Favorite Dinosaur, and why? (50k is extinct)

[madd0ct0r]

Images mandatory

[Alyrium Denryle]

Are specifying dinosaurs proper, Mesozoic archosaurs in general, or even just any prehistoric reptile?

[Purple]

The big long necked swimming one that gets mistaken for Nessy and was in that Disney cartoon about dinosaurs.

[Borgholio]

Without even a second thought:



Being one of the biggest and meanest looking meat-eating dinosaurs, it is one of the most recognizable "faces" from that era.

[madd0ct0r]

Are specifying dinosaurs proper, Mesozoic archosaurs in general, or even just any prehistoric reptile?

Lets go with any prehistoric reptile, or something that could be reasonably mistaken for a dinosaur.

[lance]

Brontosaurus

[Borgholio]

Brontosaurus

Don't you mean Apatosaurus? *ducks*

[Iroscato]

The big long necked swimming one that gets mistaken for Nessy and was in that Disney cartoon about dinosaurs.

Do not blaspheme. They belong to a group called the PLESIOSAURS.

[Purple]

The big long necked swimming one that gets mistaken for Nessy and was in that Disney cartoon about dinosaurs.

Do not blaspheme. They belong to a group called the PLESIOSAURS.

I got confused. It's been like over a decade since I last saw the thing. Basically the big things from this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Land_Before_Time But I don't mean the main characters. He had feet. I mean the water ones. They were in this big scene when one of them is like sitting in the water munching on some grass or something. I know they had some significance but I forgot what.

[The Romulan Republic]

I'm partial to Allosaurs and Utah Raptors. And also cassowaries and eagles/hawks/falcons (birds count).

[LaCroix]

For some strange reason, ever since I was a child, I was always fascinated by the Mosasaurus family... Size-wise and all other things considered, they are a swimming version of the T. Rex.

[Jub]

I've always been a fan of the Ankylosaurus myself.

[madd0ct0r]

My own favorite, if only for the name



Walking on two legs and possessing a dietary regimen of basically anything, Pantydraco was probably a bit of a monster to anything smaller and slower than it. The small proto-mammals and reptiles of the Triassic would have been good snacks for Pantydraco, for example. While it was stated that animals slower than Pantydraco were probably good food items, its speed has not, to my knowledge, been measured or its gate measured. Therefore, we cannot accurately state the threshold of that speed minimum needed to outrun Pantydraco. Regardless, smaller animals than Pantydraco were probably frequently in danger of being ingested. Plants that were chosen by Pantydraco probably had absolutely no chance against the much more mobile and vicious dinosaur. Just look at how angry and mobile they were:

[applejack]

I'm partial to Allosaurs and Utah Raptors. And also cassowaries and eagles/hawks/falcons (birds count).

I agree with RR. Allosaurus is my favorite. IIRC, it was top predator in its own environments, but overall it was sort of middling and average compared to therapods in general, which is actually kind of appealing to me. Plus, it had those bony structures over the front of its eyes that sort of make it look devilish.

[Tribble]

Hmmm, it's a really close call between these two, especially as they both came out around the same time:

[The Romulan Republic]

I'm partial to Allosaurs and Utah Raptors. And also cassowaries and eagles/hawks/falcons (birds count).

I agree with RR. Allosaurus is my favorite. IIRC, it was top predator in its own environments, but overall it was sort of middling and average compared to therapods in general, which is actually kind of appealing to me. Plus, it had those bony structures over the front of its eyes that sort of make it look devilish.

I think part of what appealed to me about it is that it wasn't as hyped as Tyranosaurus Rex, but still filled that top predator role.

[Alyrium Denryle]

I am torn. I love them all so very very much. But I will go by group.

Non-Dinosaur Non-Marine Archosaurs


Deinosuchus



Therapod Dinosaurs



Non-Theropod Dinosaurs


Euoplocephalus

Pterosaurs

A tossup between



Quetzalcoatlus, which basically lived its life like HUGE maribou stork of terror

And


Pteranodon, which basically lived like a giant blue footed boobie.

