STL Science Center

STL Science Center

15 September 2014

Non-motion Pictures

Usually when a dinosaur is announced there is a flurry of media coverage. There is probably a statistical study out there somewhere that has looked at certain names and their correlation to news coverage, but either way Currie is a name attached to this description that typically gathers some media references. That said, less than a year later I cannot find any television or internet video news stories of the description of Acheroraptor. This is okay also. Sometimes the best thing for a newly described dinosaur is to be largely ignored by the mass media outlets. This allows the dinosaur to be accurately discussed in the paleontology community without a dearth of misinterpreted facts hitting the street (like when Triceratops "ceased to be"). This also slows the popularity growth of certain dinosaur. Happily, we can educate ourselves by reading papers (we will do that tomorrow) and discussing the dinosaurs with others. There tends to not be much discussion here, overall, but it is certainly encouraged; I have as much to learn as anyone else around here from discussion with others. Therefore, without any kind of documentary or news story to turn to today, The education of the day really falls on everyone else to discuss. Some points that could be brought up about Acheroraptor include: How do we know from such little evidence that it is what we are told it is? How distinctive are the teeth of Acheroraptor? What kind of hands and feet did Acheroraptor have? Did it have feathers and what were they like? Think of how to answer these questions for people that are not very familiar with dinosaurs. Knowing how to explain your interests and hobbies to others is a life skill. You would not be reading this if you were not interested in dinosaurs so everyone here should know how to explain them to people that do not understand them very well!

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