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Troodon
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01-07-2009 10:26pm#1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troodon
http://www.howardism.org/Philosophy/Questions/Troodon.html
http://ask.reference.com/related/Sentient+Dinosaurs?qsrc=2892&l=dir&o=10601
http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/D/dinosaurintell.html
http://scienceblogs.com/laelaps/2007/10/troodon_sapiens_thoughts_on_th.php
roodon (or Troödon in older sources) is a genusGenus
A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
of relatively small, birdBird
Birds are wing, Bipedalismal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay egg . There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates....
-like dinosaurDinosaur
Dinosaurs were the dominant vertebrate animals of Landform ecosystems for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic Period until the end of the Cretaceous Period , when most of them became extinct in the Cretaceous?Tertiary extinction event....
from the Late CretaceousLate Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous refers to the second half of the Cretaceous Period , named after the famous white chalk cliffs of southern England, which date from this time....
Period (75-65 myaMya (unit)
In astronomy, geology, and paleontology, mya or "m.y.a." is an abbreviation for "million years ago". Like the related unit bya, mya is traditionally written in lower case....
). Discovered in 1855, it was among the first dinosaurs found in North AmericaNorth America
North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
.
Its name ( "TROE-odon") is GreekAncient Greek
Ancient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic Greece , Classical Greece , and Hellenistic civilization periods of ancient Greece and the classical antiquity....
for "wounding tooth", referring to the dinosaur's teeth, which are different from those of most other theropods. The teeth bear prominent, apicallyApex
Apex may refer to:...
oriented serrations. These "wounding" serrations, however, are morphometrically more similar to those of herbivorous reptiles, and suggest a possibly omnivorous diet.
Characteristics
Troodon was a small dinosaur, around 2 metersMetre
The metre or meter is a Unit of measurement of length. It is the SI base unit of length in the metric system and in the International System of Units , used around the world for general and scientific purposes....
(6.5 ft) in length, 1 meter (3 ft) tall, and weighed 60 kilogramKilogram
The kilogram or kilogrammeThe spelling kilogram is used by the International Committee for Weights and Measures and the U.S....
s (130 lbPound (mass)
The pound or pound-mass is a Units of measurement of massused in the Imperial unit, United States customary units and other systems of measurement....
). It had very long, slender limbs, suggesting that the animal was able to move quickly. It had long 'arms' that folded against the wall of the thorax like a bird's. It had large, retractable sickle-shaped claws on its second toes, which were raised off the ground when running. Because of these features scientists regard Troodon as a member of the ManiraptoraManiraptora
Maniraptora is a clade of coelurosaurian dinosaurs which includes the birds and the dinosaurs that were more closely related to them than to Ornithomimus velox....
. Its eyes were large (perhaps suggesting nocturnal activity) and slightly forward facing, giving Troodon some depth perceptionDepth perception
Depth perception is the visual perception ability to perceive the world in three dimensions. Although any animal capable of moving around its environment must be able to sense the distance of objects in that environment, the term perception is reserved for humans, who are the only beings that can tell each other about their qualia of dist...
. In fact most reconstructions give Troodon eyes which point in a more forwards direction than almost any other dinosaur, which implies that it had better binocular visionDepth perception
Depth perception is the visual perception ability to perceive the world in three dimensions. Although any animal capable of moving around its environment must be able to sense the distance of objects in that environment, the term perception is reserved for humans, who are the only beings that can tell each other about their qualia of dist...
than most dinosaurs. Their light skulls contained a capsule similar to those found in ostrich dinosaurs. Troodon had one of the largest known brains of any dinosaur, relative to its body mass (comparable to modern birds). Hence it is believed to have been one of the most intelligent dinosaurs, even more intelligent than mammals of that era. Eggs have also been discovered, in nests.
Distribution
Troodon is known from the Judith River FormationJudith River Formation
The Judith River Formation is a fossil-bearing geologic formation in Montana, and is part of the Judith River Group. It dates to the upper Cretaceous....
and the upper Two Medicine FormationTwo Medicine Formation
The Two Medicine Formation is a geologic formation, or rock body, that was deposited between 83.5 ? 0.7 Ma to 70.6 ? 0.6 Ma , during Campanian time, and is located in northwestern Montana....
of MontanaMontana
Montana is a U.S. state in the Western United States. The western third of the state contains numerous mountain ranges; other 'island' ranges are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains....
, the Judith River Group of AlbertaAlberta
Alberta is one of Canada Canadian Prairies Provinces and territories of Canada. It became a province on September 1, 1905.Alberta is located in western Canada, bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S....
