I recently became curious about our prehistoric friends when I watched a Discovery channel show on the extinction of the dinosaurs. It wasn't until the end after countless theories were tested by many scientists, one scientist actually asked a very good question; what if the asteroid missed? It brought on even more theories. Many scientists thought that they wouldn't evolve in any way, some thought they would size down to look similar to humans with scales for skin. I started to think about this myself and wanted to learn more on this segment, when the program ended. The curiosity faded away over time, yet resurfaced just a few days ago when my brother introduced me to Dinosaur Train.
A TV series on PBS kids that basically describes a T-Rex getting mixed up with another dinosaur family and traveling through dinosaur time on the "dinosaur train". I sat with my brother who was transfixed as usual to this extraordinary show that included singing, trains and dinosaurs; his boyish fantasies come true. The show described the Troodans as the brains of the operation; the ones who created the train and the "time tunnels" in the first place. Still curious about these intelligent creatures I continued to do research on what would happen if the dinosaurs didn't go extinct. Then what would you know, I got information including Troodans.
Apparently Troodans were considered the smartest of the dinosaurs. Professor Larry Whitmore of Ohio University stated in this article (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6444811.stm) that they stood upright instead of on all fours and travelled in large groups. He also found evidence by studying the brain cavity that they possessed good vision and a potential brain structure compatible for problem-solving. It was also thought that if they followed a good evolution pattern, they could potentially have increased intelligence.
I learned in that article that these evolved dinosaurs were classified as "dinosauroids". Yet they were insulting to many scientists. Kristi Curry-Rogers stated that they could have had bigger brains and eyes but, quote, " I doubt seriously that any dinosaur would ever end up looking like a person, and it is fairly arrogant to think that the end point of all evolutionary trajectories should sort of emulate human beings."Never the less, the search for modern day dinosaurs, other than our fellow reptilian and avian variety friends, continues. Soon we'll be cloning them from blood in fossilized mosquitos. It'll be like Jurassic Park, and no one would have thought to wonder about the consequences. So for my fellow scientists, I bid you fare well and goodnight and leave you with a prehistoric footprint of a fact in your mind.
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