History Fridge / WalkingWithDinosaurs

* ''Quetzalcoatlus'' presence in the [[WesternAnimation/WalkingWithDinosaurs movie]] could be weird, given that ''Quetzalcoatlus'' fossils were discovered in western United States, while the movie is set in [[MisplacedWildlife Alaska]]. However, it could be possible that ''Quetzalcoatlus'' appearing in the movie are only there ''temporarily''. How? Well, scientists believe that azhdarchids like ''Quetzalcoatlus'' could have been capable of taking long-distance migrations lasting weeks, which explains their presence in the Alaskan wilderness.
* In the [[WesternAnimation/WalkingWithDinosaurs movie]] as mentioned on the [[ScienceMarchesOn/WalkingWith Science Marches On page]], the species of ''Pachyrhinosaurus'' that inhabited the Prince Creek formation (where the movie is allegedly taking place) is classified as ''Pachyrhinosaurus perotorum'' while movie showcases ''Pachyrhinosaurus lakustai'', which lived further south in Alberta, Canada. However it's possible that movie isn't only set in Alaska but also takes place in Canada where ''P. lakustai'' fossils were found. That way, it could be possible that Patchi's herd feeding grounds are located further south in Canada while their annual migration destination is located in Alaska. This is also TruthInTelevision: modern migrating animals like wildebeest [[https://www.lakemanyaranationalparks.com/wildebeest-migration-routes/ often cross different countries during their annual migrations]].

* * Why are there so many non-dinosaurian animals in "New Blood"? The narrator simply notes that dinosaurs are not yet very common. At the time the idea that dinosaurs weren't actually very common nor dominant during much of the Triassic was only a budding idea. Later research confirmed that for most of the Triassic, dinosaurs shared the world with other animals, like pseudosuchians (crocodile relatives), other reptiles and the remnants of stem-mammals such as dicynodonts. It would not be until the late Triassic when another mass exctinction wiped out almost all of the competition, after which dinosaurs were the best adapted group to rapidly fill the vacant niches.

[[WMG:FridgeLogic]]

Three thoughts on ''Series/SeaMonsters'':
* Where would modern seas end up? (I imagine with Killer Whales, White Sharks, and possibly other large whales, it would fit at 4 or 3, maybe even 2, if such a show were to be made somehow.)
* Would Killer Whales as dangerous predators show up all that well to future fossil searchers? (Since a lot of the success is due to behavior, which might only show as a large brain.)
** With luck, beached killer whales could leave fossilized stomach contents, and with even more luck, those contents could be of other top sea predators (sea lions, sea elephants, great white sharks) and whales.
* How much behavior is missing from other creatures that have been found, and how much of a lack might that mean in the understanding of past creatures? (Obviously, paleontologists have to guess a lot, and for this show, the makers guessed a lot, some of it quite exaggerated, but this questions does have me wondering if some guesses are wildly off, or whether big differences in behavior might be playing into how things actually worked out in prehistoric times, that might completely change how understanding of past creatures works.)

[[WMG:FridgeHorror]]

Three thoughts on Sea Monsters

* "Death of a Dynasty" ends with the famed asteroid, of course. However, it is funny to rewatch years later and notice how many references they made to [[WhatKilledTheDinosaurs older theories]] about the extinction of the dinosaurs, some of which were bizarre. There is increased vulcanism, climate change (showcased by the snowy peaks), flora and insect change as a result of flowers evolving, mammals diversifying and depredating dinosaur eggs, and increased infighting and infanticide. It's like the show was telling us: "yes, dinosaurs were having a bad time, but they would have pulled through if it wasn't for the damned space rock."

* Why is there so much MisplacedWildlife in "New Blood"? Because they take place in the Triassic, which was when all the continents were merged into one giant continent!

* Why is there so much MisplacedWildlife in "New Blood" in WWD and "Clash of Titans" in WWM? Because they take place in the Triassic and Permian Periods respectively, which was when all the continents were merged into one giant continent!