, the Horseshoe Canyon FormationHorseshoe Canyon Formation
The Horseshoe Canyon Formation is part of the Edmonton Group and is up to 230m in thickness. It is Late Campanian to Early Maastrichtian in age and is composed of mudstone, sandstone, and carbonaceous shales....
of Alberta, the North SlopeAlaska North Slope
The Alaska North Slope is the region of the U.S. state of Alaska located on the northern slope of the Brooks Range along the coast of two marginal seas of the Arctic Ocean, the Chukchi Sea being on the western side of Point Barrow, and the Beaufort Sea on the eastern....
of AlaskaAlaska
Alaska is the largest U.S. state of the United States by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait....
, and in the famous LanceLance Formation
The Lance Formation is a division of Late Cretaceous rocks in the western United States. Named after Lance Creek, Wyoming, the microvertebrate fossils and dinosaurs represent important components of the latest Mesozoic vertebrate faunas....
and Hell Creek FormationHell Creek Formation
The Hell Creek Formation is an intensely-studied division of Upper Cretaceous to lower Paleocene rocks in North America, named for exposures studied along Hell Creek, near Jordan, Montana....
s of the USA. There is some evidence that Troodon favored cooler climates, as it seems to have been particularly abundant in northern areas and during cooler intervals, such as the Early MaastrichtianMaastrichtian
The Maastrichtian is the last faunal stage of the Cretaceous geologic period, and therefore of the Mesozoic geologic era. It spanned from 70.6 ? 0.6 annum to 65.5 ? 0.3 Ma ....
.
It seems unlikely that all of these fossils, which come from localities hundreds or thousands of miles apart, separated by millions of years of time, represent a single species of Troodon. However, further study and more fossils are needed to determine how many species of Troodon existed.
Paleobiology
Troodon is thought to have been a predator like other theropods. This view is supported by its ManiraptoraManiraptora
Maniraptora is a clade of coelurosaurian dinosaurs which includes the birds and the dinosaurs that were more closely related to them than to Ornithomimus velox....
n features (sickle claw on foot) and apparently good binocular visionDepth perception
Depth perception is the visual perception ability to perceive the world in three dimensions. Although any animal capable of moving around its environment must be able to sense the distance of objects in that environment, the term perception is reserved for humans, who are the only beings that can tell each other about their qualia of dist...
.
Troodon teeth, however, are different from most other theropods. One comparative study of the feeding apparatus suggests that Troodon could have been an omnivoreOmnivore
Omnivores are species that eating both plants and animals as their primary food source. They are opportunistic, general feeders not specifically adapted to eat and digest either meat or plant material exclusively....
. The jaws met in a broad, U-shaped symphysisSymphysis
A symphysis is a cartilage fusion between two bones. It is a type of cartilaginous joint.Unlike synchondroses, symphyses are permanent....
similar to that of an iguanaIguana
Iguana is a genus of lizard native to tropical areas of Central America and South America and the Caribbean. The genus was first described by Austrian naturalist Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in his book Specimen Medicum, Exhibens Synopsin Reptilium Emendatam cum Experimentis circa Venena in 1768....
, a lizard species adapted to a plant-eating lifestyle. Additionally, the teeth of Troodon bore large serrations each of which is called a denticle. There are pits at the intersections of the denticles, and the points of the denticles point towards the tip, or apexApex
Apex may refer to:...
, of each tooth. The teeth show wear facets on their sides. Holtz (1998) also noted that characteristics used to support a predatory habit for Troodon - the grasping hands, large brain and stereoscopic vision, are all characteristics shared with the herbivorous/omnivorous primatePrimate
A primate is a member of the biological order Primates , the group that contains lemurs, the Aye-aye, Lorisidaes, galagos, tarsiers, monkeys, and apes, with the last category including humans....
s and omnivorous ProcyonProcyon
Procyon is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Minor. To the naked eye, it appears to be a single star, the list of brightest stars in the night sky with a visual apparent magnitude of 0.34....
(raccoon).
