David Peters

Archosaurus · 02-23-2012, 05:15 PM

I was checking Facebook tonight and noticed a new post by the official Dino D-Day group. "Coming soon to Dino D-Day? Discuss." Following the introductory phrase was a link to an article covering research conducted on an alleged vampire pterosaur.

The concept of a vampire pterosaur in Dino D-Day is fairly awesome, and I'd love another small flying class to play. However... I want to make it clear that the vampire pterosaur is David Peters' research. If you're unfamiliar with his work, David Peters is a rogue who has developed his own sauropsid taxonomy with utter disregard to phylogenetics. And he literally Photoshops half of the evidence he has for most of his work. For example, he overlays images of pterosaur fossils with Photoshop effects and from those deducts that pterosaurs sported bizarre integument which is not actually recorded in the fossil record. It's a similar story with this alleged vampire pterosaur. The subject matter, Jeholopterus does not have a well-preserved skull in the fossil record. It is difficult to deduct anything from what we have of the matter we are able to observe. David Peters "reconstructed" the skull himself and gave the thing fangs... There is absolutely no evidence that Jeholopterus had vampire fangs. Therefore while I am not discouraging creative liberties in Dino D-Day, I merely want everyone to understand that whether a vampire pterosaur is eventually implemented into Dino D-Day or not, such a thing is a matter of fiction and there is no contemporary evidence for such a thing in real life.

djmiller · 02-23-2012, 05:26 PM

Vampire Pterosaurs?

Archosaurus did a great job summing it up, I'd like to add a few things though...

See the skeletal reconstruction in the article linked on the facebook page (http://io9.com/5887411/was-there-rea...mpire-dinosaur) No, not the image on the top, that's perfect. It's the David Peters reconstructions showing the actual 'vampire'. It is horrid. It's a biped (Pterosaurs weren't bipeds), the tail is insanely long, it has weird lion-fish spines on it's back, and an angler fish lure on it's head. Compare it to the actual skeleton image, notice how none of these are seen in the actual fossil. Archosaurus explained why.

I wouldn't dispute a vampire Pterosaur had it been discovered with something more than photoshop. As a Pterosaur fan, I'm very surprised the idea got anywhere near DDD...

MegapiemanPHD · 02-23-2012, 10:42 PM

The idea of this being in Dino D-Day kind of makes sense, I mean it is real enough to work in the world the game is set in. If N a z i scientists could clone or create dinos, why would they stop there? Why wouldn't they attempt to further science by messing with dino genetics? The thing is basically a pterosaur mixed with a vampire bat (and maybe a squirrel, I get a squirrel vibe from that top pic in DJ's link) I could see it fitting into the games world but I don't know how well it would work in actual game play.

c_b_fofep · 02-24-2012, 12:18 AM

Hey guys, I mostly posted that on Facebook just because it was a fun dinosaur article I ran across while browsing io9 at lunch. No concrete plans for a "vampire dinosaur" in DDD, the post wasn't serious. Pretty sure a bloodsucking dinosaur wouldn't be all that useful in a fast-paced game like Dino D-Day.

djmiller · 02-24-2012, 07:04 AM

Good to know, I had a feeling me and Archo jumped the gun by a lot...lol.

Archosaurus · 02-24-2012, 08:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MegapiemanPHD

The thing is basically a pterosaur mixed with a vampire bat (and maybe a squirrel, I get a squirrel vibe from that top pic in DJ's link

It was already like that IRL, small and furry like a squirrel. Well... technically "pycnofiber-y" but the looks are akin.

Quote:

Originally Posted by djmiller

Good to know, I had a feeling me and Archo jumped the gun by a lot...lol.

Yeah, we do that. xD

02-23-2012, 05:15 PM	#1
Archosaurus Join Date: Oct 2010 Reputation: 25 Posts: 207	David Peters I was checking Facebook tonight and noticed a new post by the official Dino D-Day group. "Coming soon to Dino D-Day? Discuss." Following the introductory phrase was a link to an article covering research conducted on an alleged vampire pterosaur. The concept of a vampire pterosaur in Dino D-Day is fairly awesome, and I'd love another small flying class to play. However... I want to make it clear that the vampire pterosaur is David Peters' research. If you're unfamiliar with his work, David Peters is a rogue who has developed his own sauropsid taxonomy with utter disregard to phylogenetics. And he literally Photoshops half of the evidence he has for most of his work. For example, he overlays images of pterosaur fossils with Photoshop effects and from those deducts that pterosaurs sported bizarre integument which is not actually recorded in the fossil record. It's a similar story with this alleged vampire pterosaur. The subject matter, Jeholopterus does not have a well-preserved skull in the fossil record. It is difficult to deduct anything from what we have of the matter we are able to observe. David Peters "reconstructed" the skull himself and gave the thing fangs... There is absolutely no evidence that Jeholopterus had vampire fangs. Therefore while I am not discouraging creative liberties in Dino D-Day, I merely want everyone to understand that whether a vampire pterosaur is eventually implemented into Dino D-Day or not, such a thing is a matter of fiction and there is no contemporary evidence for such a thing in real life.

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02-23-2012, 05:26 PM	#2
djmiller Join Date: Nov 2011 Reputation: 8 Posts: 125	Vampire Pterosaurs? Archosaurus did a great job summing it up, I'd like to add a few things though... See the skeletal reconstruction in the article linked on the facebook page (http://io9.com/5887411/was-there-rea...mpire-dinosaur) No, not the image on the top, that's perfect. It's the David Peters reconstructions showing the actual 'vampire'. It is horrid. It's a biped (Pterosaurs weren't bipeds), the tail is insanely long, it has weird lion-fish spines on it's back, and an angler fish lure on it's head. Compare it to the actual skeleton image, notice how none of these are seen in the actual fossil. Archosaurus explained why. I wouldn't dispute a vampire Pterosaur had it been discovered with something more than photoshop. As a Pterosaur fan, I'm very surprised the idea got anywhere near DDD...

02-23-2012, 10:42 PM	#3
MegapiemanPHD Join Date: Dec 2011 Reputation: 9 Posts: 306	The idea of this being in Dino D-Day kind of makes sense, I mean it is real enough to work in the world the game is set in. If N a z i scientists could clone or create dinos, why would they stop there? Why wouldn't they attempt to further science by messing with dino genetics? The thing is basically a pterosaur mixed with a vampire bat (and maybe a squirrel, I get a squirrel vibe from that top pic in DJ's link) I could see it fitting into the games world but I don't know how well it would work in actual game play.

02-24-2012, 12:18 AM	#4
c_b_fofep Join Date: Jun 2008 Reputation: 148 Posts: 822	Hey guys, I mostly posted that on Facebook just because it was a fun dinosaur article I ran across while browsing io9 at lunch. No concrete plans for a "vampire dinosaur" in DDD, the post wasn't serious. Pretty sure a bloodsucking dinosaur wouldn't be all that useful in a fast-paced game like Dino D-Day.

02-24-2012, 07:04 AM	#5
djmiller Join Date: Nov 2011 Reputation: 8 Posts: 125	Good to know, I had a feeling me and Archo jumped the gun by a lot...lol.