[[WMG:Fridge Horror]]
* From "Saber Tooth": Half-Tooth is the "hero" of his episode simply because it takes place during these particular three months when the brothers "dethrone" him. Three years prior, he did [[NotSoDifferent exactly that]] to another male, took over the pride, and killed all the cubs that might be living in it.

* From "Saber Tooth": Half-Tooth is the "hero" of his episode simply because it takes place during these particular three months when the brothers "dethrone" him. Three years prior, he did [[NotSoDifferent exactly that]] to another male, took over the pride, and killed all the cubs that might be living in it.
** Good thing sabretooths didn't live in prides in RealLife but in packs, so infanticide would not happen.
*** Then again, pack-living would cause pack-on-pack warfare.....

*** Then again, pack-living would cause pack-on-pack warfare.....
* The episode stated ''Smilodon'' went extinct due to climate change, but we know they lived at least another two millennia beyond the end of the ice age and went extinct because of people. Now, how many people were deluded by WWB into believing resurrecting sabretooths was a bad idea, when they are a necessary part of the modern ecosystem? And how much damage to the environment has this caused? Probably a lot. And we can't fix it because people still believe sabretooths don't have a pace in the modern world (when it was that we took that place away from them)

* Why is there so much MisplacedWildlife in "New Blood"? Because it takes place in the Triassic Period, which was when all the continents were merged into one giant continent!

* The episode stated ''Smilodon'' went extinct due to climate change, but we know they lived at least another two millennia beyond the end of the ice age and went extinct because of people. Now, how many people were deluded by WWB into believing resurrecting sabretooths was a bad idea, when they are a necessary part of the modern ecosystem?

* From "Saber Tooth": Half-Tooth is the "hero" of his episode simply because it takes place during these particular three months when the brothers "dethrone" him. Three years prior, he did [[NotSoDifferent exactly that]] to another male, took over the pack, and killed all the cubs that might be living in it.

*** Then again, this would cause pack-on-pack warfare.....

* From "Saber Tooth":
** Half-Tooth is the "hero" of his episode simply because it takes place during these particular three months when the brothers "dethrone" him. Three years prior, he did [[NotSoDifferent exactly that]] to another male, took over the pack, and killed all the cubs that might be living in it.
*** Thankfully sabretooths have very different social structures in RealLife, more like wolves than lions.

** Half-Tooth broke his tooth when he fought his predecessor. Most intraspecific injuries in sabertooth fossils are on the top of the skull. It seems sabertooths weren't as careful to not break their sabers when they fought each other as when they hunted, and went for the head despite being home to the hardest bones on the animal. So Half-Tooth most likely "stabbed" his opponent on the head and killed him instantly.

** Half-Tooth broke his tooth when he fought his predecessor. Most intraspecific injuries in sabertooth fossils are on the top of the skull. It seems sabertooths weren't as careful to not break their sabers when they fought each other as when they hunted, and bet everything they had on a victory. Half-Tooth most likely "stabbed" his opponent on the head and killed him instantly, breaking his tooth in the process. Hence why he didn't come back for a rematch like Half-Tooth did when he was defeated but escaped alive.

* Half-Tooth is the "hero" of his episode simply because it takes place during these particular three months when the brothers "dethrone" him. Three years prior, he did [[NotSoDifferent exactly that]] to another male, took over the pack, and killed all the cubs that might be living in it. We are also told that he broke his tooth during that fight. This checks with the fact that most intraspecific injuries in sabertooth fossils are on the top of the skull, which is very hard, but when pierced is almost always fatal.

* Why is there so much MisplacedWildlife in "New Blood"? Because it takes place in the Triassic Period, which was when all the continents were merged into one giant continent!

* How much behavior is missing from other creatures that have been found, and how much of a lack might that mean in the understanding of past creatures? (Obviously, paleontologists have to guess a lot, and for this show, the makers guessed a lot, some of it quite exaggerated, but this questions does have me wondering if some guesses are wildly off, or whether big differences in behavior might be playing into how things actually worked out in prehistoric times, that might completely change how understanding of past creatures works.)

[WMG:FridgeLogic]