That's because all pop-culture wants to peddle is the same 5 or so dinosaur species from "mah childhood" for the most part.
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Prehistoric animals unfairly ignored by pop culture
- Thread starter Toxi
- Start date
A lot of people are unaware of how diverse crocodilians were at one point.
Some of them could possibly run you down like lion. ...Some things, I'm glad are extinct.
Pretty sure that's from Monster Hunter.
Reminder that we had all kinds of amazing animals roaming around all 5 continents until about 12.000 years ago when humanity wiped them out.
Mammoths, Giant Sloths, Sabre Tooth Cats, Whooly Rhinos, gigantic deer, Cave Lions, Cave Bears, American Cheetahs, European Hyenas and forest Elephants. Tiny hippos on some islands in the Mediterranean, all kinds of cool birds etc.
Giant lizards and marsupial lions in Australia.
This planet was once flourishing with animal and especially mammal life.
And most of what's still left today is not going to survive this century. Let that sink in for a moment.
Mammoths, Giant Sloths, Sabre Tooth Cats, Whooly Rhinos, gigantic deer, Cave Lions, Cave Bears, American Cheetahs, European Hyenas and forest Elephants. Tiny hippos on some islands in the Mediterranean, all kinds of cool birds etc.
Giant lizards and marsupial lions in Australia.
This planet was once flourishing with animal and especially mammal life.
And most of what's still left today is not going to survive this century. Let that sink in for a moment.
It always impressed me that the only instance in pop culture of a giant sloth (and other awesome extinct animals) is the Ice Age movies
Every few centuries nature releases a lite version
Every few centuries nature releases a lite version
The front ribs look like they still have the rudimentary shape of gill plates.Eryops
A big fat 10ft long salamander with needle teeth around it's maw and 3 pairs of backwards facing fangs on the roof of it's mouth.
There's tons of weird shit in the Pliocene era, some of it in this thread already, that I always feel has something uncanny about it, in that they're often recognisably related to modern animals but are gigantic, strangely proportioned or are now dangerous predators with extra horns and teeth. I wish someone would get creative with it instead of more dinosaurs, cool as they are.
Yeah Quetzalcoatlus was just built to terrorize people in films and Jurassic World is still using Pteranodon, which was the equivalent of a large duck.
Titanaboa, although there have been movies with similar ideas like Anaconda, but those weren't big enough.
Gorgonops is cool looking too. IMO
Gorgonops is cool looking too. IMO
Mos
outside of these dinosaurs, these animals all come after the meteor 🧐
Threads making me wish Primeval was still around and hadn't gone shit.
The BBC used to have this show called walking with dinosaurs and then they made one called walking with monsters Which was about mammals and stuff post dinosaur apocalypse. Which was way cooler cus I didn't know half the things on that had even existed and some were real uncanny freaky looking in comparison to their mdoern descendants.
The BBC used to have this show called walking with dinosaurs and then they made one called walking with monsters Which was about mammals and stuff post dinosaur apocalypse. Which was way cooler cus I didn't know half the things on that had even existed and some were real uncanny freaky looking in comparison to their mdoern descendants.
Well then where the fuck is Dunkleosteus? It was a predatory fish around as long as a great white shark, except its head was covered in armor, and instead of teeth it had sharp bone plates. Its skull alone is the stuff of nightmares. Yet has this badass ever appeared in a movie?
I'll...I'll be in my bunk
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Couple dinosaurs I like:
Majungasaurus--basically a big sausage with legs.
Therizinosaurus--big fat plant eating feathered dinosaur with big Freddy Krueger claws.
Deinocheirus--T.Rex sized relative of Gallimimus with a duck like bill and a hump or sail of some sort on its back.
Majungasaurus--basically a big sausage with legs.
Therizinosaurus--big fat plant eating feathered dinosaur with big Freddy Krueger claws.
Deinocheirus--T.Rex sized relative of Gallimimus with a duck like bill and a hump or sail of some sort on its back.
Museum of Nature in Ottawa had an amazing exhibit of pterosaurs this summer.
Also, check this national geographic special :
Amazing creatures.
Also, check this national geographic special :
Amazing creatures.
if in new haven one day ; definitely head to the Peabody and see this specimen(the photographed one!) with your own eyes; one of the coolest things about being around this uni edit; lol this has to be a poke go spot right?You'd think a turtle the size of a goddamn car would be more exciting to film makers. Only example of an Archelon I can remember in media was "Chased by Sea Monsters", which also had Dunkleosteus. But I feel like that doesn't really count.
EDIT: Oh wait, it also had a Pokemon.
This thing must have a serious drawback somewhere, because it looks like a winner on the killer atributes.A lot of people are unaware of how diverse crocodilians were at one point.
Some of them could possibly run you down like lion. ...Some things, I'm glad are extinct.
Thanks for posting all the pictures! I don't actively look for these so it's really cool seeing these animals.
