and able to talk. This is due to magical glowing stones that keep order in their world. Dinotopia was also made into a TV miniseries.

==Movies==
[[The Land Before Time]] (1988) is an animated film, featuring a cast of entirely [[anthropomorphic]] dinosaurs. It is the story of a group of hatchling herbivorous dinosaurs that are isolated from their parents in a dangerous and dying world. They set out on an adventure to find 'The Great Valley', where they will be reunited with their parents. The success of this movie spawned an astounding 12 more movies in which they have various adventures within The Great Valley itself.

==External links==
*[http://www.dinosaurfact.net Dinosaurs]
*[http://fan.geekish.net/dinosaurs/ Dinosaur Fanlisting]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaur Wikipedia article on Dinosaur]
*[http://www.dinosauria.com/ Dinosauria On-Line]

[[Category:Dinosaur species]]

[[ru:Динозавры]]

Dinosaur

2011-07-05T16:31:53Z

Palaeofox:

{{Unreferenced}}
[[Image:Deinonychus Portrait by Ferahgo the Assassin.jpg|right|thumb|[[Ferahgo]]'s Deinonychus character, Ixerin]]A '''dinosaur''' ('''dino''' for short) is a prehistoric form of [[animal]]. It is from the greek meaning "terrible lizard" and was coined in 1842 by Richard Owen. Dinosaurs arose in the Early Triassic from archosaurs (a division including dinosaurs, crocodilians, pterosaurs, and many other less well known groups) and the dinosaur lineage survives today in modern birds. The group underwent a dramatic reduction in diversity during the Cretaceous–Paleogene (KT Event) extinction event(s). During this time, the 'non-avian' dinosaurs became extinct, which are considered by most laymen to be 'dinosaurs'. For simplicity, the reminder of this article will focus on the non-avian dinosaurs.

==Morphology and Ecology==

Dinosaurs in popular culture have often been depicted as giant, lumbering, and cold-blooded beasts. In reality, the group was highly diverse with organisms ranging in size from 28cm ('Ashdown Maniraptor' - unknown species) to 60m in length (''Amphicoelias'' - rough estimate) and were dynamic, active animals. As a whole, dinosaurs were highly likely to have been warm-blooded. This is reflected in the development of feathers in the theropods (the bipedal, largely carnivorous dinosaurs) as insulators.

There are two basic 'types' of dinosaur:
* Saurischians including two major groups:
:* '''Theropods''' - Bipedal animals that were mostly carnivorous and contain some of the most well known dinosaurs (''Tyrannosaurs'' and ''Velociraptor''). They are generally considered to be the most intelligent group of dinosaurs and this is reflected by their relatively large brain cases. There is also evidence of complex social behavior similar to that of modern birds. This group includes the smallest dinosaur ever discovered and this lineage gave rise to aves (extant birds).
:* '''Sauropods''' - Quadrupedal animals that were almost certainly all herbivorous (however, some early Prosauropods were likely omnivorous). The group developed elongated necks and tails as well as columnar limbs to support their massive bulk. They had a large gut for processing tough plant material and were generally very large. This group includes the largest dinosaur ever discovered.
* Ornithischians including four major groups:
:* '''Ankylosaurs''' - Heavily armored (extensive osteoderms), quadrupedal herbivores. Many species also had an associated bony club on the tail and/or shoulder spikes. They had exceptionally wide hips and large guts to digest plant matter.
:* '''Ceratopsians''' - Quadrupedal herbivores and omnivores that have distinctive head ornamentation. This often includes bony horns and neck crests. The neck crests may have been for defensive and/or display reasons. In some animals, the crests are simply a frame with large gaps that would have been filled with soft tissue. These would have provided little to no defense, but could have been filled with blood to give a vivid display. Another group that is closely related are the Pachycephalosaurs.
:* '''Ornithopodans''' - Bipedal herbivores that are often known as the 'duck billed dinosaurs'. Many of them did indeed have duck-like bills along with elaborate head crests. It is likely that the head crests were used for species recognition and sexual display.
:* '''Stegosaurians''' - Quadrupedal herbivores with relatively small heads and armor plating. They are most well known for the bony plates (osteoderms) that often run along their backs and the presence of tail spikes (thagomizers).

All dinosaurs are known to be terrestrial, with flight developing in theropods around the Middle Jurassic. There are no known marine dinosaurs, although trace fossil evidence proves that they could swim very well.

==Skin and Coloration==
[[File:Anchiornis huxleyi.jpg|thumb|right|Anchiornis huxleyi]]

Exceptional preservation is required to preserve anything other than bone and teeth. This is exceptionally rare, but, despite this, a large number of theropod dinosaurs have been discovered with extensive downy feathers covering their whole bodies. They also had have been shown to have long display feathers on the forelimbs, tail ends, backs of their heads, and the back of the hips (depending on the species). It is, however, becoming more apparent that possibly all theropod dinosaurs had feathers. Some ceratopsians have also been discovered with 'quill' like structures along their hides. It is now being considered that quill-like structures evolved in early archosaurs and that the 'fuzz' on pterosaurs is related to both the ceratopsian quills and the theropod feathers. Preserved skin samples of some ornithopods and sauropods suggest that they at least partially lost these features and had a tough scaly hide.

The color of dinosaurs has long been a heated debate. Until very recently, it was impossible to determine the actual colors of a dinosaur. However, a new technique has been developed to accurately determine the color of feathered dinosaurs. This has so far only been used to completely establish the colors of the dinosaur ''Anchiornis huxleyi''. Since this technique can only be used on samples with exceptional preservation, there is still a wide scope for coloration among many groups of dinosaurs. Research is currently being done to color more species.

[http://news.nationalgeographic.co.uk/news/2010/01/100127-dinosaurs-color-feathers-science/o/ Article on Anchiornis huxleyi.]

==Extinction==

Although the dinosaur lineage still exists today in birds, dinosaurs underwent a massive extinction event approximately 65.5 million years ago. Their diversity was greatly reduced, with the loss of all ornithischians, all sauropods, and most of the theropods. The extinction occurred at the end of the Late Cretaceous (also the end of the Mesozoic). The extinction event is commonly known as the KT event (K representing Cretaceous and T representing Tertiary, which has since been renamed as the Paleogene) and it greatly affected many other groups too. Pterosaurs, mosasaurs, pliosaurs, plesiosaurs, belemnites, ammonites, and many others were all wiped out and plantic forams, calcareous nanofossils, land plants, and rudist bivalves were all severely affected. The extinction even had little to no visible impact on the insect populations.

There is still heated debate about the actual cause of the extinction event(s). The paleontological community is roughly equally divided among it. Although there is a prominent iridium layer present at the KT boundary (strongly suggesting a bolide impact), the associated tsunami deposits that should be associated with it don't seem to be present at sites across the world where they should be and there is still no impact crater recorded of the right size '''with the right age'''. Many of the groups in question here were already in decline and there is also an associated volcanic event that occurred at the same time. This volcanic event is known as the Deccan Traps and undoubtedly would have had a significant impact on the planets climate and animals (as was shown with the Siberian Traps and the Permo-Triassic extinction). Research into the Deccan Traps is still ongoing. The currently accepted 'middle ground' is that it was probably a combination of events that lead to the final decline and extinction of these taxa.

