STL Science Center

STL Science Center

29 September 2016

Famed Dinosaur

Ankylosaurus is a well known dinosaur. Appearing in many documentaries, movies, and in popular literature has allowed this dinosaur to become a common dinosaur name and introduced it to other aspects of the world. This includes video games and television shows as well as children's books and as the centerpiece, or an integral part, of many museum's dinosaur collections around the world. This last part seems a little odd since there are only three known skulls, but it is nonetheless true. In the most recent string of famous Ankylosaurus depictions, the Jurassic Park series, including Jurassic World, are probably some of the biggest portrayals of the dinosaur. However, long before this Ankylosaurus was featured in the 1980's cartoon Dinosaucers as a bad guy Ankylosaurus from space who was rather pig-like. One of my favorite adaptations of Ankylosaurus for popular media was in the Dinotopia series. James Gurney's world where dinosaurs and humans lived together portrayed ankylosaurs as benevolent dinosaurs that can carry large loads. In the miniseries that aired in 2002 a wild Ankylosaurus rampaged across the screen but was soothed by a young girl who discovered the dinosaur was suffering from a toothache. The story is a little Disney-like, but it is worth watching and it is one of the better depictions of Ankylosaurus.

No comments:

Post a Comment