I got to say that the first posts pictures are kind of creepy, especially the first one where they're using all four limbs. I don't know why I feel that way.
I got to say that the first posts pictures are kind of creepy, especially the first one where they're using all four limbs. I don't know why I feel that way.
Yeah, I was hoping this thread was about giant ground sloths.I really wanted to see a Megatherium when I was a kid.
Probably it's inability to survive giant extinction level events.
Not evolution, humanity. Wherever we went we wiped out the megafauna in a few thousand years. The only ones to survive are in the ocean or Africa, where they learnt to deal with our shit.
What's reality doing ripping off Final Fantasy?The Demon Duck of Doom, aka Bullockornis. Might have been a hunter, might have been an herbivore there is debate
Opabinia
Jaekelopterus
Here's a bonus!
Hallucegenia
Our era has the largest animal that ever lived, so that's pretty cool.
Also, if you want to include animals that are now extinct but were alive at the same time as humans, there's a lot of cool shit. New Zealand had a species of eagle that was big enough to, and probably did on occasion, carry away human children.
Prehistoric animals are fucking awesome.
If animals were pokemon then our modern animals would be the first in evolution line
If animals were pokemon then our modern animals would be the first in evolution line
I think a skull of a small child was found with talon marks right where the eyes are. Poor kid
Pretty much any unique critter that existed after dinosaurs but before humans probably qualifies.
Of those not mentioned yet ITT...
Macrauchenia. Literally just a Star Wars alien with ears.
Of those not mentioned yet ITT...
Macrauchenia. Literally just a Star Wars alien with ears.
invertebrates in general, prehistoric or modern, get unfairly treated in media. I want to see more sympathetic depictions of arthropods and other creepy crawlies in media!
Would you rather be the apex predator or have some other animal occupy that position?
I'm choosing the former, our inability to sustainably use resources is what's at issue here.
Not all that dissimilar to the modern (and very, very endangered) Saiga:Pretty much any unique critter that existed after dinosaurs but before humans probably qualifies.
Of those not mentioned yet ITT...
Macrauchenia. Literally just a Star Wars alien with ears.
Cambrian period really does look like concept art for extra-terrestrial life
They really do, in fact it's possible some of those organisms may of survived on some alien world, well theoretically anyway.Cambrian period really does look like concept art for extra-terrestrial life
Halszkaraptor was a dromaeosaur ("raptor" dinosaur) playing a duck
Isn't this what Natalie Portman turned into in Black Swan?
There's so much diversity in prehistoric animals that it's really unfair how much of a focus dinosaurs are, even if they are cool as shit, and how limited the "dinosaur pantheon" actually is anyway.
Small herbivorous dinosaurs are in general not given their due.
Heterodontosaurus--small, angry looking herbivorous dinosaur with big fangs.
Leaellynasaura--the feathers (both their presence and extent) are pretty speculative here, but it did live in Australia when Australia was in the Antarctic circle, so even though it wasn't as cold as it was today, it would have seen some very, very long nights. Also had a really, really long tail in comparison to its body size.
Heterodontosaurus--small, angry looking herbivorous dinosaur with big fangs.
Leaellynasaura--the feathers (both their presence and extent) are pretty speculative here, but it did live in Australia when Australia was in the Antarctic circle, so even though it wasn't as cold as it was today, it would have seen some very, very long nights. Also had a really, really long tail in comparison to its body size.
Its absolutely insane to me that these things once walked the planet we live on. Unfathomable really.
Favorite prehistoric mammal:
Ambulocetus--which means "walking whale," though it was probably fully aquatic. Early whale that still retained a lot of anatomy of their land walking ancestors, was likely a crocodile like ambush predator.
Ambulocetus--which means "walking whale," though it was probably fully aquatic. Early whale that still retained a lot of anatomy of their land walking ancestors, was likely a crocodile like ambush predator.
Also, who can forget Megalania: a kaiju sized relative to Komodo Dragons and monitor lizards:
Entelodonts (also known as "Terminator Pigs") were relatives to modern day boars and peccaries that reached taller than 6 feet at the shoulder
Pelagornis is the largest flying bird ever discovered, clocking in with a wingspan of over 24 feet
Entelodonts (also known as "Terminator Pigs") were relatives to modern day boars and peccaries that reached taller than 6 feet at the shoulder
Pelagornis is the largest flying bird ever discovered, clocking in with a wingspan of over 24 feet
Titanaboa, although there have been movies with similar ideas like Anaconda, but those weren't big enough.
Gorgonops is cool looking too. IMO
Looks like they'd make great additions to Dino Crisis reboot.
What's reality doing ripping off Final Fantasy?
Opabinia
Looks like Jar Jar Binks' ancestor.
Behold the majesty of the floofy T-Rex!
They just wanted huggles damnit!
They just wanted huggles damnit!
LOL