Marine Reptiles


Mosasaurus, the biggest monitor lizard (yes, they were monitor lizards, like komodo dragons) ever.

[Ziggy Stardust]

I need to go back to my parent's house and see if I can dig up the dinosaur books I read as a kid.

I remember that I was always a big fan of Baryonyx; for precisely what reason I can't recall, but I can only assume that one of those dinosaur books just had a really cool picture of them or something.





Not technically a dinosaur, but in the spirit of this thread, I'll throw Dimetrodon into the mix as well:



Shout-outs also to Dracovenator and Iguanodon.

I remember vaguely there was also a "-suchus", but I can't remember the rest of the name right now. It's been so long. Bah!

EDIT: There was also a bitchin' CD-ROM game back in the day where you explored different environments and saw little animated dinosaurs, but I can't for the life of it remember enough detail to find it online. There are too many dinosaur related CD-ROM games.

[Zeropoint]

I was going to say "the chicken" because they're delicious, but then I saw the "rules" for this thread.

Utahraptor would be my favorite, I guess:



. . . but the panty dragon mentioned above gets a nod for its cool look and amusing name.

[The Romulan Republic]

I need to go back to my parent's house and see if I can dig up the dinosaur books I read as a kid.

I remember that I was always a big fan of Baryonyx; for precisely what reason I can't recall, but I can only assume that one of those dinosaur books just had a really cool picture of them or something.





Not technically a dinosaur, but in the spirit of this thread, I'll throw Dimetrodon into the mix as well:



Shout-outs also to Dracovenator and Iguanodon.

I remember vaguely there was also a "-suchus", but I can't remember the rest of the name right now. It's been so long. Bah!

EDIT: There was also a bitchin' CD-ROM game back in the day where you explored different environments and saw little animated dinosaurs, but I can't for the life of it remember enough detail to find it online. There are too many dinosaur related CD-ROM games.

I need to go back to my parent's house and see if I can dig up the dinosaur books I read as a kid.

I remember that I was always a big fan of Baryonyx; for precisely what reason I can't recall, but I can only assume that one of those dinosaur books just had a really cool picture of them or something.





Not technically a dinosaur, but in the spirit of this thread, I'll throw Dimetrodon into the mix as well:



Shout-outs also to Dracovenator and Iguanodon.

I remember vaguely there was also a "-suchus", but I can't remember the rest of the name right now. It's been so long. Bah!

EDIT: There was also a bitchin' CD-ROM game back in the day where you explored different environments and saw little animated dinosaurs, but I can't for the life of it remember enough detail to find it online. There are too many dinosaur related CD-ROM games.

Suchosaurus? It was a relative of Baryonyx if not the same creature.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suchosaurus

Or perhaps you mean Saurosuchus, though it was not, in fact, a dinosaur.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saurosuchus

[Zeropoint]

Suchosaurus

Saurosuchus

Okay, paleontologists are just messing with us now.

[The Vortex Empire]

Deinonychus, no contest.

[Zeropoint]

Deinonychus is also pretty dang cool, and is certainly a more convenient size than Utahraptor. I like the color scheme and pose in the pic you posted.

As for why these dinosaurs are cool:
1) They're sleek, beautifully deadly predators which appeal for the same reason their descendants, the birds of prey, appeal to so many people.
2) Seeing them depicted in their full feathery glory really brings home the connection between Cretaceous non-avian dinosaurs and the the more familiar Holocene dinosaurs.
3) They're ALL-AMERICAN! . . . Okay, I don't really go in for jingoism, but it's cool that these amazing creatures lived on the same land that would go on to become my country.*

* This statement should in no way be construed as suggesting that other countries, other dinosaurs, or other countries' dinosaurs are uncool or not amazing.

[biostem]

I've always like Archaeopteryx:



Though, Utahraptor is a close second: