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Review of Jurassic Park
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Supplemental Reading Assignment: Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton 1. Throughout the book Crichton discusses the fact that as more research has been done scientists are beginning to disprove the long held belief that dinosaurs were cold-blooded ancestors to modern lizards. The current belief is that dinosaurs are more closely related to modern day birds than they are lizards, and are even warm-blooded. From the beginning of the book the dinosaurs are described to “dart and bob” their heads from side to side similar to modern birds. As the book continues they get more scientific with their rational pointing out the fact that dinosaurs were able to stand on straight legs and were even able to walk on their hind legs, unlike lizards that are forced to walk bent-legged and on all fours to stay close to the warmth of the ground. This upright posture they displayed is only found in warm-blooded birds and mammals. Another observation they point to, as proof of association with birds, is that the dinosaurs seem to have had a complex social life and they are also said to of probably tended to their young. This is very similar to the behaviors displayed by birds, traveling in large flocks and tending to their young until they are ready to survive on their own, teaching them survival skills as they grow. Most reptiles will not even stick around to see their eggs hatch. The most stable piece of evidence that Crichton used though would probably be that dinosaurs have been found to have nucleated red cells, similar to those found in modern birds. Tied in with the relationship between dinosaurs and birds is the idea that dinosaurs were warm-blooded. Dinosaurs were once thought of as slow stupid animals, but after studying the animal’s tracks they are now thought of to be just as fast as man, thus implying warm bloodedness. Also, the fact that they could not only stand on straight legs but also some even walked erect on their hind legs displays characteristics of a warm-blooded creature.
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