This hardcore science tells you the ＂hidden plot＂ behind Jurassic World 3.

　　Photo courtesy of vision china

　　Recently, the final film of Jurassic series — — Jurassic World 3 is showing in the cinema. As one of the most influential dinosaur movies, every release of Jurassic series movies can set off a dinosaur craze around 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 film Jurassic World 3.

　　How Fengshen Pterosaur flew was related to its weight.

　　In the second half of the movie Jurassic World 3, when the heroine flies to the dinosaur park in the movie with a plane, a huge pterosaur suddenly lands at the top of the plane. Under the sway of its huge and powerful forelimbs, the plane quickly lost its balance, which left a deep impression on 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 movies 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 Fengshen Pterosaur lived in the late Cretaceous, about 80 million to 70 million years ago, and it is the largest flying animal known at present.

　　How big was Fengshen Pterosaur? Wang Xiaolin said that at present, no complete skeleton fossils of Fengshen pterosaur have been found, so it is impossible to accurately infer its wingspan length. However, some scholars estimate that the wingspan of Fengshen Pterosaur can reach about 15 meters at most, even if it is conservatively estimated, it can reach 11 meters, so it is a well-deserved "air overlord".

　　The Fengshen pterosaur in the movie can fly up and down with the plane and come and go freely. However, many people have questioned whether Fengshen Pterosaur, which is so huge, can really be so "smart" in the air? According to Wang Xiaolin, there are three main ways for animals to fly. The first one is close gliding between highlands, which was once thought to be the main way for pterosaurs to fly. The second is flapping flight, that is, like a bird, it continuously stirs its wings to achieve real flight; The third kind is like some large birds today, relying on the power generated by the updraft on the ground to fly for a long distance.

　　"Fengshen pterosaur how to fly, mainly depends on its weight. Some scholars think that it is too heavy to fly long distances, and it mainly walks on the ground. However, some scholars believe that its bones are hollow and its weight may be only about 250 kilograms, which may enable it to fly off the ground and continuously encourage its wings. " Wang Xiaolin pointed out that the current fossil evidence can not determine the specific flight mode of Fengshen Pterosaur. But he thinks that since Fengshen pterosaur has such big wings, there is a high probability that it can fly.

　　In the fictional plot of Jurassic movies, dinosaurs and pterosaurs lived in parks designed by human beings. However, Wang Xiaolin said that in the Mesozoic era 66 million years ago, the best living environment for pterosaurs was rivers and lakes and the sea. He further explained that, on the one hand, a wide range of water surface can produce rising hot air flow, which is very beneficial to flight; On the other hand, fish in the water can be said to be the best food for pterosaurs.

　　"The maxillary and mandibular structure of pterosaurs and the fossils of feces can prove that they mainly ate fish." Wang Xiaolin also specifically mentioned that Hami, Xinjiang, China was a large lake in the Early Cretaceous more than 100 million years ago, where a large number of pterosaurs lived. He called it "pterosaur Eden". Hami is also the largest and most abundant area of known pterosaur fossils in the world, where hundreds of millions of pterosaurs once thrived.

　　What’s the use of dinosaur feathers? They may have the function of heat preservation or courtship.

　　In the film, although there are not many scenes of Firecracker, as soon as it appeared, a beautiful red feather instantly caught the audience’s eye. And this is the first time that a feathered dinosaur really appeared in the Jurassic series movies.

　　When Wang Xiaolin saw the image of Fire Pirates in the movie, he saw at a glance that its shape design referred to the hairy dinosaur fossils found in the Jehol biota in western Liaoning. According to Wang Xiaolin, the fire-stolen dragon fossil was first discovered in Provence, France, but the fossil is very fragmentary and incomplete, and there are no feathers on it. The first complete dinosaur fossil with primitive feathers in the world is the Chinese dragon bird unearthed in western Liaoning. Since then, Chinese scientists have discovered a large number of feathered dinosaur fossils in western Liaoning and its surrounding areas, such as Microraptor fossils and nearly bird dragon fossils.

　　"Some dinosaurs have complete feather shapes, such as feather shafts and asymmetric flying feathers, and some dinosaurs have feathers as primitive as fluff." Wang Xiaolin further said, but no matter what feather shape, scientists have gradually realized that long hair on dinosaurs may be a common situation.

　　Wang Xiaolin told reporters that scientists have been able to determine that small theropod dinosaurs that are closely related to birds have relatively complete and mature feathers. However, the skin surface of Ankylosaurus and Ceratosaurus, which are far away from birds, is still scales.

　　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 will change with the change of the external environment temperature. But birds and mammals are warm-blooded animals, and their body temperature is constant. Therefore, they need feathers or hair to keep warm or dissipate heat. For some dinosaurs that are close to birds, the same is true, and they are likely to be constant temperature. " He said.

　　But besides keeping warm, the feathers on dinosaurs may have an unexpected function — — Courtship Wang Xiaolin said that if we observe the "descendants" of dinosaurs today — — Birds will find that they often use their colorful feathers to attract the opposite sex, such as proud as a peacock. Fossil evidence also shows that there are significant differences between males and females of some dinosaurs in terms of head and crown, which shows that some dinosaurs have courtship behaviors to attract the opposite sex through appearance, and feathers are likely to play an important role in showing off.

　　How to restore a dinosaur’s appearance, behavior and living environment should be considered.

　　Although the Jurassic film series 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 in an endless stream, and the image of dinosaurs in the picture is lifelike, just like being reborn.

　　However, Wang Xiaolin also reminded that although the dinosaur images in the film and television pictures are realistic, most of them are still "wishful thinking" of human beings. For example, the new rival of Tyrannosaurus Rex appeared in the movie Jurassic World 3 — — Megasaurus, its prototype, Megasaurus australis, lived in the middle Cretaceous, about 100 million years ago, before Tyrannosaurus rex lived in the late Cretaceous. It is also a large carnivorous dinosaur, and the shape of the behemoth is also comparable to that of Tyrannosaurus Rex. However, according to Wang Xiaolin, compared with the relatively rich fossil remains of Tyrannosaurus rex, the fossils of Megasaurus can be said to be pitiful.

　　"The fossil preservation of the behemoth is not complete, and few bone fossils have been unearthed. Most of its specific body, shape and other details are speculated." Wang Xiaolin further explained that the bones of large carnivorous dinosaurs were thinner than those of herbivorous dinosaurs because they had to run fast when hunting, and the bones were often hollow inside, so their fossils were relatively difficult to preserve.

　　Wang Xiaolin believes that it is understandable for film and television works to make bold speculation and artistic imagination about dinosaurs from the perspective of entertainment and popular science, but the restoration of dinosaurs is not just as simple as restoring their appearance.

　　Wang Xiaolin introduced that dinosaur restoration often uses the principle of discussing the present and the present, which can be roughly divided into three levels.

　　The first level is the restoration of dinosaur appearance image, which mainly depends on the in-depth study of dinosaur bone morphology and the reverse reasonable speculation based on the appearance characteristics of living animals relatively close to it. 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 dinosaur walking style, we need to rely on the discovery and research of its footprint fossils, and also refer to the behavior of modern animals. The third level is the restoration of the dinosaur’s ecological environment. Wang Xiaolin said that the appearance and behavior of dinosaurs are largely related to their living environment. Different dinosaurs have morphological characteristics that adapt to their living environment, so the restoration of their living environment is also a part of dinosaur restoration.