One study was based on the many Troodon teeth that have been collected from Late CretaceousLate Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous refers to the second half of the Cretaceous Period , named after the famous white chalk cliffs of southern England, which date from this time....
deposits from northern Alaska. These teeth are much larger than those collected from more southern sites, providing evidence that northern Alaskan populations of Troodon grew to larger average body size. The study suggests that the Alaskan Troodons may have had access to large animals as prey because there were no Tyrannosaurids in their habitat to provide competition for those resources. This study also provides an analysis of the proportions and wear patterns of a large sample of Troodon teeth. It proposes that the wear patterns of all Troodon teeth suggest a diet of soft foods - inconsistent with bone chewing, invertebrate exoskeletons, or tough plant items. This study hypothesizes a diet primarily consisting of meat
Reproduction
Varriccho et al. (2002) have described eight TroodonTroodon
Troodon is a genus of relatively small, bird-like dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Period . Discovered in 1855, it was among the first dinosaurs found in North America....
nests. All of these nests are from the Two Medicine Formation of Montana. These are all in the collection of the Museum of the RockiesMuseum of the Rockies
The Museum of the Rockies, affiliated with Montana State University - Bozeman and the Smithsonian Institution, is located in Bozeman, Montana, Montana, and is known for its Paleontology collections despite dinosaurs not being its sole focus....
and their accession numbers are MOR 246, 299, 393, 675, 676, 750, 963, 1139. The first of these were discovered by John Horner in 1983. Horner (1984) found isolated bones and partial skeletons of the hypsilophodontHypsilophodont
Hypsilophodonts were small ornithopod dinosaurs, regarded as fast, herbivorous bipeds on the order of 1-2 meters long . They are known from Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America, from rock formation of Middle Jurassic to late Cretaceous age....
Orodromeus very near the nests in the same horizon and described the eggs as those of OrodromeusOrodromeus
Orodromeus was a genus of hypsilophodont dinosaur from Late Cretaceous North America . It was a small herbivore that probably coexisted with dinosaurs such as Daspletosaurus and Einiosaurus....
. Horner and Weishampel (1996) reexamined the embryos preserved in the eggs and determined that they were those of Troodon, not OrodromeusOrodromeus
Orodromeus was a genus of hypsilophodont dinosaur from Late Cretaceous North America . It was a small herbivore that probably coexisted with dinosaurs such as Daspletosaurus and Einiosaurus....
.
Varricchio et al. (1997) made this determination with even more certainty when they described a partial skeleton of an adult Troodon (MOR 748) in contact with a clutch of at least five eggs (MOR 750), probably in a brooding position.
Varricchio et al (1997) described the exact structure of Troodon nests. They were built from sediments, they were dish shaped, about 100 cm in internal diameter, and with a pronounced raised rim encircling the eggs. The more complete nests had between 16 (minimum number in MOR 246) and 24 (MOR 963) eggs. The eggs are shaped like elongated teardrops, with the more tapered ends pointed downwards and imbedded about halfway in the sediment. The eggs are pitched at an angle so that, on average, the upper half is closer to the center of the nest. There is no evidence that plant matter was present in the nest.
Varricchio et al.(1997) were able to extract enough evidence from the nests to infer several characteristics of Troodon reproductive biology. The results are that Troodon appears to have a type of reproduction that is intermediate between crocodiles and birds, as phylogeny would predict. The eggs are statistically grouped in pairs, which suggests that the animal had two functional oviducts, like crocodiles, rather than one, as in birds. Crocodiles lay many eggs that are small proportional to adult body size. Birds lay fewer, larger, eggs. Troodon was intermediate, laying an egg of about 0.5 kg for a 50kg adult. This is 10 times larger than reptiles of the same mass, but two Troodon eggs are roughly equivalent to the 1.1 kg egg predicted for a 50 kg bird. Varricchio et al. also found evidence for iterative laying, where the adult might lay a pair of eggs every one or two days, and then ensured simultaneous hatching by delaying brooding until all eggs were laid. MOR 363 was found with 22 empty (hatched) eggs, and the embryos found in the eggs of MOR 246 were in very similar states of development, implying that all of the young hatched simultaneously. The embryos had an advanced degree of skeletal development, implying that they were precocialPrecocial
In Biology, the term precocial refers to species in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. The opposite developmental strategy is called "altricial", where the young are born helpless....
or even superprecocialSuperprecocial
The term superprecocial refers to a level of physical maturity and capability in young animals that is most extreme. Examples are the Megapode birds, which have full flight feathers and which, in some species, can fly on the same day they hatch from their eggs....
. The authors estimated 45 to 65 total days of adult nest attendance for laying, brooding, and hatching. The authors found no evidence that the young remained in the nest after hatching and suggested that, instead, they dispersed like hatchling crocodiles or megapode birds.
Varricchio et al. (2008) examined the bone histology of Troodon specimen MOR 748 and found that it lacked the bone resorption patterns that would indicate it was an egg-laying female. They also measured the ratio of the total volume of eggs in Troodon clutches to the body mass of the adult. They graphed correlations between this ratio and the type of parenting strategies used by extant birds and crocodiles and found that the ratio in Troodon was consistent with that in birds where only the adult male broods the eggs. From this they concluded that Troodon females likely did not brood eggs, that the males did, and this may be a character shared between maniraptoran dinosaurs and basal birds.