==Dinosaurs In The Fandom==
[[File:1308260904.willow141 raptorrapto.png|thumb|'Pecky' the Troodon - Copyright willow141&Palaeofox]]
There are many dinosaur [[character]]s present within the [[furry fandom]] as a popular [[scalie]] choice. The majority of these tend to be theropod dinosaur characters and are almost always based on the Jurassic Park misrepresentation of a ''velociraptor'' with some feathers and quills stuck on. They also tend to be described as [[cold-blooded]], due to a general misconception. Characters based on other species of dinosaurs are rare and complete [[fursona]]s based on them are even rarer. [[Stokes]]' the ''Kentrosaurus'' from Hampshire, England is an example of a non-velociraptorian fursona.

In an attempt to expand public ideas of dinosaur character creation, [[Palaeofox]] developed the character 'Pecky'. Pecky is a ''Troodon formosus'' and so is somewhat similar morphological to a ''velociraptor'', but is more slender with a narrower snout and was probably an omnivore. His aim in developing this character was to allow furries to see that there are many different species of dinosaur they could base a character on, even if they specifically like the 'theropod look'.

==Literature ==

The name '''Sauron''', the main enemy from J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Ring" Trilogy comes from the greek word for lizard '''saur'''.

''Jurassic Park'', is a book about an island where actual dinosaurs are created. As expected, things go a bit wrong and the dinosaurs escape out of their pens. They then wreak havoc on the various people who are in the park at the time. A total of three movies were made from the franchise.

The ''Dinotopia'' books feature [[human]]s living alongside dinosaurs in harmony on an isolated island, surrounded by a large storm over a reef that prevents contact with the outside world. The majority of the dinosaurs within the story are sentient and able to talk. This is due to magical glowing stones that keep order in their world. Dinotopia was also made into a TV miniseries.

==Movies==
[[The Land Before Time]] (1988) is an animated film, featuring a cast of entirely [[anthropomorphic]] dinosaurs. It is the story of a group of hatchling herbivorous dinosaurs that are isolated from their parents in a dangerous and dying world. They set out on an adventure to find 'The Great Valley', where they will be reunited with their parents. The success of this movie spawned an astounding 12 more movies in which they have various adventures within The Great Valley itself.

==External links==
*[http://www.dinosaurfact.net Dinosaurs]
*[http://fan.geekish.net/dinosaurs/ Dinosaur Fanlisting]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaur Wikipedia article on Dinosaur]
*[http://www.dinosauria.com/ Dinosauria On-Line]

[[Category:Dinosaur species]]

[[ru:Динозавры]]

Dinosaur

2011-07-05T16:23:07Z

Palaeofox:

{{Unreferenced}}
[[Image:Deinonychus Portrait by Ferahgo the Assassin.jpg|right|thumb|[[Ferahgo]]'s Deinonychus character, Ixerin]]A '''dinosaur''' ('''dino''' for short) is a prehistoric form of [[animal]]. It is from the greek meaning "terrible lizard" and was coined in 1842 by Richard Owen. Dinosaurs arose in the Early Triassic from archosaurs (a division including dinosaurs, crocodilians, pterosaurs, and many other less well known groups) and the dinosaur lineage survives today in modern birds. The group underwent a dramatic reduction in diversity during the Cretaceous–Paleogene (KT Event) extinction event(s). During this time, the 'non-avian' dinosaurs became extinct, which are considered by most laymen to be 'dinosaurs'. For simplicity, the reminder of this article will focus on the non-avian dinosaurs.

==Morphology and Ecology==

Dinosaurs in popular culture have often been depicted as giant, lumbering, and cold-blooded beasts. In reality, the group was highly diverse with organisms ranging in size from 28cm ('Ashdown Maniraptor' - unknown species) to 60m in length (''Amphicoelias'' - rough estimate) and were dynamic, active animals. As a whole, dinosaurs were highly likely to have been warm-blooded. This is reflected in the development of feathers in the theropods (the bipedal, largely carnivorous dinosaurs) as insulators.

There are two basic 'types' of dinosaur:
* Saurischians including two major groups:
:* '''Theropods''' - Bipedal animals that were mostly carnivorous and contain some of the most well known dinosaurs (''Tyrannosaurs'' and ''Velociraptor''). They are generally considered to be the most intelligent group of dinosaurs and this is reflected by their relatively large brain cases. There is also evidence of complex social behavior similar to that of modern birds. This group includes the smallest dinosaur ever discovered and this lineage gave rise to aves (extant birds).
:* '''Sauropods''' - Quadrupedal animals that were almost certainly all herbivorous (however, some early Prosauropods were likely omnivorous). The group developed elongated necks and tails as well as columnar limbs to support their massive bulk. They had a large gut for processing tough plant material and were generally very large. This group includes the largest dinosaur ever discovered.
* Ornithischians including four major groups:
:* '''Ankylosaurs''' - Heavily armored (extensive osteoderms), quadrupedal herbivores. Many species also had an associated bony club on the tail and/or shoulder spikes. They had exceptionally wide hips and large guts to digest plant matter.
:* '''Ceratopsians''' - Quadrupedal herbivores and omnivores that have distinctive head ornamentation. This often includes bony horns and neck crests. The neck crests may have been for defensive and/or display reasons. In some animals, the crests are simply a frame with large gaps that would have been filled with soft tissue. These would have provided little to no defense, but could have been filled with blood to give a vivid display. Another group that is closely related are the Pachycephalosaurs.
:* '''Ornithopodans''' - Bipedal herbivores that are often known as the 'duck billed dinosaurs'. Many of them did indeed have duck-like bills along with elaborate head crests. It is likely that the head crests were used for species recognition and sexual display.
:* '''Stegosaurians''' - Quadrupedal herbivores with relatively small heads and armor plating. They are most well known for the bony plates (osteoderms) that often run along their backs and the presence of tail spikes (thagomizers).

All dinosaurs are known to be terrestrial, with flight developing in theropods around the Middle Jurassic. There are no known marine dinosaurs, although trace fossil evidence proves that they could swim very well.

==Skin and Coloration==
[[File:Anchiornis huxleyi.jpg|thumb|right|Anchiornis huxleyi]]

Exceptional preservation is required to preserve anything other than bone and teeth. This is exceptionally rare, but, despite this, a large number of theropod dinosaurs have been discovered with extensive downy feathers covering their whole bodies. They also had have been shown to have long display feathers on the forelimbs, tail ends, backs of their heads, and the back of the hips (depending on the species). It is, however, becoming more apparent that possibly all theropod dinosaurs had feathers. Some ceratopsians have also been discovered with 'quill' like structures along their hides. It is now being considered that quill-like structures evolved in early archosaurs and that the 'fuzz' on pterosaurs is related to both the ceratopsian quills and the theropod feathers. Preserved skin samples of some ornithopods and sauropods suggest that they at least partially lost these features and had a tough scaly hide.

The color of dinosaurs has long been a heated debate. Until very recently, it was impossible to determine the actual colors of a dinosaur. However, a new technique has been developed to accurately determine the color of feathered dinosaurs. This has so far only been used to completely establish the colors of the dinosaur ''Anchiornis huxleyi''. Since this technique can only be used on samples with exceptional preservation, there is still a wide scope for coloration among many groups of dinosaurs. Research is currently being done to color more species.

