Your Dinosaurs Are Wrong

In a new experimental series, Steven Bellettini (our Head of Animation) demonstrates his dinosaur knowledge by looking at generic toys and pointing out what's wrong with them. Because, why not? Today we take a look at what we believe to be a Scelidosaurus, and Steve breaks down what the manufacturer got right, and what they got very, very wrong. In addition there's a little history of its discovery, naming, and a reveal of what it should really look like if the toy were to be accurate!

Episode two features Steve breaking down what he believes to be a Stegosaurus. He reveals more anatomical inaccuracies, and delves into the history of the dinosaur's naming, and a little of what it was first thought to look like. And then he rants about the two-brain theory. Because dinosaurs weren't stupid.

Steve takes a look at a toy that could be several possible types of dinosaurs, and decides it's actually a Plateosaurus. On the pick-apart-list this week includes common faults with bipedal dinosaur toys, a detailed look at how the toy's limbs should look and work, and why studying parts such as those is important for understanding how these creatures lived.

Okay, so it's not a dinosaur...but instead of ending the episode, we're going to tell you why! Steve picks over a Dimetrodon, which probably makes it into the dinosaur toy roster because it has the dino look and posture most people tend to think of. Included in today's lesson is the criteria needed to make an organism a synapsid, the type of environment that existed before the Triassic period, and basic anatomy comparisons to dinosaurs.

For our first audience request, Steve looks at a very tiny Dilophosaurus toy. This guy was not like the poison spitting, frilled little monsters in Jurassic Park, it turns out! Included are highlights of problems in the skull, general body build, and details on the teeth!

By the most popular demand yet, we tackle our first flying prehistoric creature. Turns out, we don't have Pterodactyl like everyone asked for. So we're doing a Pteranodon instead. Steve covers everything from posture, to major corrections to hand/wing anatomy, and even provides background on how the creature actually relates to other creatures.

This week we were sent a Parasaurolophus by viewer Rebecca Helm, who was wondering especially about the crest. Steve covers not only the crest, but also covers stance, soft tissue, and even a little about the absurdity of paleontological naming devices.