Friday, June 24, 2011

Maniraptor Feathers Part VII: Are Feathered Maniraptors, Like, Totally Uncool?

 This will be the last post in this series for now.

I suppose it can be said that many objections to feathered maniraptors, however flawed, have at least some apparent basis to them. But all too often I see arguments that have zero reasoning behind them, arguments that amount to little more than, "I refuse to believe maniraptors had feathers" or "I don't like how feathered maniraptors look."

I don't think I even need to explain how wrong this kind of "argument" is. They're entirely subjective, for starters. My two cents on the issue? These look terrible.

Or, to quote Babbletrish, "Naked maniraptors look stupid."

More importantly, organisms living millions of years ago don't care what a few individuals of one freaking species think. There's nothing wrong with liking naked maniraptors, but how that influences the characteristics of real-life animals is beyond me. I am completely incapable of seeing why this concept is so difficult to grasp.
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7 comments:

  1. JJune 25, 2011 at 2:14 AM

    The Natural History Museum in London has, in the last few years, feathered most new maniraptor merchandising. Whilst they still aren't ultra accurate, the popularity of a the fluffy orange velociraptor demonstrates that people can get used to the idea of them having feathers.

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  2. AlbertonykusJune 25, 2011 at 4:49 AM

    That's certainly a good sign.

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  3. TrishJune 25, 2011 at 8:20 AM

    Fantastic series!

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  4. AlbertonykusJune 25, 2011 at 7:05 PM

    Thanks!

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  5. AnonymousJuly 13, 2011 at 4:38 PM

    The evidence exists and is right in front of their faces, yet they refuse to accept the evidence.....Holy Cretaceous! Now, this sounds familiar, doesn't it? :P

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  6. AnonymousJuly 13, 2011 at 4:58 PM

    Of course, what's truly hilarious (or, probably sad) is that they DO love how Maniraptorans look; They certainly like the Male Peacock!! XDDDDDDD lol!

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  7. AlbertonykusJuly 13, 2011 at 7:47 PM

    Indeed! I really think that one of the main reasons feathered dinosaurs allegedly look "lame" is because so many portrayals of them are afflicted with "gorilla suits" (http://albertonykus.blogspot.com/2011/06/maniraptor-feathers-part-vi-lizard.html). It's not as though most people think that birds in general look any more lame than anything else.

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