History
Troodon was originally spelled Troödon (with a diaeresisDiaeresis
In linguistics, diaeresis, or dieresis, is the pronunciation of two adjacent vowels in two separate syllables rather than as a diphthong, and it is also the name of the diacritic mark used to prompt the reader to pronounce adjacent vowels in this manner....
) by Joseph LeidyJoseph Leidy
Joseph Leidy was an United States paleontologist.Leidy was professor of anatomy at the University of Pennsylvania, and later was a professor of natural history at Swarthmore College....
in 1856, which was officially amended to its current status by Sauvage in 1876.
The Troodon tooth was originally classified as a "lacertian" (lizardLizard
Lizards are a large and widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 5,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains....
) by Leidy, but re-assigned as a megalosauridMegalosaurid
Megalosauridae was a family of relatively primitive Tetanurae theropod dinosaurs, order Saurischia. They were small-to-large carnivores with sharp teeth and three claws on each hand....
dinosaur by Nopsca in 1901 (Megalosauridae having historically been a wastebin taxon for most carnivorous dinosaurs). In 1924, Gilmore suggested that the tooth belonged to the herbivorous pachycephalosaur StegocerasStegoceras
Stegoceras was a genus of plant-eating ornithischian Pachycephalosauria dinosaur that lived in what is now North America during the Late Cretaceous Period ....
, and that Stegoceras was in fact a junior synonym of Troodon (the similarity of troodontid teeth to those of herbivorous dinosaurs continues to lead many paleontologists to believe that these animals were omnivores). In 1945, Charles Mortram SternbergCharles Mortram Sternberg
Charles Mortram Sternberg was an American-Canadian fossil collector and paleontology, son of Charles Hazelius Sternberg.Late in his career, he collected and described Pachyrhinosaurus, Brachylophosaurus, Parksosaurus and Edmontonia....
rejected the possibility that Troodon was a pachycephalosaur due to its stronger similarity to the teeth of other carnivorous dinosaurs.
The first specimen of Troodon that was not a tooth, then referred to its own genus (Stenonychosaurus), was named by Sternberg in 1932, based on a foot, fragments of a hand, and some caudal vertebrae from AlbertaAlberta
Alberta is one of Canada Canadian Prairies Provinces and territories of Canada. It became a province on September 1, 1905.Alberta is located in western Canada, bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S....
. A remarkable feature of these remains was the enlarged claw on the second toe, which is now recognized as characteristic of DeinonychosauriaDeinonychosauria
The Deinonychosauria were a successful clade of Theropoda in the Late Jurassic and Cretaceous Period . These carnivores are known for their switchblade-like second toes....
. Sternberg initially classified Stenonychosaurus as a member of the family CoeluridaeCoeluridae
Coeluridae is an historically paraphyletic family of generally small, Carnivore dinosaurs from the late Jurassic Period . For many years, any small Jurassic or Cretaceous theropoda that did not belong to one of the more specialized families recognized at the time was classified with the coelurids, creating a confusing array of 'coelurid' th...
. Later, Sternberg (1951) speculated that since Stenonychosaurus had a "very peculiar pesPes (zoology)
The wikt:pes#Latin is the Zoology term for the Anatomical terms of location portion of the hind limb of tetrapod animals. It is the part of the pentadactyl limb that includes the metatarsals and digits ....
" and Troodon "equally unusual teeth", they may be closely related. Unfortunately, no comparable specimens were available at that time to test the idea.
A more complete skeleton of Stenonychosaurus was described by Dale RussellDale Russell
Dale A. Russell is a Canadian geologist/palaeontologist, currently Research Professor at The Department of Marine Earth and Atmospheric Sciences of North Carolina State University....
in 1969, which eventually formed the scientific foundation for a famous life-sized sculpture of Stenonychosaurus accompanied by its fictional, human-like descendant, the "dinosauroid". Stenonychosaurus became a well-known theropod in the 1980s, when the feet and braincase were described in more detail. Phil Currie, reviewing the known TroodontidaeTroodontidae
Troodontidae is a Family of bird-like Theropoda dinosaurs. In previous decades, troodontid fossils were few and scrappy and they have therefore been allied, at various times, with nearly every major coelurosaurian lineage....
in 1987, reclassified Stenonychosaurus inequalis as a junior synonym of Troodon formosus. This synonymy has been widely adopted by other paleontologistsPaleontology
File:Geological time spiral - sharper.pngPaleontology from Greek: pa?a??? "old, ancient", ??, ??t- "being, creature", and ????? "speech, thought" is the study of prehistory life, including organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments ....
