8th Ed. Scientists speculate that there are real Saurus

While surfing the web looking for cool Lizard stuff today, I found an interesting article. Scientists speculate that there could be a distant planet somewhere where real Lizardmen as well as giant dinos exist. Regardless of how scary and ultra-cool that might be, I thought the artist concept image would make a nice sculpt for a Saurus Warrior.

http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/smart-dinosaurs-may-be-inhabiting-other-planets-15-04-2012/

 

Agree - that would be a very cool model!

And without reading the article... Speculation doesn't mean a lot. I'm a scientist, I can speculate all I like, doesn't make things more or less likely.

 

You should read it, as a scientist I think you would find it as interesting as I did.

For those who think clicking a link is to much trouble I have posted the article below

These dinosaurs are said to be monstrous creatures with human intellect and cunning–like what would happen to the Earth’s dinos if an asteroid hadn’t obliterated them eons ago.

Noted scientist Ronald Breslow came up with this conclusion through his study of DNA and RNA on Earth. Most DNA on Earth, except for D-sugars and bacteria, are oriented to the left.

DNA and RNA can be oriented either on the left or right (chirality) but why is only one form predominant? And how is this connected with the dinos?

According to Breslow’s research, unusual amino acids carried to the Earth by meteorites about 4 billion years ago set the pattern for normal amino acids with the L-geometry, like in terrestial proteins, and how those could lead to D-sugars of the kind found in DNA.

“An implication from this work is that elsewhere in the universe there could be life forms based on D-amino acids and L-sugars. Such life forms could well be advanced versions of dinosaurs, if mammals did not have the good fortune to have the dinosaurs wiped out by an asteroidal collision, as on Earth. We would be better off not meeting them.”

But this wouldn’t keep NASA from poking around in space now, would it?

 

I mostly agree with Scalenex. What need has a T-Rex of a bigger brain and opposeable thumbs? I mean, look at turtles, snakes and crocodiles. They are smaller now than they were in the Cretaceous period, but in almost all other respects these animals haven't changed at all in 250 million years.

Of course that isn't to say that some social herbivore dino, who relied more on brains than brawn, might have adapted into a bidepial tool user, had they not been wiped out 65 million years ago by an asteroid.

And let's not forget today's dinosaurs: birds. As long as we are speculating, why not a planet with sentient, tool using, written language capable, agriculture cultivating and city building bird-men? But then again, why would a bird need any of that? You'd have to also speculate as to the environmental conditions that make such adaptations take hold. Excellent fodder for science fiction anyway

 

Or Horseshoe Crabs for that matter.

http://www.ceoe.udel.edu/horseshoecrab/history/index.html

 

What about sea horses. I mean, how evolved is being asexual in that they don't need the opposite sex to reproduce.. nor hear their nagging lectures on how much you've spent on the hobby so far.. yadda yadda.

- Lord Cedric

 

We are still very much at the mercy of anything from the bacteria kingdom.

 

Good saurus, but a bit too skinny for my taste.