[http://news.nationalgeographic.co.uk/news/2010/01/100127-dinosaurs-color-feathers-science/o/ Article on Anchiornis huxleyi.]

==Extinction==

Although the dinosaur lineage still exists today in birds, dinosaurs underwent a massive extinction event approximately 65.5 million years ago. Their diversity was greatly reduced, with the loss of all ornithischians, all sauropods, and most of the theropods. The extinction occurred at the end of the Late Cretaceous (also the end of the Mesozoic). The extinction event is commonly known as the KT event (K representing Cretaceous and T representing Tertiary, which has since been renamed as the Paleogene) and it greatly affected many other groups too. Pterosaurs, mosasaurs, pliosaurs, plesiosaurs, belemnites, ammonites, and many others were all wiped out and plantic forams, calcareous nanofossils, land plants, and rudist bivalves were all severely affected. The extinction even had little to no visible impact on the insect populations.

There is still heated debate about the actual cause of the extinction event(s). The paleontological community is roughly equally divided among it. Although there is a prominent iridium layer present at the KT boundary (strongly suggesting a bolide impact), the associated tsunami deposits that should be associated with it don't seem to be present at sites across the world where they should be and there is still no impact crater recorded of the right size '''with the right age'''. Many of the groups in question here were already in decline and there is also an associated volcanic event that occurred at the same time. This volcanic event is known as the Deccan Traps and undoubtedly would have had a significant impact on the planets climate and animals (as was shown with the Siberian Traps and the Permo-Triassic extinction). Research into the Deccan Traps is still ongoing. The currently accepted 'middle ground' is that it was probably a combination of events that lead to the final decline and extinction of these taxa.

==Dinosaurs In The Fandom==
[[File:1308260904.willow141 raptorrapto.png|thumb|'Pecky' the Troodon - Copyright willow141&Palaeofox]]
There are many dinosaur [[character]]s present within the [[furry fandom]] as a popular [[scalie]] choice. The majority of these tend to be theropod dinosaur characters and are almost always based on the Jurassic Park misrepresentation of a ''velociraptor'' with some feathers and quills stuck on. They also tend to be described as [[cold-blooded]], due to a general misconception. Characters based on other species of dinosaurs are rare and complete [[fursona]]s based on them are even rarer. [[Stokes]]' the ''Kentrosaurus'' from Hampshire, England is an example of a non-velociraptorian fursona.

In an attempt to expand public ideas of dinosaur character creation, [[Palaeofox]] developed the character 'Pecky'. Pecky is a ''Troodon formosus'' and so is somewhat similar morphological to a ''velociraptor'', but is more slender with a narrower snout and was probably an omnivore. His aim in developing this character was to allow furries to see that there are many different species of dinosaur they could base a character on, even if they specifically like the 'theropod look'.

==Literature ==

The name '''Sauron''', the main enemy from J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Ring" Trilogy comes from the greek word for lizard '''saur'''.

''Jurassic Park'', is a book about an island where actual dinosaurs are created.
The ''Dinotopia'' books feature [[human]]s living alongside dinosaurs in harmony on an isolated island, surrounded by a large storm over a reef that prevents contact with the outside world. The majority of the dinosaurs within the story are sentient and able to talk. This is due to magical glowing stones that keep order in their world. Dinotopia was also made into a TV miniseries.

==Movies==
[[The Land Before Time]] features a cast of entirely [[anthropomorphic]] dinosaurs.

==External links==
*[http://www.dinosaurfact.net Dinosaurs]
*[http://fan.geekish.net/dinosaurs/ Dinosaur Fanlisting]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaur Wikipedia article on Dinosaur]
*[http://www.dinosauria.com/ Dinosauria On-Line]

[[Category:Dinosaur species]]

[[ru:Динозавры]]

Talk:Dinosaur

2011-07-05T16:20:04Z

Palaeofox:

Talk:Dinosaur

2011-07-05T16:19:42Z

Palaeofox:

Dinosaur

2011-07-05T14:40:33Z

Palaeofox:

[[Image:Deinonychus Portrait by Ferahgo the Assassin.jpg|right|thumb|[[Ferahgo]]'s Deinonychus character, Ixerin]]A '''dinosaur''' ('''dino''' for short) is a prehistoric form of [[animal]]. It is from the greek meaning "terrible lizard" and was coined in 1842 by Richard Owen. Dinosaurs arose in the Early Triassic from archosaurs (a division including dinosaurs, crocodilians, pterosaurs, and many other less well known groups) and the dinosaur lineage survives today in modern birds. The group underwent a dramatic reduction in diversity during the Cretaceous–Paleogene (KT Event) extinction event(s). During this time, the 'non-avian' dinosaurs became extinct, which are considered by most laymen to be 'dinosaurs'. For simplicity, the reminder of this article will focus on the non-avian dinosaurs.

==Morphology and Ecology==

Dinosaurs in popular culture have often been depicted as giant, lumbering, and cold-blooded beasts. In reality, the group was highly diverse with organisms ranging in size from 28cm ('Ashdown Maniraptor' - unknown species) to 60m in length (''Amphicoelias'' - rough estimate) and were dynamic, active animals. As a whole, dinosaurs were highly likely to have been warm-blooded. This is reflected in the development of feathers in the theropods (the bipedal, largely carnivorous dinosaurs) as insulators.

There are two basic 'types' of dinosaur:
* Saurischians including two major groups:
:* '''Theropods''' - Bipedal animals that were mostly carnivorous and contain some of the most well known dinosaurs (''Tyrannosaurs'' and ''Velociraptor''). They are generally considered to be the most intelligent group of dinosaurs and this is reflected by their relatively large brain cases. There is also evidence of complex social behavior similar to that of modern birds. This group includes the smallest dinosaur ever discovered and this lineage gave rise to aves (extant birds).
:* '''Sauropods''' - Quadrupedal animals that were almost certainly all herbivorous (however, some early Prosauropods were likely omnivorous). The group developed elongated necks and tails as well as columnar limbs to support their massive bulk. They had a large gut for processing tough plant material and were generally very large. This group includes the largest dinosaur ever discovered.
* Ornithischians including four major groups:
:* '''Ankylosaurs''' - Heavily armored (extensive osteoderms), quadrupedal herbivores. Many species also had an associated bony club on the tail and/or shoulder spikes. They had exceptionally wide hips and large guts to digest plant matter.
:* '''Ceratopsians''' - Quadrupedal herbivores and omnivores that have distinctive head ornamentation. This often includes bony horns and neck crests. The neck crests may have been for defensive and/or display reasons. In some animals, the crests are simply a frame with large gaps that would have been filled with soft tissue. These would have provided little to no defense, but could have been filled with blood to give a vivid display. Another group that is closely related are the Pachycephalosaurs.
:* '''Ornithopodans''' - Bipedal herbivores that are often known as the 'duck billed dinosaurs'. Many of them did indeed have duck-like bills along with elaborate head crests. It is likely that the head crests were used for species recognition and sexual display.
:* '''Stegosaurians''' - Quadrupedal herbivores with relatively small heads and armor plating. They are most well known for the bony plates (osteoderms) that often run along their backs and the presence of tail spikes (thagomizers).

All dinosaurs are known to be terrestrial, with flight developing in theropods around the Middle Jurassic. There are no known marine dinosaurs, although trace fossil evidence proves that they could swim very well.

