This hardcore science tells you the "hidden plot" behind "Jurassic World 3"
◎Intern reporter Du Peng
Recently, "Jurassic World 3", the final film of the "Jurassic" series, is being shown in theaters.
As one of the most influential dinosaur movies, every release of the "Jurassic" series of movies can set off a dinosaur craze all over the world and inspire people's infinite reverie about dinosaurs.
It has been nearly 30 years since the first "Jurassic Park" movie was released in 1993.
During this period, people's understanding of dinosaurs has also changed, and these changes are also reflected in the recently released movie "Jurassic World 3".
How does the Fengshen pterosaur fly? The specific flight mode may be related to its weight
In the second half of the movie "Jurassic World 3", when the heroine was flying a plane to the dinosaur park in the movie, a huge pterosaur suddenly landed on the top of the plane.
The plane quickly loses its balance under the rocking motion of its massive, powerful forelimbs, a scene that impresses the audience in front of the screen.
And this pterosaur also has a domineering name - Fengshen pterosaur.
Although pterosaurs are not dinosaurs, they are never lacking in dinosaur-themed series or documentaries.
Wang Xiaolin, a researcher at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told the Science and Technology Daily reporter that Aeolus pterosaurs lived in the late Cretaceous period, about 80 million to 70 million years ago, and is the largest known flying animal.
How big is the Fengshen Pterosaur?
Wang Xiaolin said that the complete skeleton of Fengshen Pterosaur has not yet been found, so it is impossible to accurately infer its wingspan length.
However, some scholars estimate that the wingspan of the Fengshen Pterosaur can reach a maximum of about 15 meters, and even conservative estimates can reach 11 meters. It is a well-deserved "air overlord".
The wind god pterosaur in the movie can fly up and down with the plane, coming and going freely.
But there are also many people who have questioned, can such a huge Fengshen pterosaur really be so "smart" in the air?
According to Wang Xiaolin, there are three main ways for animals to fly. The first is close gliding between highlands, which people used to think was the main way of flying for pterosaurs; Real flight is achieved by continuous flapping of the wings; the third type, like some large birds today, relies on the power generated by the ground updraft to soar over long distances.
"How the Fengshen Pterosaur flew mainly depends on its weight. Some scholars believe that it is heavy and difficult to fly long distances, and it mainly walks on the ground. However, some scholars believe that its bones are hollow and its weight may only be about 250 kilograms, so maybe It can fly off the ground and continuously flap its wings." Wang Xiaolin pointed out that the current fossil evidence is still unable to determine the specific flight mode of Aeolus pterosaurs.
But he believes that since the wind god pterosaur has such large wings, there is a high probability that it can soar.
In the fictional plot of the "Jurassic" movies, dinosaurs and pterosaurs lived in parks designed by humans.
But Wang Xiaolin said that in the Mesozoic Era 66 million years ago, the best living environment for pterosaurs were rivers, lakes and the sea.
He further explained that, on the one hand, a wide range of water surface can generate rising thermals, which is very conducive to flight; on the other hand, fish in the water can be said to be the best food for pterosaurs.
"The upper and lower jaw structures of pterosaurs and the fossils of feces can prove that it mainly fed on fish." Wang Xiaolin also mentioned in particular that the Hami region of Xinjiang, my country, was an early Cretaceous more than 100 million years ago. A large lake with a large number of pterosaurs, he called it "Pterosaur Eden".
Hami is also the area with the largest and most abundant distribution of known pterosaur fossils in the world, where hundreds of millions of pterosaurs once thrived.
What is the use of dinosaur feathers may have the role of insulation or courtship
In the film, although there are not many scenes of the fire raptor, the beautiful red feathers instantly caught the audience's attention as soon as it appeared on the stage.
And this is the first time a feathered dinosaur has actually appeared in the Jurassic movies.
When Wang Xiaolin saw the image of Pyroraptor in the movie, he immediately saw that its shape design was based on the hairy dinosaur fossils found in the Jehol Biota in western Liaoning, my country.
According to Wang Xiaolin, the fossils of Pyroraptor were first discovered in Provence, France, but the fossils are very fragmented and incomplete, and there are no feathers on the body.
The first complete dinosaur fossil with primitive feathers found in the world is the Sinosauropteryx unearthed in western Liaoning, China.