, and therefore all of the specimens once called Stenonychosaurus are now referred to as Troodon in the recent scientific literature.
Classification
The type specimen of Troodon has caused problems with classification, as the entire genus is based only on a single tooth from the Judith River Formation. Since the discovery of the original tooth, postcranial material from a related animal were given the name Stenonychosaurus. More complete remains of Stenonychosaurus convinced most paleontologists that it in fact was the same animal as the original tooth, so the name Stenonychosaurus was replaced with its senior synonym, Troodon. Other genera, including Polyodontosaurus and Pectinodon, have also been assigned to Troodon based on the assumption that this particular tooth type is limited to only a single type of dinosaur. For this reason, the future of the name Troodon itself is dubious--in similar situations, genera based on teeth have been abandoned in favor of names based on better remains. Familiar names like DeinodonDeinodon
Deinodon is a name assigned to Tyrannosauridae teeth of the Late Cretaceous of Montana by paleontologist Joseph Leidy in 1856 . Although it is likely that these fossilized teeth belonged to the dinosaur later identified as Gorgosaurus, it is virtually impossible to distinguish between different tyrannosaurid species based on tooth ch...
and TrachodonTrachodon
Trachodon is a nomen dubium genus of hadrosaurid dinosaur based on teeth from the Campanian-age Upper Cretaceous Judith River Formation of Montana, U.S.A....
have been abandoned in this way, and further research may require Troodon be replaced with Stenonychosaurus. In a chapter of the 2005 book Dinosaur Provincial Park, Phil CurriePhil Currie
Philip J. Currie is a Canada palaeontologist and museum curator who helped found the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Drumheller, Alberta and is now a professor at the University of Alberta in Edmonton....
(one of the leading experts on North American troodontids) resurrects the type species of Stenonychosaurus (S. inequalis) within the genus Troodon as Troodon inequalis (Currie, 2005).
The "Dinosauroid"
In 1982, paleontologist Dale RussellDale Russell
Dale A. Russell is a Canadian geologist/palaeontologist, currently Research Professor at The Department of Marine Earth and Atmospheric Sciences of North Carolina State University....
, curator of vertebrateVertebrate
Vertebrates are members of the subphylum Vertebrata, chordates with Vertebras or Vertebral columns. The grouping sometimes includes the hagfish, which have no vertebrae, but are genetically quite closely related to lampreys, which do have vertebrae....
fossils at the National Museum of Canada in OttawaOttawa
Ottawa is the Capital of Canada. The city has population of 812,000, the List of the 100 largest municipalities in Canada by population municipality in the country and second largest in Ontario....
, speculated on how evolutionEvolution
In biology, evolution is change in the heritability trait of a population of organisms from one generation to the next. These changes are caused by a combination of three main processes: variation, reproduction, and selection....
would have proceeded if the troodonts had survived the extincton of the dinosaurs. Russell speculated that a species like Troodon would have grown smarter and taken on a human-like appearance. Russell partnered with taxidermist and artist Ron Sequin and together they made a model of what a derived, intelligent Troodon would look like, naming their fantasy creation a "Dinosauroid" (Russell & Séguin, 1982). While a few paleontologists, such as David Norman (1985) and Cristiano dal Sasso (2004) have regarded this as a plausible line of reasoning, others, such as Gregory S. PaulGregory S. Paul
Gregory S. Paul is a freelance paleontologist, author and illustrator. He is best known for his work and research on theropoda dinosaurs, and his detailed illustrations, both live and skeletal....
(1988) and Thomas R. Holtz Jr.Thomas R. Holtz Jr.
Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. is a vertebrate paleontologist and senior lecturer at the University of Maryland, College Park's Department of Geology. He has published extensively on the phylogeny, morphology , ecomorphology, and locomotion of terrestrial predators, especially on tyrannosaurids and other theropod dinosaurs....
, consider it "suspiciously human" (Paul, 1988) and argue that a large-brained, highly intelligent troodontid would retain a more standard theropod body plan. Darren NaishDarren Naish
Darren Naish is a vertebrate paleontologist and science writer. He obtained a geology degree at the University of Southampton and later studied vertebrate palaeontology under British palaeontologist David Martill at the University of Portsmouth, where he obtained both an M....
has suggested the ground hornbill as a better model for a hominid-mimicking terrestrial theropod.(*)(*)
In popular culture
Troodon is featured in ITVITV
ITV is a public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom television network of British television broadcasters, set up under the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC....