==Skin and Coloration==
[[File:Anchiornis huxleyi.jpg|thumb|right|Anchiornis huxleyi]]

Exceptional preservation is required to preserve anything other than bone and teeth. This is exceptionally rare, but, despite this, a large number of theropod dinosaurs have been discovered with extensive downy feathers covering their whole bodies. They also had have been shown to have long display feathers on the forelimbs, tail ends, backs of their heads, and the back of the hips (depending on the species). It is, however, becoming more apparent that possibly all theropod dinosaurs had feathers. Some ceratopsians have also been discovered with 'quill' like structures along their hides. It is now being considered that quill-like structures evolved in early archosaurs and that the 'fuzz' on pterosaurs is related to both the ceratopsian quills and the theropod feathers. Preserved skin samples of some ornithopods and sauropods suggest that they at least partially lost these features and had a tough scaly hide.

The color of dinosaurs has long been a heated debate. Until very recently, it was impossible to determine the actual colors of a dinosaur. However, a new technique has been developed to accurately determine the color of feathered dinosaurs. This has so far only been used to completely establish the colors of the dinosaur ''Anchiornis huxleyi''. Since this technique can only be used on samples with exceptional preservation, there is still a wide scope for coloration among many groups of dinosaurs. Research is currently being done to color more species.

[http://news.nationalgeographic.co.uk/news/2010/01/100127-dinosaurs-color-feathers-science/o/ Article on Anchiornis huxleyi.]

==Extinction==

Although the dinosaur lineage still exists today in birds, dinosaurs underwent a massive extinction event approximately 65.5 million years ago. Their diversity was greatly reduced, with the loss of all ornithischians, all sauropods, and most of the theropods. The extinction occurred at the end of the Late Cretaceous (also the end of the Mesozoic). The extinction event is commonly known as the KT event (K representing Cretaceous and T representing Tertiary, which has since been renamed as the Paleogene) and it greatly affected many other groups too. Pterosaurs, mosasaurs, pliosaurs, plesiosaurs, belemnites, ammonites, and many others were all wiped out and plantic forams, calcareous nanofossils, land plants, and rudist bivalves were all severely affected. The extinction even had little to no visible impact on the insect populations.

There is still heated debate about the actual cause of the extinction event(s). The paleontological community is roughly equally divided among it. Although there is a prominent iridium layer present at the KT boundary (strongly suggesting a bolide impact), the associated tsunami deposits that should be associated with it don't seem to be present at sites across the world where they should be and there is still no impact crater recorded of the right size '''with the right age'''. Many of the groups in question here were already in decline and there is also an associated volcanic event that occurred at the same time. This volcanic event is known as the Deccan Traps and undoubtedly would have had a significant impact on the planets climate and animals (as was shown with the Siberian Traps and the Permo-Triassic extinction). Research into the Deccan Traps is still ongoing. The currently accepted 'middle ground' is that it was probably a combination of events that lead to the final decline and extinction of these taxa.

==Dinosaurs In The Fandom==
[[File:1308260904.willow141 raptorrapto.png|thumb|'Pecky' the Troodon - Copyright willow141&Palaeofox]]
There are many dinosaur characters present within the furry fandom. The majority of these tend to be theropod dinosaur characters and are almost always based on the Jurassic Park misrepresentation of a ''velociraptor'' with some feathers and quills stuck on. Characters based on other species of dinosaurs are rare and complete fursonas based on them are even rarer. 'Stokes' the ''Kentrosaurus'' from Hampshire, England is an example of a non-velociraptorian fursona.

In an attempt to expand public ideas of dinosaur character creation, Palaeofox developed the character 'Pecky'. Pecky is a ''Troodon formosus'' and so is somewhat similar morphological to a ''velociraptor'', but is more slender with a narrower snout and was probably an omnivore. His aim in developing this character was to allow furries to see that there are many different species of dinosaur they could base a character on, even if they specifically like the 'theropod look'.

==Literature ==

The name '''Sauron''', the main enemy from J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Ring" Trilogy comes from the greek word for lizard '''saur'''.

==External links==
*[http://www.dinosaurfact.net Dinosaurs]
*[http://fan.geekish.net/dinosaurs/ Dinosaur Fanlisting]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaur Wikipedia article on Dinosaur]
*[http://www.dinosauria.com/ Dinosauria On-Line]

[[Category:Dinosaur species]]

[[ru:Динозавры]]

Dinosaur

2011-07-05T14:38:54Z

Palaeofox:

{{Inuse}}
[[Image:Deinonychus Portrait by Ferahgo the Assassin.jpg|right|thumb|[[Ferahgo]]'s Deinonychus character, Ixerin]]A '''dinosaur''' ('''dino''' for short) is a prehistoric form of [[animal]]. It is from the greek meaning "terrible lizard" and was coined in 1842 by Richard Owen. Dinosaurs arose in the Early Triassic from archosaurs (a division including dinosaurs, crocodilians, pterosaurs, and many other less well known groups) and the dinosaur lineage survives today in modern birds. The group underwent a dramatic reduction in diversity during the Cretaceous–Paleogene (KT Event) extinction event(s). During this time, the 'non-avian' dinosaurs became extinct, which are considered by most laymen to be 'dinosaurs'. For simplicity, the reminder of this article will focus on the non-avian dinosaurs.

==Morphology and Ecology==

Dinosaurs in popular culture have often been depicted as giant, lumbering, and cold-blooded beasts. In reality, the group was highly diverse with organisms ranging in size from 28cm ('Ashdown Maniraptor' - unknown species) to 60m in length (''Amphicoelias'' - rough estimate) and were dynamic, active animals. As a whole, dinosaurs were highly likely to have been warm-blooded. This is reflected in the development of feathers in the theropods (the bipedal, largely carnivorous dinosaurs) as insulators.

There are two basic 'types' of dinosaur:
* Saurischians including two major groups:
:* '''Theropods''' - Bipedal animals that were mostly carnivorous and contain some of the most well known dinosaurs (''Tyrannosaurs'' and ''Velociraptor''). They are generally considered to be the most intelligent group of dinosaurs and this is reflected by their relatively large brain cases. There is also evidence of complex social behavior similar to that of modern birds. This group includes the smallest dinosaur ever discovered and this lineage gave rise to aves (extant birds).
:* '''Sauropods''' - Quadrupedal animals that were almost certainly all herbivorous (however, some early Prosauropods were likely omnivorous). The group developed elongated necks and tails as well as columnar limbs to support their massive bulk. They had a large gut for processing tough plant material and were generally very large. This group includes the largest dinosaur ever discovered.
* Ornithischians including four major groups:
:* '''Ankylosaurs''' - Heavily armored (extensive osteoderms), quadrupedal herbivores. Many species also had an associated bony club on the tail and/or shoulder spikes. They had exceptionally wide hips and large guts to digest plant matter.
:* '''Ceratopsians''' - Quadrupedal herbivores and omnivores that have distinctive head ornamentation. This often includes bony horns and neck crests. The neck crests may have been for defensive and/or display reasons. In some animals, the crests are simply a frame with large gaps that would have been filled with soft tissue. These would have provided little to no defense, but could have been filled with blood to give a vivid display. Another group that is closely related are the Pachycephalosaurs.
:* '''Ornithopodans''' - Bipedal herbivores that are often known as the 'duck billed dinosaurs'. Many of them did indeed have duck-like bills along with elaborate head crests. It is likely that the head crests were used for species recognition and sexual display.
:* '''Stegosaurians''' - Quadrupedal herbivores with relatively small heads and armor plating. They are most well known for the bony plates (osteoderms) that often run along their backs and the presence of tail spikes (thagomizers).

