The Mega Thread of Dinosaur Facts, trivia, pop-culture, Art, theories, and blunders, OH MY!

[Pixelated Sparkster]

Hey fellow Park Owners!

This is a thread to share any interesting facts, information, discoveries, or hilarious goofs on dinosaurs you'd like to share. It could be about anything dinosaur, and If you discover anything cool, interesting, or funny, please share it with us down below!

'Speedy' the Sauropod

Art by PaleoPastori

Scientific supervision and text by
Matthew Mossbrucker

"Description of Fabio’s Apatosaurus ajax painting

This painting depicts a historic Morrison Formation site, Quarry 5 in Morrison, Colorado. Discovered by Arthur Lakes in the spring of 1877, this site is most significant because it produced the type of Stegosaurus armatus, Yale Peabody Museum specimen 1850. Sauropod remains have been documented at this site as well.

Recent investigations at Quarry 5 yielded trace fossils on the top of the beds that contain the body fossils, including tracks likely made by juvenile and adult Apatosaurus ajax. On a single ex situ boulder, juvenile sauropod trackways demonstrate two distinct footfall cadences – a near heel-toe hind track pattern, and a trackway that shows twice the amount of space (as compared to the aforementioned tracks) between footfalls in tracks the same size. This indicates that the two trackways represent distinct locomotion pattern: the closer footfalls a walking speed with the wider footfalls representing a low-speed ‘run.’

While the trackway of close footfalls does demonstrate relatively shallow, lunate manual tracks, the wider footfalls have no features representing manual tracks (either overstepped or not). This suggests the possibility that young Apatosaurus had the capability of moving short distances bipedally.

Patient work at Quarry 5 is ongoing - hampered by very hard, silicic sandstone."


Matthew T. Mossbrucker
Director and Chief Curator
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Morrison Natural History Museum

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I recently found out about this, that it is a possibility that baby sauropods could have been bipedal in their early stages of life, only for them to gradually adapt to a quadrupedal posture when they reach a more mature and heavier body size. This is especially interesting as viewers of the BBC show 'Walking with dinosaurs' may have seen baby diplodocus being quadrupedal since birth, where adapting a more bipedal lifestyle should allow for the hatchlings to be more maneuverable and reach higher vegetation then they could with a quadrupedal stance. This could also be linked with their earlier sauropodomorph ancestors, the prosauropods. In which prosauropods like the plateosaurus could swap between a bipedal and quadrupedal lifestyle.

Gertie, the dinosaur from the first keyframe animation

Released on September 15th, 1914. Sometimes called the world's oldest cartoon (erroneously), it is still the first to be created using keyframe animation. This movie required Winsor McCay and his assistant John A. Fitzsimmons (who traced the backgrounds) to create 10,000 drawings, which they inked on rice paper and mounted on cardboard.

Gertie is a dinosaur based on the Brontosaurus (nowadays known as Apatosaurus) skeleton in the American Museum of Natural History. McCay's employer, William Randolph Hearst, was displeased with McCay's success outside of the newspapers, and used his contractual power to reduce McCay's stage activities.

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One of my favorite animated pieces, Gertie the dinosaur was the dinosaur that showcased what framed animation is like to the general audience. Which is an interesting perspective, as we praise Jurassic Park for the amazing CGI technology, it was also a dinosaur focused setting that introduced the use of animation in film. Plus she still has her charm after more than 100 years.

When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth

A popular fact among Jurassic Park fans is how the banner seen in the final T-rex scene of the movie showcases a falling banner with the Text "When dinosaurs ruled the earth" is a reference to the movie of the same name. This was done in homage to the extraordinary special effects used in that movie, and how Jurassic Park wish to carry that torch.

Spoiler: Plus, our friend the Chasmosaurus made a major appearance in that movie

That's all I have for now, but I will be sharing more dinosaur facts as soon as I discover them. Be sure to share your favorite dinosaur facts discoveries too! May you all have a wonderful day!