's Prehistoric ParkPrehistoric Park
Prehistoric Park was a six-episode docu-fiction television mini-series that premiered on ITV on 22 July 2006 and on Animal Planet on 29 October 2006....
in 2006, where it was portrayed as a highly intelligent scavenger. It was also shown in two episodes of Dinosaur Planet. In one, a pack of dwarf Troodon make "friends" with a PyroraptorPyroraptor
Pyroraptor is a genus of Dromaeosauridae dinosaur from the late Cretaceous Period of France . It is known from a single specimen, estimated to have been 2.5 metres in length....
; in another, a pack of Troodon attack a flock of OrodromeusOrodromeus
Orodromeus was a genus of hypsilophodont dinosaur from Late Cretaceous North America . It was a small herbivore that probably coexisted with dinosaurs such as Daspletosaurus and Einiosaurus....
. Troodon was also featured in an episode of Animal ArmageddonAnimal Armageddon
Animal Armageddon is a paleontology-based American documentary film television series that premiered in February 2009 on Animal Planet....
.
In fiction, Troodon feature prominently in the 1994 science-fiction novel End of an Era by Robert J. SawyerRobert J. Sawyer
Robert James Sawyer is a Canada science fiction writer, born in Ottawa in 1960 and now resident in Mississauga. He has published 18 novels, and his short fiction has appeared in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Amazing Stories, On Spec, Nature, and numerous anthologies....
, in which they are the preferred host vehicle for intelligent MartianMartian
As an adjective, the term "martian" is used to describe anything pertaining to the planet Mars.However, a Martian is more usually a hypothetical or fictional native inhabitant of the planet Mars....
viral invaders. Also, an intelligent saurian species very like the Troodon, called the saurs, appears in Ken MacLeodKen MacLeod
Ken MacLeod , an award-winning Scotland science fiction writer, lives in South Queensferry near Edinburgh. He graduated from Glasgow University with a degree in zoology and has worked as a computer programmer and written a masters thesis on biomechanics....
's "Engines of Light" series of books.
In the Star TrekStar Trek
Star Trek is an American Science fiction on television entertainment series and media franchise. The Star Trek fictional universe created by Gene Roddenberry is the setting of six television series including the original 1966 Star Trek: The Original Series, in addition to ten feature films with Star Trek to be released on May 8,...
novel First Frontier by Diane CareyDiane Carey
Diane Carey is an author of historical fiction and science fiction who is perhaps best known for her work in the Star Trek franchise. She is the co-creator, with John J....
and James Kirkland, several members of the EnterpriseUSS Enterprise (NCC-1701)
The USS Enterprise is a starship in the Star Trek media franchise. The program depicts its crew's mission "to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before" under the command of Captain James T....
crew travel back in time and find that Troodon has rudimentary language and were well coordinated hunters. They also encounter evolved Troodons, called Clan Ru, from the future that were transplanted before the extinction by the PreserversPreservers
Preservers can refer to:*Preserver , a race in the fantasy comic Elfquest*Preservers, an ancient race in the Star Trek Expanded Universe; see List of Star Trek races#Preservers...
and were sentient beings capable of warp travel.
The Troodon to "Dinosauroid" 'Thought Experiment', as proposed by Dr. Dale Russell, has also fueled conversation in the UFO communityUfology
Ufology is a neologism coined to describe the collective efforts of those who study unidentified flying object reports and associated evidence....
. John Rhodes, the original proponent for the potential for intelligence in "Dinosauroid" like cryptids, called Reptilian-Humanoids or Reptoids, has an entire web site dedicated to this subject.
External links- Troodon in The Dinosaur Encyclopaedia at Dino Russ's Lair
- Prehistoric Montana
- American Museum of Natural History
- Dinosauroid
Now before I tell you the reasons why I'm making you aware of this dinosaur. i was facinated by this particular dinosaur ever since I was a child. I was a dinosaur fanatic, and not many chidren at the age of 9 had 200 dinosaur books and knew over 500species of dinosuar's:D
Why did it facinate me?
Because it was the most intellegent dinosaur that was "found" It also survived right up till the dinosaurs "perished"
Now if anyone is a fan of Jurassic park, you would of seen just how intellegent Velociraptors were, and they were a not to distant cousin of this dino. Infact as you know, Troodon was far more intellegent!
So why did "this" dinosaur "die out" and crocodiles, turtles, amphilibians, birds and other reptiles survive? This dinosaur had an advantage like most of it's survivors if not better evolutionary advantages.
Bigger brain
Extra toe/finger/Thumb
Was small
Was bout meat eating and plant eating
It lived in forest and land
It had large eyes, meaning it was nocturnal, and had very good vision.