All dinosaurs are known to be terrestrial, with flight developing in theropods around the Middle Jurassic. There are no known marine dinosaurs, although trace fossil evidence proves that they could swim very well.

==Skin and Coloration==
[[File:Anchiornis huxleyi.jpg|thumb|right|Anchiornis huxleyi]]

Exceptional preservation is required to preserve anything other than bone and teeth. This is exceptionally rare, but, despite this, a large number of theropod dinosaurs have been discovered with extensive downy feathers covering their whole bodies. They also had have been shown to have long display feathers on the forelimbs, tail ends, backs of their heads, and the back of the hips (depending on the species). It is, however, becoming more apparent that possibly all theropod dinosaurs had feathers. Some ceratopsians have also been discovered with 'quill' like structures along their hides. It is now being considered that quill-like structures evolved in early archosaurs and that the 'fuzz' on pterosaurs is related to both the ceratopsian quills and the theropod feathers. Preserved skin samples of some ornithopods and sauropods suggest that they at least partially lost these features and had a tough scaly hide.

The color of dinosaurs has long been a heated debate. Until very recently, it was impossible to determine the actual colors of a dinosaur. However, a new technique has been developed to accurately determine the color of feathered dinosaurs. This has so far only been used to completely establish the colors of the dinosaur ''Anchiornis huxleyi''. Since this technique can only be used on samples with exceptional preservation, there is still a wide scope for coloration among many groups of dinosaurs. Research is currently being done to color more species.

[http://news.nationalgeographic.co.uk/news/2010/01/100127-dinosaurs-color-feathers-science/o/ Article on Anchiornis huxleyi.]

==Extinction==

Although the dinosaur lineage still exists today in birds, dinosaurs underwent a massive extinction event approximately 65.5 million years ago. Their diversity was greatly reduced, with the loss of all ornithischians, all sauropods, and most of the theropods. The extinction occurred at the end of the Late Cretaceous (also the end of the Mesozoic). The extinction event is commonly known as the KT event (K representing Cretaceous and T representing Tertiary, which has since been renamed as the Paleogene) and it greatly affected many other groups too. Pterosaurs, mosasaurs, pliosaurs, plesiosaurs, belemnites, ammonites, and many others were all wiped out and plantic forams, calcareous nanofossils, land plants, and rudist bivalves were all severely affected. The extinction even had little to no visible impact on the insect populations.

There is still heated debate about the actual cause of the extinction event(s). The paleontological community is roughly equally divided among it. Although there is a prominent iridium layer present at the KT boundary (strongly suggesting a bolide impact), the associated tsunami deposits that should be associated with it don't seem to be present at sites across the world where they should be and there is still no impact crater recorded of the right size '''with the right age'''. Many of the groups in question here were already in decline and there is also an associated volcanic event that occurred at the same time. This volcanic event is known as the Deccan Traps and undoubtedly would have had a significant impact on the planets climate and animals (as was shown with the Siberian Traps and the Permo-Triassic extinction). Research into the Deccan Traps is still ongoing. The currently accepted 'middle ground' is that it was probably a combination of events that lead to the final decline and extinction of these taxa.

==Dinosaurs In The Fandom==
[[File:1308260904.willow141 raptorrapto.png|thumb|'Pecky' the Troodon - Copyright willow141&Palaeofox]]
There are many dinosaur characters present within the furry fandom. The majority of these tend to be theropod dinosaur characters and are almost always based on the Jurassic Park misrepresentation of a ''velociraptor'' with some feathers and quills stuck on. Characters based on other species of dinosaurs are rare and complete fursonas based on them are even rarer. 'Stokes' the ''Kentrosaurus'' from Hampshire, England is an example of a non-velociraptorian fursona.

In an attempt to expand public ideas of dinosaur character creation, Palaeofox developed the character 'Pecky'. Pecky is a ''Troodon formosus'' and so is somewhat similar morphological to a ''velociraptor'', but is more slender with a narrower snout and was probably an omnivore. His aim in developing this character was to allow furries to see that there are many different species of dinosaur they could base a character on, even if they specifically like the 'theropod look'.

==Literature ==

The name '''Sauron''', the main enemy from J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Ring" Trilogy comes from the greek word for lizard '''saur'''.

==External links==
*[http://www.dinosaurfact.net Dinosaurs]
*[http://fan.geekish.net/dinosaurs/ Dinosaur Fanlisting]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaur Wikipedia article on Dinosaur]
*[http://www.dinosauria.com/ Dinosauria On-Line]

[[Category:Dinosaur species]]

[[ru:Динозавры]]

Talk:Dinosaur

2011-07-05T14:13:02Z

Palaeofox:

User talk:Equivamp

2011-07-05T14:11:19Z

Palaeofox:

I AM NOT AN ADMIN.

==Archives==
Old stuff can be found [[User talk:Equivamp/Archives|here]].

==Finally got round to editing the Dinosaur page==

Hello Equivamp :3

I finally got round to fixing that damn Dinosaur page. I hope its up to standard and there are no errors. Please contact me via email if you spot anything that needs changing: Well_Tossed_Salad@hotmail.com.
Sorry it took so long. I feel it might not contain enough information about its relation to the furry fandom however. Would it be possible to ask that people add that in a separate paragraph on that page, rather than removing the scientific information that I had added, as I have no doubt that it will fill with crud again if the facts are removed.[[User:Palaeofox|Palaeofox]] 10:11, 5 July 2011 (EDT)

== Blocking Meepsheep ==

Wait, so I'm not welcome here? Meepsheep wasn't making negative edits, as far as I saw. We're welcome there, as long as we're good; aren't we supposed to assume good faith? [[File:Scalesona.jpg|40x40px]][[User:Equivamp|Equivamp]] 10:22, 19 June 2011 (EDT)
:Meepsheep has been responsible for significant disruption of this wiki in the past few months, as he has [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Meepsheep/Archive|at Wikipedia]] and [[Wikia:c:sonic:Category:Sockpuppets of MeepSheep|several]] [[Wikiquote:Category:Wikiquote sockpuppets of Meepsheep|other]] [http://heroeswiki.com/User_talk:Meepsheep wikis]. Massive, continued proxy abuse, front page and template vandalism, you name it. I have reported this abuse to his ISP on more than one occasion. He is not welcome here, period. --[[User:GreenReaper|GreenReaper]]([[User talk:GreenReaper|talk]]) 15:48, 19 June 2011 (EDT)
:To answer your more general question: contributors to WikiFur are expected to remain neutral, and actions which call this neutrality into question are problematic. We ''cannot'' assume you are editing an article about a person in good faith if you are also making fun of them over at ED (or elsewhere). I have blocked at least one editor for this precise activity in the past. You really need to make a choice – do you want to be known as a person who fairly and dispassionately reports on the fandom and those within in, or one who publicly documents the weaknesses and failings of fellow fans for your own amusement? --[[User:GreenReaper|GreenReaper]]([[User talk:GreenReaper|talk]]) 17:00, 19 June 2011 (EDT)
::I see. I hadn't realized wikifur was so inclusive, or that I'd ever made any negative edits to this wiki. [[File:Scalesona.jpg|40x40px]][[User:Equivamp|Equivamp]] 09:29, 20 June 2011 (EDT)
:::It was not a matter of making negative edits to this wiki. It was purportedly editing in a neutral matter while at the same time spreading shit on ED. I hope that is clear? :-) --[[User:GreenReaper|GreenReaper]]([[User talk:GreenReaper|talk]]) 09:35, 20 June 2011 (EDT)

