Dinosaurs:
The biggest lies Hollywood ever told
From the moment dinosaurs thundered across cinema screens, they've captured our imaginations. But how much of what we see is actually real?
Two passionate palaeontology students from the University of New England (UNE), Luke Royce-Haig (Honours) and Blake Forrest (Masters), are here to separate the fossil facts from Hollywood fiction.
Their verdict?
The dinosaurs you grew up loving probably looked nothing like their movie counterparts.
Dinosaurs on the big screen
"One of the first true iconic dinosaur movies was the adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World, which was made in the '20s," says Luke. "It depicted a Brontosaurus rampaging through London."
But the real game-changer came in 1993.
"The watershed moment is often said to be Jurassic Park," Luke explains.
"This really brought a more up-to-date view of dinosaurs to the general public. What Jurassic Park really did was it helped form this idea of the evolutionary context of dinosaurs, and their relationship to birds."
Image credit: Amaury Laporte, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Image credit: Amaury Laporte, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
"It brought that knowledge to the general public and gave us a better idea of these animals as complex, dynamic animals, rather than slow-moving, relics of the past."
Hollywood's prehistoric problems
While movies like Jurassic Park have transformed our understanding of dinosaurs, it hasn't all been for the better.
"The detriment I would say is that people view dinosaurs as 'movie monsters', rather than real, complex animals," says Blake. "People are also prone to taking film as fact, despite the artistic license that Hollywood takes."
An example of this is our perception of the famous Tyrannosaurus rex.
"A big misconception is this pop culture idea that Tyrannosaurus rex couldn't see you unless you were moving," says Luke.
"There is absolutely no evidence that this was true, in fact, this is an example of the animal being depicted as less capable than it was in reality."
"Tyrannosaurus rex, we are pretty sure, had some of the best eyesight in the animal kingdom."
It's a similar story when it comes to the toy figurines we've all had an obsession with at some point.
Luke and Blake explain that when dinosaurs are being replicated in pop culture and in toys, features are often exaggerated, and sometime traits can be taken from other animals.
While this can make our favourite figurines visually appealing, they're often scientifically inaccurate.
In this video, Luke and Blake unpack why dinosaur features can be exaggerated for the screen.
Below, Luke and Blake unpack the inaccuracies of some common toy dinosaurs:
Ankylosaurus
Stegosaurus
Triceratops
Tyrannosaurus rex
Velociraptor
When science moves faster than cinema
One reason why films and pop culture often get dinosaurs wrong is that our knowledge of palaeontology is constantly evolving.
No dinosaur better illustrates this than the Spinosaurus.
"Spinosaurus is the Schrödinger's box of dinosaurs," says Luke."We have no idea what it's going to end up like after the next paper."
Originally discovered in the 1920s, Spinosaurus remained a mystery for decades.
"The first fossils were found by a German paleontologist called Ernst Stromer, but unfortunately his collection was destroyed during the Berlin bombing in World War II.
"All we had to go off were descriptions and images for a long time."
Because of this, our interpretation of Spinosaurus was questionable.
"At one point we thought it had a big fin on its back, and one of the Jurassic Park movies even depicted it as a Tyrannosaurus rex on steroids, which we now know is very inaccurate.
"Based on newer finds and comparisons with related animals, we know that Spinosaurus had a very sort of long narrow snout, like a crocodile.
"This animal was probably adapted to swim and eat fish."
The descriptions of some dinosaurs can change quickly, depending on location, and how many scientists are studying it.
"Some animals we can find one specimen of, and then nothing else is done for decades."
Blake notes that for our understanding of prehistoric creatures to increase, we need people to take an interest.
"It is really important that people actually look at these things over and over again and look for more specimens, because more specimens equals more information."
Inspiring the next generation
Despite their inaccuracies, dinosaur blockbusters are an important way of introducing people to paleontology.
Like many other dinosaur enthusiasts, both Blake and Luke's passion for prehistoric research can be traced back to their childhood screen encounters.
"I've loved dinosaurs since I was about three or four," Luke recalls. "The Land Before Time franchise was my first real exposure to dinosaurs and that might have actually sparked my interest. Along with Jurassic Park, of course."
"For me, it was films like Disney's Fantasia," says Blake. "It wasn't the most accurate; there were Sauropods wading around in water unable to support themselves, big monstrous Tyrannosaurus rex, and animals from all different time periods, but the music and the interaction of those creatures really captured my imagination and was my formative memory of dinosaurs.
"I never really lost that passion."
Blake and Luke's tips for aspiring paleontologists
Whether your love of dinosaurs is lifelong or relatively new, Blake and Luke say there is no wrong way to get into palaeontology.
"If you're interested in palaeontology, even just as a passing interest, take the time to study it, because programs only exist when students enrol," says Blake.
"UNE is now one of the only places you can actually study paleontology as an undergraduate student.
"And remember that palaeontology is not just dinosaurs. Anything that you can see in the world today has an ancient counterpart."
For those studying at UNE, or thinking about pursuing a degree in palaeoscience, volunteering and getting involved in clubs and societies like the Geoscience Society is key.
"There are a number of museums across Australia that have some sort of volunteer capacity, whether that's directly with dinosaurs or just dealing with the collection. Going out on digs is also a great way to get involved," says Blake.
And if you're still unsure?
"We're always happy to have a chat. In fact, we do little else but chat about what we love."
Find out more about studying Paleontology at UNE here and find out more about joining the UNE Geoscience Society here
Photo by Dan Dennis on Unsplash
Photo by Dan Dennis on Unsplash
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