Re: A matter of scale?

[JAMES ARONIS <Apollo@MLink.net>]

David Krentz wrote:

> Dinogeorge@aol.com wrote:
> >
> > In a message dated 7/18/01 2:10:40 PM EST, ptnorton@msn.com writes:
> >
> > <<  If its apparent size in the film turns out to actually be within the
> > range of scientific possibility....well, it boggles the mind! >>
> >
> > Also mind-boggling: In Spinosaurus most of the dorsal vertebrae were 
> > strongly
> > opisthocoelous (true to some extent of other kinds of theropods, too). That
> > is, the vertebrae formed ball-and-socket joints (with the ball on the front
> > of the vertebral body, or centrum, and the socket in the back of the body;
> > opisthocoelous: backward-cupped). This suggests a certain amount of
> > up-and-down (dorsoventral) intervertebral mobility or flexibility in the
> > Spinosaurus back--a feature I interpret as permitting the animal a few (3-4)
> > degrees of rotation between the vertebrae to arch the back. This movement
> > would be exaggerated by the elongated neural spines, which would spread
> > apart, something like the fingers of one's hand, as animal's back arched
> > (e.g., in a display versus another Spinosaurus; lowering the head and
> > spreading the sail at the same time). Any skin between the spines would open
> > up and stretch out; it would look spectacular on a 60-foot-long, 
> > 20-foot-tall
> > theropod, particularly if the skin between the spines were a different color
> > from the rest of the body. Dorsal ligaments would limit the amount of
> > sail-spreading (and keep the animal from falling apart at the vertebrae!),
> > but owing to the length of the neural spines (almost 2 meters) >any< amount
> > of spreading would work.
>
>   You know, over all, I'd have to say that the DESIGN of the Spinosaurus
> was exceptionally weak.  I know that there were some attempts to make it
> a little more interesting, but the money folks just didn't care.

True. It looked like an animated clay model in some scenes. Not very convincing.

>   I mean, everything COOL about the animal was sucked right out.  The arms and
> claws seemed too small,

How much bigger were they supposed to be relative to its legs? I found that they
seemed very large as they were depicted.

> the sail was stuck on the back like an afterthought on a kids toy,

Even though I'm a proponent of the spinosaur sail theory, I was also 
dissatisfied
with the rendition of it. It looked too stiff and too smooth, for one thing. It
reminded me a lot of artists' Dimetrodon sail reconstructions. It seemed too 
tall
from what I remember of the spines this animal possessed. One would also expect
brightly patterned coloring on an anatomical display feature such as a large 
sail.
There was none.

> the face was uninteresting, the lacrimal horns gave the same silhouette to the
> head as the raptors and T.rex, the color was bland..Yikes!

Yes, just like in most dinosaur movies. Shades of gray and brown. Although I
noticed that some of the other dinosaurs were given a bit more color this time
around. They're improving, albeit slowly. The horns should have been entirely
omitted.

> How about some dermal spines on top of the sail, make it torn through in 
> places,
> chewed on and beaten up!

That would have been a nice touch, especially after the battle with T. rex. I
expected some scrapes and cuts, but the spinosaur emerged without a single
indication that it nearly lost its life. The bite the T.rex gave it on the neck
should have killed it outright, if not decapitated it!!

> Carry the sail over the hips and into the tail to give it more imposing  mass!
> Just give it the appropriate single crest for a different look than from any
> other predator in the movie...

Where would the crest be located? I remember there was mentioned something
regarding spinosaur crests, a few months ago.

>   I'm really familiar with how these decisions get made, but all the choices 
> on
> this animal just seemed plain LAZY.  I would have been happier if it was a
> completely made up fantasy animal.

Everything in the design of the spinosaur appeared to be reserved, except for 
one
thing, its SIZE. I would have been much more satisfied had they chosen a design
based on Todd Marshall's spinosaur reconstruction. IMO, that is the best
reconstruction I have seen for this species to date.