== Templates on transcluded pages ==

I just thought I'd point out that when you stick a template on a page that template also appears (in the exact same form) in any pages that it's transcluded in (so for example that info box you marked for merging was transcluded in the article proper, so therefore the template was too). The easiest way to fix that is to use [http://en.wikifur.com/w/index.php?title=Kogenta/Infobox&curid=25143&diff=332878&oldid=332849 noinclude tags] like that-[[User:El, oh, el|El, oh, el]] 19:22, 21 June 2011 (EDT)

== Bots ==

Is there anyway to have a bot put ContributorU on user pages, at least the ones with a matching article name? Or, perhaps, one that puts welcome templates on the talk pages of new users? [[File:Scalesona.jpg|40x40px]][[User:Equivamp|Equivamp]] 19:53, 22 June 2011 (EDT)
:Both of those are technically feasible, but the first would require writing a bot script and assumes they are the same person, while I'm not sure the second is a good idea in general. Welcomes are at best rather impersonal if you have a bot do them, and at worst end up looking stupid when you start welcoming vandals (faking the last admin to edit signing it only makes it worse, as seen at Wikia). --[[User:GreenReaper|GreenReaper]]([[User talk:GreenReaper|talk]]) 20:02, 22 June 2011 (EDT)
::All right. Just a thought I was wondering about. [[File:Scalesona.jpg|40x40px]][[User:Equivamp|Equivamp]] 20:11, 22 June 2011 (EDT)

== encyclopediadramatica.ch Unavailable? ==
I've gotten a problem; whenever I type in encyclopediadramatica.ch since this morning, it takes me to Virgin Media advanced search ( Virgin Media is my current ISP ). Is anyone else having this problem? Or is VM blocking ED for no good reason? ( kind of like how AT&T blocked 4chan a little while ago ). But anyway, what is wrong with the site? - [[User:Another n00b|Another n00b]] 10:32, 28 June 2011 (EDT)
:The domain name does not officially exist, which is why Virgin Media search is coming up (presumably they're one of those who annoyingly take over such results for their own purposes). However, it is registered. This suggests that it has been blocked for some reason, perhaps due to [https://www.nic.ch/reg/index/view.html it's domain registrar's malware policy]. --[[User:GreenReaper|GreenReaper]]([[User talk:GreenReaper|talk]]) 10:39, 28 June 2011 (EDT)

== Questions ==

What do you define the difference between a [[fursuit]] and an [[wikipedia:animal costume|animal costume]]? The subject has come up at [[wikipedia:Talk:Fursuit#Explanation of edits undone|Wikiepdia's fursuit article]], but I'm a rather poor debater, and feel my opinion is pretty closed-minded. My opinion is that a fursuit is only a fursuit if associated with furry, otherwise, it's an animal or mascot costume. However, I know that some feel an animal costume is a fursuit, and the two are synonymous. I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on this. [[File:Scalesona.jpg|40x40px]][[User:Equivamp|Equivamp]] 12:43, 28 June 2011 (EDT)

:As it happens I was already reading that discussion. I think my response would be much the same as yours - certainly, animal costumes existed, but they were not used for the same reasons, nor (apparently) called the same thing. I might respond there, but I'm a little busy at work now. --[[User:GreenReaper|GreenReaper]]([[User talk:GreenReaper|talk]]) 12:49, 28 June 2011 (EDT)

Also, whenever I try to edit a section or add a new section, the wiki tries to replace the entire text with the section. Any thoughts on why this is? It may have something to do with the fact that I am using Internet Explorer, which gives me problems in general on this Wiki. [[File:Scalesona.jpg|40x40px]][[User:Equivamp|Equivamp]] 12:45, 28 June 2011 (EDT)

:What version of IE is it? Does it happen if you do turn off the advanced editing functions in [[Special:Preferences|preferences]] so that you no longer have the WikiEditor toolbar showing? --[[User:GreenReaper|GreenReaper]]([[User talk:GreenReaper|talk]]) 12:49, 28 June 2011 (EDT)

::It's the newest version. The only difference between the newest version and the older one (which I used on my PC) is that this allows me to edit, as long as I do not scroll down the page, whereas the older would simply lock up my computer if I even went to an edit page. The only way I am able to edit on this laptop I often use is by typing without scrolling too much, and then clicking the "Changes" tab, where it allows me to scroll down to click save. I have just turned off the advanced editing functions, and it still did it. [[File:Scalesona.jpg|40x40px]][[User:Equivamp|Equivamp]] 13:03, 28 June 2011 (EDT)

==Twilightwolf4==
Can anyone revert this user discussion page back to the privious edits by Greenreaper considering there is evidence of this user history of recoloring artwork without the user permission. Not to mention she has been banned from DA for this recently. Original account [http://www.furaffinity.net/user/twilightwolf4/ Twilightwolf4] The evasion account
[http://www.furaffinity.net/user/twilight-kun/ twilight-kun] The recent journal as well as previous journal confirms this fact. also this account [http://www.furaffinity.net/user/hawkshadow741/ hawkshadow741] the comments give an idea of how many evasions she has made. though there is a lot more information about this user on deviantart considering she is banned from there as well for the same behavior.[[User:Tridragon|Tridragon]] 15:26, 29 June 2011 (EDT)

== Disregard the email I just sent ==

You took care of it. [[File:Scalesona.jpg|40x40px]][[User:Equivamp|Equivamp]] 21:44, 2 July 2011 (EDT)

Actually, now might be a good time to ask. I'd like to be able to fight vandalism with greater ease. And while it wouldn't have helped much in this last situation, would it be too much of me to request rollback privelages? [[File:Scalesona.jpg|40x40px]][[User:Equivamp|Equivamp]] 21:55, 2 July 2011 (EDT)

:Sure. --[[User:GreenReaper|GreenReaper]]([[User talk:GreenReaper|talk]]) 22:01, 2 July 2011 (EDT)

Wow, really? I was honestly expecting a "I'm sorry, but..." (Especially considering my recent ousting as an EDiot.) Thanks! [[File:Scalesona.jpg|40x40px]][[User:Equivamp|Equivamp]] 22:06, 2 July 2011 (EDT)

:Just keep in mind [[Wikipedia:Vandalism#What is not vandalism|what is not vandalism]]. --[[User:GreenReaper|GreenReaper]]([[User talk:GreenReaper|talk]]) 22:08, 2 July 2011 (EDT)

Dinosaur

2011-07-05T13:58:20Z

Palaeofox:

[[Image:Deinonychus Portrait by Ferahgo the Assassin.jpg|right|thumb|[[Ferahgo]]'s Deinonychus character, Ixerin]]A '''dinosaur''' ('''dino''' for short) is a prehistoric form of [[animal]]. It is from the greek meaning "terrible lizard" and was coined in 1842 by Richard Owen. Dinosaurs arose in the Early Triassic from archosaurs (a division including dinosaurs, crocodilians, pterosaurs, and many other less well known groups) and the dinosaur lineage survives today in modern birds. The group underwent a dramatic reduction in diversity during the Cretaceous–Paleogene (KT Event) extinction event(s). During this time, the 'non-avian' dinosaurs became extinct, which are considered by most laymen to be 'dinosaurs'. For simplicity, the reminder of this article will focus on the non-avian dinosaurs.