Bear in mind the offical record of this dinosaur's survival was 10million years. So if we are to take evolutionary hypothesis into account simalar to the history of Primates. If troodon was on a simalar evolutionary path as it was with the primates in their time, getting bigger hands, bigger brains and becoming smaller and standing on two feet? Why didn't troodon evolve??
Thoughts on this, I'm really curious to see what people think of this, its widely talked about in other dino forums! ( I know alot on this but I will keep tight lipped on my thoughts)Tagged:0
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darjeeling wrote: »With all due respect, this is sheer fantasy. Generally, were someone to make a remarkable claim, I might ask for evidence. Here I am certain there isn't any, so I shan't bother.
The vast amount of genetic data collected from present-day people shows that we all belong to a single species, and that we share recent common ancestry. The fossil record shows that the anatomical features distinguishing modern humans appear in the fossil record no more than 200,000 years ago. Going progressively further back, the fossil evidence supports a taxonomic grouping of humans with the other apes, then with other primates, then with other mammals.
There is nothing in the scientific literature that could offer any support to an independent reptilian origin of a subset of modern humans. The notion is beyond laughable.
Where did you get your evidence????:rolleyes: Stop with the known, and go study the unknown. Try read a few books, and go online and study disclosure on these things. Talk to people.
People have died, thats why evidence is hidden. It's either that or you just don't look. The only fantasy that here, is your inability to discover yourself, by yourself. Everything can be deemed fantasy if you only accept your version of reality.
I will leave it there, to let it tiddle your minds. Your all not used to this
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mysterious wrote: »Where did you get your evidence????:rolleyes: Stop with the known, and go study the unknown. Try read a few books, and go online and study disclosure on these things. Talk to people.
People have died, thats why evidence is hidden. It's either that or you just don't look. The only fantasy that here, is your inability to discover yourself, by yourself. Everything can be deemed fantasy if you only accept your version of reality.
I will leave it there, to let it tiddle your minds. Your all not used to this
This is a science forum, and it deals with real evidence, not mysterious stuff that can't ever be seen.
It is simply nonsense to suggest that there's a dinosaur that went on a remarkable evolutionary trajectory to turn into something indistinguishable from humans, uniquely breaking all the rules of evolution and leaving no trace of its progress either in the fossil record or in the genes we study today.
Oh, but the evidence is conveniently hidden. I think Mandy Rice-Davies has the last word on that one: they would say that, wouldn't they.0 -
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darjeeling wrote: »Once you depart from the actual available evidence and start saying that there's a cover up to conceal the real evidence, well then you're deep into CT forum territory, and I see no point in proceeding here.
Well then the idea of Troodon dieing out is a theory too;)
People hide evidence, so if you can't see it doesn't mean its not there. You cant see my house doesn't mean its not there, that is your argument.
And my argument puts your "I praise the lord of mainstream science" out the windew sir.There is no reliable, reported evidence. You can't build a scientific case on the basis of evidence you think might be out there but can't find! [/qoute]
So what kind of source is reliable, "mainstream" science.
Good heavens, you bow to the system at this rate. No wonder you don't know the troodddd, I mean truth.I've told you why, biologically, it's nonsense, but I can go on saying it if you like.
No it isn't. To say that is the height of ignorance. You cannot state your belief as fact. I'm not going to beaten down by your narrow minded views.
I never ONCE said it didThere are no reported transitional fossils to suggest that any late cretaceous dinosaur evolved into something resembling a primate.
Don't twist my words. There are many scientists who study the whole troodon complex and not one not ever did any scientist claim that Troodon evolved into a primate, that is just your ignorant assertions.
http://www.historum.com/showthread.php?t=2655The available hominin fossils point to a descent of humans from African apes several million years ago.
Here is a link where they are discussing that OofA theory is not so "biological" But we can see you believe everything the mainstream view is:rolleyes:
http://www.paperlw.net/html/Anthropology/200807/20-2285.html
http://www.actionbioscience.org/evolution/johanson.html
http://txtwriter.com/Onscience/Articles/humanevolution.html.
Alot of Paleontologists are now disagreeing with your theory of out of Africa, So the ones do know will keep quiet while you all battle it out
Tens of millions of years of independent evolution leads to huge differences in genome organisation (and hence rapidly to hybrid infertility) and in individual gene sequences. There are, though, no reports of people found to have chromosome arrangements that differ as radically as expected under your scenario. There are no instances in any of the public genetic databases of individual human genes that are more similar to reptile sequences than to chimp sequences.
