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The BBC's groundbreaking documentary series Walking With Dinosaurs (WWD) inspired a fascination of Mesozoic life in millions. Although striking a similar style to Jurassic Park and containing numerous inaccuracies by today's standards, WWD worked to demystify paleo fauna. Dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and many other groups were portrayed as simply animals rather than evil killing machines. They engaged in many animalistic behaviors such as the mating ritual of Ornithocheirus (based on what is now Tropeognathus) that ended in an unceremonious demise (Haines, 1999).

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Walking with dinosaurs Episode 4: Giant of the Skies (part 8)

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One recent yet influential book within the paleo community (those with a fascination for extinct life) is All Yesterdays by John Conway, C.M. Kosemen, and Dr. Darren Naish. While scientists do remarkable work shedding new light on the lives of extinct animals, the authors of this book highlight the unknowns of paleontology. If we had fossils of modern creatures, there are some behaviors that couldn't be deduced such as the climbing abilities of goats (Conway, 2012). This same logic is applied to the past. There are known unknowns, aspects we know that we do not know and there are also unknown unknowns. These are aspects that we do not even know that we do not know (Conway, 2012). By discussing many unthinkable possibilities, the authors inspired creative new ways of imagining dinosaurs. Much more experimentation occurs in paleoart today due to the acknowledgement that there are features and behaviors that may be in the realm of possibility that we can only try to guess.

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Jurassic Park was a 1990 novel written by Sci-Fi author Michael Crichton. Steven Spielberg's 1993 film adaptation used revolutionary new computer-generated imagery to bring the dinosaurs to life. This Hollywood blockbuster ramped up the threat of dinosaurs by emphasizing the new scientific interpretations of them as swift, warm-blooded creatures that closely resembled their avian descendants. This made them far more dangerous yet entertaining to watch than their previous showings as big, lumbering swamp creatures. Finally, popular culture began to catch up with new ideas of dinosaurs. During the runtime of Jurassic Park, the similarities to birds (the modern true dinosaurs) are continuously referenced as in this scene with Gallimimus. Through the modality of film, public perceptions were radically altered and updated regarding prehistoric life even if there were several creative liberties taken.

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Jurassic Park (1993) - They're Flocking This Way Scene | Movieclips

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Prehistoric Kingdom is among the latest and most up-to-date portrayals of dinosaurs and other prehistoric life. The goal of this computer game is to create a successful prehistoric zoo, similar to previous entries into the tycoon genre. What is remarkable about this simulation is how incredibly accurate the developers, Blue Meridian, chose to make its creatures. The video game medium is being used to showcase many of the most modern knowledge of extinct animals. Though it is currently in Early Access (not yet up to a full release), many fun gameplay mechanics and stunning attractions have drawn many players.

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Prehistoric Kingdom | Early Access Announcement Trailer

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With the discovery and description of Deinonychus antirhoppus by John Ostrum, new paleoart emerged to breathe life into the words on the pages. Dr. Robert Bakker's early illustration of a running Deinonychus was a historic piece of visual media to coincide with Ostrum's findings (Bakker 1969). Through a drawing, perhaps an underappreciated form of literacy, Bakker encapsulated an argument that would forever change paleontologists' approach to dinosaurs. The Early Cretaceous predator is depicted in a sprinting position not previously associated with the group. Its body is in a horizontal posture with the tail sticking straight out, parallel to the ground (Bakker 1969). This contradicted the popular kangaroo-like stance of tripodal dinosaurs dragging their tails along the ground (Ostrum 1969). When creating paleoart, depictions of prehistoric life, the artist is building an argument, proclaiming the possibility or probability of certain features and lifestyles.

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Bakker, R. (1969). Deinonychus Illustration [Drawing]. Peabody Museum of Natural

History

Blue Meridian. (2022). Prehistoric Kingdom. Universal Studios, Amblin

Entertainment.

Conway, J. et al. (2012). All Yesterdays. Irregular Books

Crichton,of Natural History: Yale University M. (1990). Jurassic Park. Alfred A. Knopf.

Knight, C. R. (1897). Brontosaurus, A Giant Plant Eating Dinosaur  [Painting].

American Museum of Natural History, NYC, NY, USA.

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/dinosaurs-charles-r-knight/

Osterloff, E. The world's first dinosaur park: what the Victorians got right and wrong. The

Natural History Museum.  https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/crystal-palace-dinosaurs.html

Ostrum, J. (1969). Osteology of Deinonychus antirhoppus, an Unusual Theropod from Lower Cretaceous Mongolia. Peabody Museum. (pp.141-154)

Prehistoric Kingdom. (2020, September 30). Prehistoric Kingdom | Early Access

Announcement Trailer. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pv1I_tTVxg

Haines, T., Spindler, S. (Executive Producer). (1999). Walking With Dinosaurs

[TV series]. BBC Science Unit.

Spielberg, S. (Director). (1993, June 9). Jurassic Park. Universal Studios, Amblin

Entertainment.

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Paleontologist John Ostrum's literature on a small carnivorous theropod, Deinonychus, has become among the most influential work done on dinosaurs since the original findings were made in the early 1800s. For over one hundred years, dinosaurs had been described as big, dumb lizards that were eventually outcompeted by the smarter, more nimble mammals. In his description of his new find, Ostrum described it as an upright, agile predator that was intelligent enough to hunt in packs (a controversial topic today). A new association with endothermic birds (what we now know as close relatives of Deinonychus) was established as opposed to the traditionally cold-blooded reptilian view (Ostrum 1969). The literature surrounding this Cretaceous hunter dramatically changed what paleontologists though they knew about dinosaurs forever.

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Paleoart, the depictions of extinct animals, can have a tremendous impact on perceptions of them. New ideas can be brought to the forefront of scientific discussion while general audiences can also witness developments in the science of paleontology. In his works, Charles R. Knight captured the current views on dinosaurs in his time at the turn of the century, breathing life for the first time in millions of years into many of the skeletons found. After nearly a century of discoveries, these animals were starting to take shape though with many inaccuracies and vastly outdated ideas. An example is his recreation of Brontosaurus (which may be synonymous with Apatosaurus), here clearly shown living in and around water due to the old idea that sauropods (long-necked dinosaurs) were too big to support their own weight on land (Knight, 1897).

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I chose to begin this Padlet with the Crystal Palace Park dinosaurs by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins because these were the first widely seen reconstructions of dinosaurs available to the public. The three known at the time came from the United Kingdom, those being Megalosaurus, Iguanodon (a name which would later be transferred to a Belgian relative), and Hylaeosaurus (Osterloff). Despite their very outdated appearances, the statues at Crystal Palace captured the imaginations of many visitors past and present.

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Dinosaurs along with paleontology as a whole has been a fascination of mine since before I developed a long-term memory. For two centuries they have also captured public admiration, but in that time, scientific and public perceptions of dinosaurs have changed drastically due to new literary works. Countless books, movies, video games, and portraits have worked to capture the majesty of these long-gone animals (aside from modern birds). Literature has the power to push scientific progress as well as introduce new scientific discoveries to the public in a palatable way. In this Padlet, I explore some of the most influential texts in the history of paleontology.