128:"The 'dinosauroid' was a thought experiment, based on an observable, general trend toward larger relative brain size in terrestrial vertebrates through geologic time, and the energetic efficiency of an upright posture in slow-moving, bipedal animals. It seems to me that such speculation remains acceptable, particularly if directed toward non-anthropoid anatomical configurations. However, I very nearly decided not to publish the exercise because of the damaging effects it might have had on the credibility of my work in general. Most people remained polite, although there were hostile reactions from those with 'ultra-quantitative' and 'ultra-intuitive' world views."
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101:. Russell also speculated that the dinosauroid would have had a toothless beak. As with most modern reptiles (and birds), he conceived of its genitalia as internal. Russell speculated that it would have required a navel, as a placenta aids the development of a large brain case. However, it would not have possessed mammary glands, and would have fed its young, as some birds do, on regurgitated food. He speculated that its language would have sounded somewhat like
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204:"The reason that we humans have the body shape that we do is not – I think – because it's the 'best' body shape for a smart, big-brained biped to have, it is instead the result of our specific lineage's evolutionary history. Given that, so far as we know, the humanoid body shape has evolved just once, we simply have no way of knowing whether it's a particularly 'good' morphology or not."
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is a particularly notable example of a modern take on the dinosauroid concept. These art pieces from the late 2000s show dinosaurs with anatomy more reflective of modern paleontological understanding and retain more of their ancestral, theropod features. These designs for a dinosauroid were based on
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or EQ (the relative brain weight when compared to other species with the same body weight) among the dinosaurs. Russell had discovered the first
Troodontid skull, and noted that, while its EQ was low compared to humans, it was six times higher than that of other dinosaurs. Russell suggested that if
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model taking about seven months to construct and the dinosauroid model taking about three and a half months to construct. The two models were built using similar techniques, built up over a skeleton of the creature, the final sculpt then being recast in fiberglass and filled with sand.
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had semi-manipulative fingers, able to grasp and hold objects to a certain degree, and binocular vision. Russell proposed that his dinosauroid, like members of the troodontid family, would have had large eyes and three fingers on each hand, one of which would have been partially
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has argued that a large-brained, highly intelligent troodontid would retain a more standard theropod body plan, with a horizontal posture and long tail, and would probably manipulate objects with the snout and feet in the manner of a bird, rather than with human-like "hands".
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The dinosauroid theory, along with the often repeated fact that
Troodontids were the most intelligent dinosaurs, may have led to an overestimation of its intelligence among the general public; while
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Since
Russell's original work in the 1980s, alternate interpretations of intelligence in non-avian dinosaurs have been depicted in art. The collaborative work of Turkish artist
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The theory, perhaps due to its outlandish premise and the dinosauroid's striking image, became a staple in dinosaur books published throughout the 1980s and into the 2000s.
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Kosemen and Roy's work expands upon the original concept by creating a wide range of different dinosauroid species and placing them inside of an entirely speculative
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did have a larger brain to body ratio when compared to other theropod dinosaurs of its time, its intelligence was likely comparable to that of modern birds such as
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Russell's thought experiment has been met with criticism from other paleontologists since the 1980s, many of whom point out that his
Dinosauroid is overly
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It can be assumed Seguin's sculpture depicts a male dinosauroid since
Russell conjectured that males of the species could have had a
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evolution had continued to the present, its brain case could by now measure 1,100 cm, comparable to that of a human.
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Some authors, however, had more favourable opinions on the dinosauroid, with David Norman remarking in the 1985 book
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in a world without the
Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction. These new dinosauroids are more inspired by birds and their
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Dale
Russell worked in collaboration with taxidermist and artist Ron Seguin to create models of both a
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as accurately as possible, the dinosauroid was wholly fabricated. The models were made in tandem, the
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As Darren Naish explained in a 2012 Scientific
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Reflecting on the dinosauroid theory, Russel said in an interview in 2000;
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that “Such an idea is an obviously fanciful, though provocative thought.”
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The
Illustrated Directory of Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Creatures
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A model of the hypothetical dinosauroid, Dinosaur Museum, Dorchester
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Darren Naish's writings on
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Paleoworld season 2 episode 13, "Troodon: Dinosaur Genius"
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in Ottawa, conjectured a possible evolutionary path for
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in 1982. Russell theorized that if a dinosaur such as
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144:and the fictional dinosauroid. While the model of
475:"Troodon sapiens?: Thoughts on the "Dinosauroid""
304:"Reconstruction of the small Cretaceous theropod
463:Darren Naish: Tetrapod Zoology, April 23, 2011.
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79:Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event
47:Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event
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504:"Dinosauroids revisited, revisited"
302:Russell, D. A.; SĂ©guin, R. (1982).
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473:Switek, Brian (23 October 2007).
405:. Dorling Kindersley Publishing.
529:. Salamander Books. p. 55.
371:. Salamander Books. p. 44.
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308:and a hypothetical dinosauroid"
239:and Canadian comic book artist
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337:. Salem House. p. 111.
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402:The Ultimate Dinosaur Book
365:Cranfield, Ingrid (2000).
306:Stenonychosaurus inequalis
583:Anthropomorphic dinosaurs
555:"A World of Dinosauroids"
438:. Discovery Channel. 1995
71:National Museum of Canada
598:Anthropomorphic reptiles
83:encephalization quotient
45:had not perished in the
399:Lambert, David (2000).
525:Norman, David (1985).
461:Dinosauroids Revisited
329:Dixon, Dougal (1988).
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412:0789476207
282:References
312:Syllogeus
249:ecosystem
241:Simon Roy
168:Reception
136:Sculpture
103:bird song
65:In 1982,
263:See also
253:tool use
221:bustards
120:, London
510:17 June
484:17 June
442:17 June
418:17 June
384:29 June
350:17 June
318:: 1–43.
99:opposed
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162:wattle
61:Theory
55:humans
479:Wired
31:is a
563:2023
531:ISBN
512:2021
486:2021
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420:2021
407:ISBN
386:2021
373:ISBN
352:2021
339:ISBN
225:emus
223:and
27:The
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