==Morphology and Ecology==

Dinosaurs in popular culture have often been depicted as giant, lumbering, and cold-blooded beasts. In reality, the group was highly diverse with organisms ranging in size from 28cm ('Ashdown Maniraptor' - unknown species) to 60m in length (''Amphicoelias'' - rough estimate) and were dynamic, active animals. As a whole, dinosaurs were highly likely to have been warm-blooded. This is reflected in the development of feathers in the theropods (the bipedal, largely carnivorous dinosaurs) as insulators.

There are two basic 'types' of dinosaur:
* Saurischians including two major groups:
:* '''Theropods''' - Bipedal animals that were mostly carnivorous and contain some of the most well known dinosaurs (''Tyrannosaurs'' and ''Velociraptor''). They are generally considered to be the most intelligent group of dinosaurs and this is reflected by their relatively large brain cases. There is also evidence of complex social behavior similar to that of modern birds. This group includes the smallest dinosaur ever discovered and this lineage gave rise to aves (extant birds).
:* '''Sauropods''' - Quadrupedal animals that were almost certainly all herbivorous (however, some early Prosauropods were likely omnivorous). The group developed elongated necks and tails as well as columnar limbs to support their massive bulk. They had a large gut for processing tough plant material and were generally very large. This group includes the largest dinosaur ever discovered.
* Ornithischians including four major groups:
:* '''Ankylosaurs''' - Heavily armored (extensive osteoderms), quadrupedal herbivores. Many species also had an associated bony club on the tail and/or shoulder spikes. They had exceptionally wide hips and large guts to digest plant matter.
:* '''Ceratopsians''' - Quadrupedal herbivores and omnivores that have distinctive head ornamentation. This often includes bony horns and neck crests. The neck crests may have been for defensive and/or display reasons. In some animals, the crests are simply a frame with large gaps that would have been filled with soft tissue. These would have provided little to no defense, but could have been filled with blood to give a vivid display. Another group that is closely related are the Pachycephalosaurs.
:* '''Ornithopodans''' - Bipedal herbivores that are often known as the 'duck billed dinosaurs'. Many of them did indeed have duck-like bills along with elaborate head crests. It is likely that the head crests were used for species recognition and sexual display.
:* '''Stegosaurians''' - Quadrupedal herbivores with relatively small heads and armor plating. They are most well known for the bony plates (osteoderms) that often run along their backs and the presence of tail spikes (thagomizers).

All dinosaurs are known to be terrestrial, with flight developing in theropods around the Middle Jurassic. There are no known marine dinosaurs, although trace fossil evidence proves that they could swim very well.

==Skin and Coloration==
[[Image:File:Anchiornis_huxleyi.jpg|thumb|]]

Exceptional preservation is required to preserve anything other than bone and teeth. This is exceptionally rare, but, despite this, a large number of theropod dinosaurs have been discovered with extensive downy feathers covering their whole bodies. They also had have been shown to have long display feathers on the forelimbs, tail ends, backs of their heads, and the back of the hips (depending on the species). It is, however, becoming more apparent that possibly all theropod dinosaurs had feathers. Some ceratopsians have also been discovered with 'quill' like structures along their hides. It is now being considered that quill-like structures evolved in early archosaurs and that the 'fuz' on pterosaurs is related to both the ceratopsian quills and the theropod feathers. Preserved skin samples of some ornithopods and sauropods suggest that they at least partially lost these features and had a tough scaly hide.

The color of dinosaurs has long been a heated debate. Until very recently, it was impossible to determine the actual colors of a dinosaur. However, a new technique has been developed to accurately determine the color of feathered dinosaurs. This has so far only been used to completely establish the colors of the dinosaur ''Anchiornis huxleyi''. Since this technique can only be used on samples with exceptional preservation, there is still a wide scope for coloration among many groups of dinosaurs. Research is currently being done to color more species.

[http://news.nationalgeographic.co.uk/news/2010/01/100127-dinosaurs-color-feathers-science/o/ Article on Anchiornis huxleyi.]

==Extinction==

Although the dinosaur lineage still exists today in birds, dinosaurs underwent a massive extinction event approximately 65.5 million years ago. Their diversity was greatly reduced, with the loss of all ornithischians, all sauropods, and most of the theropods. The extinction occurred at the end of the Late Cretaceous (also the end of the Mesozoic). The extinction event is commonly known as the KT event (K representing Cretaceous and T representing Tertiary, which has since been renamed as the Paleogene) and it greatly affected many other groups too. Pterosaurs, mosasaurs, pliosaurs, plesiosaurs, belemnites, ammonites, and many others were all wiped out and plantic forams, calcareous nanofossils, land plants, and rudist bivalves were all severely affected. The extinction even had little to no visible impact on the insect populations.

There is still heated debate about the actual cause of the extinction event(s). The paleontological community is roughly equally divided among it. Although there is a prominent iridium layer present at the KT boundary (strongly suggesting a bolide impact), the associated tsunami deposits that should be associated with it don't seem to be present at sites across the world where they should be and there is still no impact crater recorded of the right size '''with the right age'''. Many of the groups in question here were already in decline and there is also an associated volcanic event that occurred at the same time. This volcanic event is known as the Deccan Traps and undoubtedly would have had a significant impact on the planets climate and animals (as was shown with the Siberian Traps and the Permo-Triassic extinction). Research into the Deccan Traps is still ongoing. The currently accepted 'middle ground' is that it was probably a combination of events that lead to the final decline and extinction of these taxa.

== Literature ==

The name '''Sauron''', the main enemy from J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Ring" Trilogy comes from the greek word for lizard '''saur'''.

==External links==
*[http://www.dinosaurfact.net Dinosaurs]
*[http://fan.geekish.net/dinosaurs/ Dinosaur Fanlisting]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaur Wikipedia article on Dinosaur]
*[http://www.dinosauria.com/ Dinosauria On-Line]

[[Category:Dinosaur species]]

[[ru:Динозавры]]

Talk:Dinosaur

2011-07-05T11:41:36Z

Palaeofox:

User talk:Equivamp

2011-05-30T00:17:13Z

Palaeofox: /* Scientific inaccuracies */ new section

Hello Equivamp, 
Please be aware that if things need shifting around, it should be done using the "Move" tab rather than by cutting and pasting. The problem with just cutting and pasting the old content into a new page is that the article's old edit history is lost, and we prefer to retain that.--[[User:Higgs Raccoon|Higgs Raccoon]] 08:21, 13 February 2011 (UTC)

==Redirects==
Regarding your recommendations on [[Warrior Cats]] and [[Fangirl]], I've put those redirects in place. As a side note, you don't need to put it up for a vote. If you feel such redirects are warranted, by all means go ahead and put them in. Be Bold! --[[GingerM]] ([[User_talk:GingerM|Leave me a message]]) 02:25, 20 March 2011 (UTC)
:I wouldn't know how....

