User blog:LordHelix990/Prehistoric Past

I am very glad to say that I have confirmed a Jurassic-Park-style novel, just like ASDFGirl. Not JP, but similar. It's about a group of five teens that get stranded on an island. This island is the failed result of trying to create a dinosaur-park, and now the animals roam freely. As the hardcore dinosaur geek that I am, there will be a LOT of un-heard-of dinosaurs/animals. Champsosaurus? Pachyrhachis? Cearadactylus? Lesothosaurus? Mauisaurus? Erketu? Zuniceratops? Hainosaurus? What kinds of dinosaur media have these? Ultimately, by adding these amazing animals, I am explaining to my audience that dinosaurs came in more packages than just "Rex, Raptor, Trike, and Bronto." There is much more to these animals than we realize; not only black, white, and fifty shades of gray.

As I was looking through my books for suitable animals, I recalled some animals I learned about before. I was glad to unearth Thescelosaurus, and Monolophosaurus has always been a childhood favorite. Utahraptor was pushed away for a long time; now it is coming back. I was very sceptical of including Velociraptor, in fear of being attacked by the general public, but I threw them in as well. And no book would be complete without my "Classic 8:" Tyrannosaurus, Baryonyx, Deinonychus, Compsognathus, Triceratops, Pachycephalosaurus, Diplodocus, and Stegosaurus, as well as the non-dinosaurs Pteranodon and Ichthyosaurus.

But boy oh boy, was I happy to meet Ceratosaurus. As I was flipping through the pages, my eyes met his. 20-25 feet long, weighing 2 tons, and boasting three ghastly horns on its forehead, not to mention the long, knifelike teeth, a perfect source for nightmare fuel. I envisioned it in my head; a large predator, charging after a herd of Dryosaurus by a lake. It quickly catches up to one, and it grabs it with jaws strong as a lion. The other Dryosaurus can do nothing as its captor carves chuncks out of the victim, eating him alive as the helpless herbivore shudders frantically. The Dryosaurus drops in a bloody heap on the floor, and the Ceratosaurus roars to the sky, blood dripping from his massive maw. And instantly I knew it. This would be my prehistoric monster.

But I should really stay away from "monster." Jurassic Park  claimed to portray its dinosaurs not as monsters...which turned out to be a blatant lie. Every movie/book has its villian. Disney's  Dinosaur had the Carnotaurus. Jurassic Park specialized in Velociraptor, Dilophosaurus, Troodon, and corrupted/unstable hybrids. In  The Ballad of Big Al, Allosaurus reigned supreme. And today was the day I decided that Ceratosaurus should have been my villian. However, it is not actually a villian; just a predator looking for its next meal. It will not be a relentless killer like Velociraptor became, who was shown as an Ax-Crazy butcher who only cared to kill. But regardless of how agressive I portray my animals, Ceratosaurus, though not murderous, will continue to stand out among all others in the novel as an excellent hunter.

LARGE CARNOSAURS
Tyrannosaurus(Not a true carnosaur, but still.)

Spinosaurus

Allosaurus

Albertosaurus

Therizinosaurus

Mapusaurus

SMALL CARNOSAURS
Baryonyx

Monolophosaurus

Ceratosaurus

Dilophosaurus

Carnotaurus

Majungasaurus

​DROMAEOSAURS AND TROODONTIDS
Deinonychus

Utahraptor

Velociraptor

Troodon

Achillobator

Dromaeosaurus

​COELURUSAURS, OVIRAPTORIANS, AND PRIMITIVE CARNIVORES
Compsognathus

Oviraptor

Herrerasaurus

Segisaurus

Microraptor

Gallimimus

​MARGINOCEPHALIANS
Triceratops

Pachycephalosaurus

Zuniceratops

Stygimoloch

Pachyrhinosaurus

Chasmosaurus

​SAUROPODS
Diplodocus

Erketu

Apatosaurus

Brachiosaurus

Titanosaurus

Camarasaurus

​THYREOPHORANS
Stegosaurus

Ankylosaurus

Gastonia

Scutellosaurus

Kentrosaurus

Tarchia

​ORNITHOPODS
Parasaurolophus

Thescelosaurus

Tenontosaurus

Dryosaurus

Lesothosaurus

Iguanodon

​PTEROSAURS
Pteranodon

Cearadactylus

Quetzalcoatlus

Dimorphodon

Hatzegopterus

Rhamphorynchus

​AQUATICS
Ichthyosaurus

Hainosaurus

Mauisaurus

Liopleurodon

Hybodus

Archeleon

OTHER REPTILES/BIRDS/FISH
Ophiacodon

Coelacanth

Alligator Gar

Confuciousornis

Pachyrhachis

Champsosaurus