Alternate dinosaur evolution

How much would it take to alter the evolutionary development of various dinosaur species? What could be the optimum process for certain kinds of dinosaur?
 
I have a book by Dougal Dixon called The New Dinosaurs that talks about it. Only problem is, it has to many descendants of pterasaurs. The problem is that an asteroid did not wipe them out, competition from dinosaurs once they learned how to fly. In short, they were driven to extinction by birds. And I also have this website bookmarked that talks about modern variants of dinosaurs: http://www.unet.univie.ac.at/~a0000265/Spec/index.html
 
How much would it take to alter the evolutionary development of various dinosaur species?

A minor genetic mutation, which gave the individual so afflicted an advantage over other members of its species.

What could be the optimum process for certain kinds of dinosaur?

Since evolution is a random process, not a drive towards an ideal form, i question whether there is such a thing as an optimum process for the evolution of dinosaurs.

either way, they all die after the asteroid hits.
 

NothingNow

Banned
It wouldn't take much. And We actually Don't know enough about Dinos to know what an optimum process would be. But for an Optimum body plan I'd say theropods had it down pat. In It's simplest form the Theropod Body is a Flexible, adaptable, and Efficient body plan, suited for anything Except for a Large grazing animal. Therizinosaurs were Browsing herbivores for Example.


... I also have this website bookmarked that talks about modern variants of dinosaurs: http://www.unet.univie.ac.at/~a0000265/Spec/index.html


Everyone loves Spec. It's a Great site when the pages really work.
Also the Dinosauroids by Simon Roy (povorot) http://povorot.deviantart.com/gallery/#The-Dinosauroids http://povorot.deviantart.com/gallery/#The-World-They-Live-In

Nemo Ramjet also Did some stuff with him. Ramjet's the guy doing the Snaiad stuff @ http://www.nemoramjet.com/snduterus.html (but thats either /FH or /ASB stuff)

therizinosaurus.jpg
 
I have great respect for the science and creativity behind Snaiad, but the phallic nature of everything is ... disturbing ... :rolleyes:
 
I do like that povorot fellow's idea of continued dinosaur evolution-- the trend towards greater feather development and a shift away from the larger creatures, such as sauropods and the giant theropod carnivores, to (relatively) smaller saurischian bipeds superficially closer to birds, seems entirely plausible to my untrained mind.
 
I say we try to get that Povorot fellow over here. I mean, we're a forum built for discussing things like this.
 
I say we try to get that Povorot fellow over here. I mean, we're a forum built for discussing things like this.
But how to contact him? Simply messaging him something like "Hey, you're cool, join this forum [link]" is a bit too blunt, is it not?

Perhaps a map or some such? Did povorot ever specify where he thought dinosauroid sapiens would first develop and spread from? Are they in the Americas? What about agriculture? He doesn't seem to have developed them beyond the hunter-gatherer stage yet.
 
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But how to contact him? Simply messaging him something like "Hey, you're cool, join this forum [link]" is a bit too blunt, is it not?
True. I suggest we simply make a thread about it, wait for some comments and then contact him to say we've been discussing his work.
Perhaps a map or some such? Did povorot ever specify where he thought dinosauroid sapiens would first develop and spread from? Are they in the Americas?
Well, he seems to have set them in Eurasia, considering that he keeps mentioning the 'northern steppes' as compared to the villages of Aegean, and he put the Mesolithic drawing in East Asia. However there are two species according to his text on 'Language of the Dinosauroids', A. saurotheos and A. borealis, whose names seem to suggest that one lives to the north.

Actually, I have a theory. I think Nemo Ramjet's stuff is that of A. saurotheos, and the stuff we see from povorot is meant to be a. Borealis. However since Nemo ramjet's latest drawing of the Dinosauroids seems to be much more like povorot's, that seems to cast doubt on this theory.
What about agriculture? He doesn't seem to have developed them beyond the hunter-gatherer stage yet.
Well, they're working bronze so they'd have to be sedentary (as far as I know working bronze does require an immovable working area, but I will admit that my knowledge of early metalworking is very limited.) However he also states that they only very rarely domesticate animals (the main exception seems to be the 'hunting bird'), and most of his drawings imply that they are carnivorous, so I'm not sure exactly how they'd have the resources to do so.
 

Nietzsche

Banned
Hm. The problem with having Dinosaurs advance much more during the Cretaceous is that, they were pretty well-built for the world they lived in. I mean, you have something like the Tyrannosaurus Rex, how do you get any more specialized? It was a mouth with legs and rear-balance. Sure, you'll get to the point that those little scraggly arms are reduced to no more than the "nips" found on the snakes of today, but you can't do much more with it. Its eyes faced forward, ect, ect.
 
I dunno. Seems to me that people have to be less conservative.

Looking at the triassic, for instance, there are few hints as to what the Dinosaurs would become in the Jurassic and Cretaceous.

An examination of the Jurassic would not give us any real hint as to the proliferation of the ankylosaurs, hadrosaurs and ceratopsians of the cretaceous.

Even the cretaceous sauropods were rather shocking departures with their armour and their spikes.

A lot of specworlds dinos seem... unimaginative. There. I've said it.
 
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