Since then, Chinese scientists have successively discovered a large number of dinosaur fossils with feathers in western Liaoning and surrounding areas, such as Microraptor fossils and Anchiornis fossils.
"Some dinosaur feathers have been completely complete, such as feather shafts and asymmetric flight feathers, and some dinosaurs have feathers that are as primitive as down." Wang Xiaolin further said, but no matter what kind of feather shape, scientists It came to be recognized that hairy dinosaurs may have been a common occurrence.
Wang Xiaolin told reporters that for small theropod dinosaurs that are closely related to birds, scientists have been able to determine that they have relatively complete and mature feathers.
But ankylosaurs and ceratopsians, which are more distantly related to birds, still had scales on their skin.
What is the function of feathers?
Wang Xiaolin believes that the feathers on dinosaurs may have first appeared to keep their body temperature constant.
"Reptiles are basically cold-blooded animals, and their body temperature changes with the temperature of the outside environment. But birds and mammals are warm-blooded animals, and their body temperature is constant. Therefore, they need to use feathers or hair to keep warm or dissipate heat. ...and the same is true for some dinosaurs that are more closely related to birds, which were probably also homeothermic," he said.
But in addition to keeping warm, the feathers on dinosaurs may have an unexpected function - courtship.
Wang Xiaolin said that if you observe the "descendants" of today's dinosaurs - birds, you will find that they often use their colorful feathers to attract the opposite sex, such as peacocks opening their screens.
Fossil evidence also shows that males and females of some dinosaurs were significantly different in appearance features such as head crests. It can be seen that some dinosaurs already had courtship behaviors to attract the opposite sex through appearance, and feathers are likely to play an important role in sexual display. effect.
How to restore a dinosaur's appearance, behavior, and living environment must be taken into account
Although the "Jurassic" series of movies is coming to an end, people's curiosity about dinosaurs will not dissipate.
In recent years, with the rapid development of film and television production technology and new breakthroughs in dinosaur research, movies and documentaries about dinosaurs have emerged one after another.
But Wang Xiaolin also reminded that although the dinosaur images in the film and television pictures are realistic, most of them are still speculations of human "wishful thinking".
For example, the new opponent of Tyrannosaurus Rex in the movie "Jurassic World 3" - Giganotosaurus, its prototype Southern Giganotosaurus lived in the middle of the Cretaceous, about 100 million years ago, earlier than the Cretaceous of Tyrannosaurus Rex. Late period.
It is also a large carnivorous dinosaur, and the stature of Giganotosaurus is comparable to that of Tyrannosaurus Rex.
However, according to Wang Xiaolin, compared with the relatively rich fossil remains of Tyrannosaurus rex, the fossils of Giganotosaurus can be said to be pitiful.
"The fossils of Giganotosaurus are not completely preserved, and few bone fossils have been unearthed. Most of its specific body, shape and other details are speculated by people." Wang Xiaolin further explained that large carnivorous dinosaurs had to run fast when hunting. , so the bones are more slender than herbivorous dinosaurs, and the interior of the bones is often hollow, so its fossils are relatively difficult to preserve.
Wang Xiaolin believes that from the perspective of entertainment and popular science, it is understandable to make certain bold speculations and artistic imaginations about dinosaurs in film and television works, but the restoration of dinosaurs is not just as simple as restoring their appearance.
Wang Xiaolin introduced that dinosaur restoration often uses the principles of comparing the present to the past and the past to the present, which can be roughly divided into three levels.
The first level is the restoration of the appearance and image of dinosaurs. This stage mainly relies on in-depth research on the skeletal morphology of dinosaurs, and reverse rational speculation based on the appearance characteristics of living animals that are relatively closely related to them.
The second level is the restoration of dinosaur behavior, such as courtship and hunting behavior, as well as posture and gait.
For example, for the restoration of the way dinosaurs walk, we need to rely on the discovery and research of their footprint fossils, and also refer to the behavior of modern animals.
The third level is the restoration of the ecological environment in which dinosaurs lived. Wang Xiaolin said that the appearance and behavior of dinosaurs are largely related to the environment in which they lived. Different dinosaurs have morphological characteristics that adapt to their living environment. The restoration of the living environment is also part of the restoration of dinosaurs.