==[[:File:Kung_fu_panda_promotional_poster.jpg]]==
Hello Equivamp,

This is in regards to [[:File:Kung_fu_panda_promotional_poster.jpg]]. It has not been tagged with a copyright status. This can be a complicated area, so I can try to help if you need any. The Wikipedia [[Wikipedia:WP:IUP|Image use policy]] may give some background, but it isn't policy here.

To deal with this image, there are a few choices:

* If you are the copyright holder, release it under a free license, for example:
** [[Wikipedia:Public domain|Public domain]] <nowiki>{{PDImage}}</nowiki>
** [[Wikipedia:Creative Commons|Creative Commons]] Attribution-ShareAlike <nowiki>{{Cc-by-sa-2.5}}</nowiki>
** [[Wikipedia:GFDL|GFDL]] <nowiki>{{GFDL}}</nowiki>
* If you are asserting that this image is usable under fair use, add an appropriate fair use tag. A very basic summary is that fair use is used for commentary, criticism and review on the image when no free image could be used instead. Some fair use tags are:
** Logos: <nowiki>{{logo}}</nowiki>
** Covers: <nowiki>{{Cover}}</nowiki>
** Comic panels: <nowiki>{{Comic-panel}}</nowiki>
* If the image is already under a free license, provide information on the license, and tag the image if you can.
* If you would like the image to be deleted, ask any [[WikiFur:Administrators|administrator]]

To see a list of current copyright tags available on WikiFur, see [[:Category:Image copyright tags]]
If the copyright status is not resolved, the image may be deleted.

Unless you have a question for me specifically, you should respond on the page for the image. --[[GingerM]] ([[User_talk:GingerM|Leave me a message]]) 20:02, 20 March 2011 (UTC)

== Friend of Wolfee ==

I am a friend of Wolfee and if you need any help I am available too
:Well, they were questions involving the [[YouTube Furry War]]. If you have any information on that, I'd love to ask you some questions.

== Categories ==

Hi Equivamp,

I made those changes to Categories to follow our policy in what categories we put on: more precise rather than broad. [[Help:Categories]] has more details. -- [[User:Sine|Sine]] 23:14, 28 April 2011 (EDT)
:I saw that, but undid it and made similar changes. Don't know why I was in hybrid groups, so I removed myself from those instead(I'm not a hybrid) [[User:Equivamp|Equivamp]] 14:47, 29 April 2011 (EDT)

== Thanks! ==

I didn't actually know how to do the thumbnail thing. ^_^ [[User:Flynn|Flynn]]

== Referencing ==

Hello, GreenReaper, since you have not responded to my email, I am assuming that either it did not go through, or you did not notice it. However, you can disregard it now, as I am going to ask here: How do I add references to articles? Particularly, references to websites? --[[User:Equivamp|Equivamp]] 19:30, 4 May 2011 (EDT)

:I responded on the 19th to your email account on file, from the Hotmail address starting with my nickname. Perhaps you should check your bulk mail?

:Here is the relevant section of my reply:
<pre>
Basically:
* put '<ref>....whatever...</ref>' on the line that contains the information
backed up by the reference (typically after punctuation like full stops or
possibly commas)
* put '<references />' (or something like {{reflist|2}} ) where you want the
references to appear
* If you have something that is the reference for multiple things in
different areas of the article, use '<ref name="abc">...</ref>' the first
time, and just '<ref name="abc" />' the other times
* [Advanced] If you want two or more sets of references and footnotes, add '
group="whatever" ' inside the ref and references tags for that group.
</pre>
:More detailed help is available at [[Wikipedia:Help:Footnotes]] and [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia:Citing sources#How to format and place citations]]. --[[User:GreenReaper|GreenReaper]]([[User talk:GreenReaper|talk]]) 21:28, 4 May 2011 (EDT)

== Anyway? ==
Is there any reason why my edits were undone? Considering i look at the talk page saying i needed to trim or delete. considering there was a heck of a lot of links posted that i though were already posted on the article just wanted to trim it down to just the more important ones. --[[User:Tridragon|Tridragon]] 15:10, 7 May 2011 (EDT)
:My apologies. I did not realize this.

== Thank you! ==

Thank you for fixing the Category link on [[Twitter]]. I wasn't sure how to do that. --[[User:Equivamp|Equivamp]] 12:05, 14 May 2011 (EDT)
: Not a problem! It works like that for a lot of things, category links ([[:Category:Bat characters]]), media links ([[:File:Alexgrey.png]]), language links ([[:ru:WikiFur]]), etc. {{:User:AlexanderGrey/sig}} 12:08, 14 May 2011 (EDT)

== Welcome reply ==

Hi Equivamp, and thanks for the welcome. There's now a little background on my [[user:Andy Dingley|user page]].

Unfortunately my other edits seem rather less welcome and they've already been blanked. Wow, and I thought Wikipedia was bitey! [[User:Andy Dingley|Andy Dingley]] 18:11, 16 May 2011 (EDT)

== I totally just realized... ==

That little sprite thing that appears when you hover your mouse over an "edit section" button...that's a norn, isn't it? [[User:Equivamp|Equivamp]] 01:07, 28 May 2011 (EDT)
:Yep! They followed me here from the [[Creatures:|Creatures Wiki]]. --[[User:GreenReaper|GreenReaper]]([[User talk:GreenReaper|talk]]) 01:08, 28 May 2011 (EDT)
::I figured as much. I wish I were awesome enough to play that game. [[User:Equivamp|Equivamp]] 01:09, 28 May 2011 (EDT)

== Image censorship vs. click-to-show ==

WikiFur is [[WikiFur:What_WikiFur_is_not#WikiFur_is_not_censored_for_the_protection_of_minors|not censored for minors]]. I am personally open to the option of having certain images hidden by default, which I believe is implemented by the Russian WikiFur. I'll ask [[User:EvilCat|EvilCat]] about that. --[[User:GreenReaper|GreenReaper]]([[User talk:GreenReaper|talk]]) 17:32, 28 May 2011 (EDT)

:Please do. It's one thing to read about such when it's encyclopedic material--it's another entirely to see it plastered onto pages. If I came here for porn, I'd search, well, anything on FurAffinity. [[User:Equivamp|Equivamp]] 17:35, 28 May 2011 (EDT)

== Scientific inaccuracies ==

Hello Equivamp,
First off I'd like to apologise for that ridiculous title and removal of information. I was somewhat enraged by the information displayed on the Dinosaur page, but am way too tired and busy to fully organise it for the next week or so. I'll very quickly outline a little bit about myself so you can see where I'm coming from. My name is Palaeofox and I'm a Palaeobiology and Evolution graduate from The University of Portsmouth, England (hence the English spelling of Palaeo and the numerous 's's instead of 'z's.). I'm just organising my PhD in Palaeontology, which I will spend the next three years completing... So, relative to the majority of the furry fandom, I know an aweful lot about the subject of Palaeontology, Geology, Mass Extinction Events, Diversification Events and general Evolution. Almost every line on that page is, to put it bluntly, wrong and I intend to correct it to prevent the spread of misinformation.