Extinct Prehistoric Lifeforms That You Wish Were Still Around And Those You're Glad Are Gone

[BAYLOR]

Because the feathers get everywhere...

So Raptors did have feathers? Interesting.

They must have been highly intelligent creatures, probably hunted in packs , hierarchical , possibly could communicate back and forth . I don't know if they were around at time of the asteroid, but if they had not died out , could they have have evolved to become the dominant intelligence on earth? They seems have everything going for them. A few million more years , maybe developed a larger cranium.

 

[willwallace]

Bring back the pterodactyl. Who doesn't like giant flying reptiles?

Also brontosaurs, and stegosaurs.

No t-rex or velociraptors, please.

 

[hardsciencefanagain]

Pity these aren't around any more
Mark Witton's reconstruction of Quetzalcoatlus

 

[The Crawling Chaos]

So Raptors did have feathers? Interesting.

They must have been highly intelligent creatures, probably hunted in packs , hierarchical , possibly could communicate back and forth . I don't know if they were around at time of the asteroid, but if they had not died out , could they have have evolved to become the dominant intelligence on earth? They seems have everything going for them. A few million more years , maybe developed a larger cranium.

Is it not scientifically established that raptors and other dromaeosaurids (and the larger group known as "theropods") never disappeared but simply evolved into the birds we know today?

I know that everytime I look at a chicken, I immediately think "Velociraptor". But maybe I'm alone in this...

Actually, after looking up the article on Wikipedia (I know...) I must say that the introduction to the article "Bird" is just too cool to ignore:

"Birds (classAves and cladeAvialae) are highly advanced theropod dinosaurs."

We technically still live amongst dinosaurs. And that is enough to make the world a far better place as far as I'm concerned.

 

[hardsciencefanagain]

CC
knowledge about the (for want of a better term) reptile -bird transition is ,as the experts themselves call it,in a state of flux.
Most of the "transitional" fossils come from China,if we're lucky they are preserved in finegrained (so-called lithographic)limestone.
But the majority suffer from "indifferent preservation"
A lot of the bones of avialean fossils are surrounded by EITHER feathers or hair,of which some are coloured.
Longisquama is feathered,but not avialean

experts on the matter of feathers in aviales:Zhou,Widelitz,Prum,Feduccia
some importants discoveries and hypotheses :juvenile enanthiornithes from the Cretaceous of China,with well-preserved sternum
Sinosauropteryx feathers might be degraded collagen fibers,according to some(vide Lingham-Soliar,Roy.Soc.Lond.)
Yutyrannus (Cretaceous)from China,bigger than normal "feathered dinosaur"
some important experiments:Alexander(vide the journal PNAS):modelling Microraptor flight

MOST OF JINGMAI OÇonnor's articles are freely available online.However,these are technical.....

 

[hardsciencefanagain]

I suggest you Google "Phorusrhacids"

I think we should be glad they're extinct

 

[BAYLOR]

Is it not scientifically established that raptors and other dromaeosaurids (and the larger group known as "theropods") never disappeared but simply evolved into the birds we know today?

I know that everytime I look at a chicken, I immediately think "Velociraptor". But maybe I'm alone in this...

Actually, after looking up the article on Wikipedia (I know...) I must say that the introduction to the article "Bird" is just too cool to ignore:

"Birds (classAves and cladeAvialae) are highly advanced theropod dinosaurs."

We technically still live amongst dinosaurs. And that is enough to make the world a far better place as far as I'm concerned.

It would have been nice if just a few off the non avian species of Dinos could have survived the asteroid. Ammonites too.

 

[BAYLOR]

I suggest you Google "Phorusrhacids"

I think we should be glad they're extinct

Nope, I just don't see a problem here. Having a few terror birds around would be no a big deal. Think of the size of the drumsticks.

 

[hardsciencefanagain]

LOL

The implications for the USA would be tremnedous .Just think about Thanksgiving..

 

[BAYLOR]

LOL

The implications for the USA would be tremnedous .Just think about Thanksgiving..

Thanksgiving would a whole lot more exciting.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

Size isn't everything. Duck, Goose, Chicken all taste better than turkey.
You can buy Ostrich meat. There are some near here. Up close they are rather scary and lizardy.

 

[BAYLOR]

Size isn't everything. Duck, Goose, Chicken all taste better than turkey.
You can buy Ostrich meat. There are some near here. Up close they are rather scary and lizardy.

Gooses can be very nasty creatures. They hiss at you and will even bite you if the can.

 

[BAYLOR]

Pity these aren't around any more
Mark Witton's reconstruction of Quetzalcoatlus

View attachment 23646

Those would definitely be dangerous to have around. Im thinking humans would likely be on their menu.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

They hiss at you and will even bite you if the can

I advise picking up a dead goose in supermarket or butcher, then the hissing and biting is someone else's problem. Very tasty and not as greasy as duck.

Do not attempt to bring a live goose home.

 

[hardsciencefanagain]

Argentavis

 

[BAYLOR]

I advise picking up a dead goose in supermarket or butcher, then the hissing and biting is someone else's problem. Very tasty and not as greasy as duck.

Do not attempt to bring a live goose home.

They don't like to be bathed either.

 

[BAYLOR]

Argentavis

View attachment 23659

Wow

 

[Ray McCarthy]

Believed to be perhaps largest true bird?
Argentavis magnificens

The estimate span was 7 m (23 ft), height c. 1.5 m (4.9 ft) and the mass approx. 72 kg (159 lb) In 2014 another extinct species, Pelagornis sandersi, was described having a similar size (although only weighing 22 to 40 kg). For comparison, the living bird with the largest wingspan is the wandering albatross, at 3.65 m (12.0 ft). Since A. magnificens is known to have been a land bird, another good point of comparison is the Andean condor, which is not too distantly related to Argentavis. This bird is among the largest land birds, with a wingspan of up to 3.2 m (10 ft) and weighing up to 15 kg (33 lb).

 

[BAYLOR]

Believed to be perhaps largest true bird?
Argentavis magnificens

Thats a pretty big bird, not sure id want to run into one of those. But aren't cryptozoologist who think this one or one like it might be still around? The Thunderbird legend?

 

[Ray McCarthy]

The Thunderbird legend?

Condors?

another good point of comparison is the Andean condor, which is not too distantly related to Argentavis. This bird is among the largest land birds, with a wingspan of up to 3.2 m

There was a very large NZ bird, not so long extinct which may be source of Arab "Roc" legends. Arabs long ago did travel beyond India.


This is mad about A. magnificens:

the wings were simply too long to flap effectively until the bird was some height off the ground