Homo sapiens has 3 (mainstream dumbed down version blood types) O, A, AB,
It has 29 - 35 blood groups officially in scientific separated groups. Then you have the whole RH - blood which is alien. Meaning not from earth. No Rhesus monkey gene present. It has two less chromosomes than other primates. You also have copper based blood which is another topic for another day. This is all just for homo sapiens you know... What did we evolve from and not just apes?
Your lost in your own argument.The time to recent common ancestor for human genetic sequences is of the order of hundreds of thousands of years, not the tens of millions you would require.]
So you don't then. Well, I kind of knew that.
What are you on about. You really are lost with something here.
I never once said humans were reptiles I never said troodon was a human, not close and not ever. :rolleyes::D Oh dear oh dear.
But I can give you links to show where scientist do agree that our DNA has alien DNA and mordern man is engineered aka homo sapens.
http://www.monstrous.com/forum/?topic=5482.00 -
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No you didn't you said no reptile would evolve into primates:). You said it. no one else did. No one else said resemble one either and I never suggested that either.darjeeling wrote: »
I said 'resembling a primate'.
Stop twisting it.You think there are troodon descendents that are indistinguishable from humans. Humans are primates, so that means you're saying that a late cretaceous dinosaur evolved into something resembling a primate - just as I said. No word twisting, but simply restating - clearly - what you're saying.
You have twisted my words, read above.
Now to get to the pont, and take all your off points, into context.
I understand the evolution of humanoid, and humanoid is not a trait of evoultionary processs unique to earth. The humanoid is a universal body type to evolve for interplanetary travel. The thumb allows the use of tool making and making with hand of practical requirments. The Brain used to for intelligence and the limbs used to walk upright. Troodon was evolving to be more upright and walk like Ostriches. Its brain was developimg. It has had claw like hands that could be used like our hands but obviously more simple use.
There is actually no reason why the Troodon couldn't evolve to Humanoid form. They live on the same planet as we do. The evolution was not that different either.
My point they are humanoid in shape. As they have 200 million year chance of evolving far beyond us, they could easily of adapted more to look like us by use of genetic engineering. INfact they could even have altered our DNA to look more like them. Afterall. We are 10% Reptillan. Ruling bloodlines of this planet have more 50% reptillian DNA. They have reptillian traits. Tall, hairless, thin lips big eyes, scaly skin, more inept to wrinkly skin, green/hazel eyes. What I'm saying, is homo sapiens was designed to be so racially different to other primates because of the mixing. I'm not going to go into the theories and other theories. But you need to get of the mainstream crapology of only one route and one way thinking.
Humanoid, doesn't mean homo sapiens or human. Any species can evolve to humanoid form. Its a well branched topic.
lol...Did you actually look at any of these links? Multiregionalism - now essentially discredited - reckoned humans evolved from Homo erectus that first left Africa a million or two years ago. 'Out of Africa' reckons modern human ancestors left Africa a hundred thousand years ago. Everyone in the debate agrees hominins evolved in Africa, as I said. By rights, it's for me to tell you not to twist my words - as you have throughout your post.
How do you know were you there 300,000 years ago. There is also much evidence to suggest that other beings came to alter our DNA and mix with them to give the final creation of Homo sapiens. I still believe this is part of evolution. Is there any proof that Troodon actually died out? They are still finding new speices today.
Since we are a binary star Evoution, is a tricky word on this planet imo.:)
LMFAO.That is no more than unsourced internet rubbish. Does the alleged researcher cited even exist? PubMed doesn't turn up any of his papers.
So which scientist should we believe? What source should we believe in? Like seriously now, I'm asking a genuine question. I would ask the same to anyone especially people who just block out both sides. Look it up. Evidence is hidden, and you prove to be so ignorant of it. I will post more links tomorrow of facts, where scientists have proven E.T intellegent design tampering in the human genome. They found the alien gene. That is mainstream science finding it. But others knew thousands of years ago.The point is that no DNA sequence from anything currently walking around looking like a human looks more like a reptile sequence than a human - or chimp - sequence. No wildly different reptile-derived karyotypes have been seen in anything currently walking around looking like a human.
You mean you don't know, remember what I said about Ignorance. Unless You can prove to me you know for certain, or you actually look like you have researched this, you depend so much on your mainstream backdrop. The T.V says so, time magazine says so, Stevan Hawkings says so , and you jump on it like a horse to cart.
What research Have you done yet?So no fossil evidence and no genetic evidence (no, human blood groups don't offer you any support, should you think otherwise) means no evidence.
Oh yes it does. If you continue to dismiss reality, then prove it your links. Your very quick witted on just saying no that not true.
But that's all you say.
What research have you shown?0 -
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