Those samples contain melanosomes, which are structures that are responsible for animals’ color. The sources of his color palette include relatively recent discoveries in which fossils contained preserved impressions of feathers or scales. Ugueto began his career as a herpetologist - one who studies reptiles and amphibians - before moving onto his current job.Īlthough he is no longer conducting scientific research, Ugueto still reads many academic papers per year on all topics relating to his work to be able to create the most realistic depictions of dinosaurs as possible. He is not a fan of the term “raptors" when talking about the species, given that biologically the term is reserved for birds of prey. “It would probably look more like a giant turkey,” Ugueto says, mentioning that it would still have its threatening claws and teeth. The Hollywood version of the creature served as an inspiration for the nickname of the then-expansion professional basketball team Toronto Raptors of the NBA in 1995. Although there was one type of the species that had the same size as the ones featured in the movie, the velociraptor - which scientifically is actually known as dromaeosaurus - was probably much smaller in size and covered head-to-toe in feathers. “A lot of people have this image of dinosaurs as monsters in movies, so I think when you reconstruct them with feathers some people may think that they look less scary but, I actually don't think that's the case,” he says. Given that it lived in warmer climates and its large size, the feathers themselves may have resembled the small hairs that are found on the top of elephants, Ugueto says. ![]() Furthermore, the dinosaur would have also had some sort of feather covering on the top of it, near the dorsal part of its neck, the dorsal part of its body and its trunk. This may come as a surprise, but “T-Rex,” as most call the animal, most likely had more “prominent lips” that would have covered up its giant teeth. When people think of that movie, two types of dinosaurs may come to mind: the towering Tyrannosaurus rex - and its colossal teeth - and the lightning-quick velociraptor. “When the original film came out, not much was wrong with it, but today, with what we know, you can say a few things,” Miami-based Ugueto says. Take “Jurassic Park” for instance, the classic 1993 film based on Michael Crichton’s novel. Based on new fossil findings, these illustrations have begun to make significant changes within the last 20 years. ![]() ![]() That’s because he has become a renowned paleoartist - a graphic artist and illustrator who takes scientific, paleontological evidence and transforms it into an image. Now as an adult, Ugueto can look at the classic dinosaur movies and point out the inaccuracies of the massive creatures that called the Earth home until 66 million years ago. "I think I'm a little bit partial to theropods, which is this group of dinosaurs that are carnivorous like Tyrannosaurus and Velociraptor, but honestly it's very difficult. They were so well adapted to the environment,” he says. ![]() They dominated life on Earth for so long. "There's nothing that looks like them today and they are so impressive. Gabriel Ugueto largely cultivated his lifelong fascination with dinosaurs by going to the movies as a kid.
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