Jurassic Park Series

[DoomRulz]

facial expresions

Dinosaurs didn't have facial expressions.

And you know that based on...

[Puks]

Birds and reptiles of today.

[Ratchetcomand]

JP3 will be 10 years old next year, hard to believe it been almost 10 years since we did not had a JP movie.

[DoomRulz]

Birds and reptiles of today.

Valid, but then again, it's proven that dromaeosaurids can indeed communicate with one another due to their brain structure, so I wouldn't write off facial expressions, at least basic ones.

[Puks]

it's proven that dromaeosaurids can indeed communicate with one another due to their brain structure

Link or it didn't happen.

[DoomRulz]

http://www.dinosaurhome.com/utahraptor-research-part-2-social-behavior-intelligence-and-an-example-of-pack-hunting-111.html

Jack Horner also mentioned it briefly in an interview during JP 3 production.

[Puks]

A lot of speculation.

There is no conclusive evidence they lived in packs nor communicated via sound (although they probably did).

The only recent animal species hunting in coordinated groups are some carnivores (lions and canids - note most carnivores are solitary) and they are far more intelligent than your average turkey.. ehm.. raptor.

Either way, what has this to do with facial expressions? Not even carnivores have them, instead they express emotions by body posture. Only higher primates make faces.

[DoomRulz]

They would have had to have hunted in packs. There's no other way for them to have hunted and lived because of the prey that was around at that time. Maybe not lived together, but hunted, I highly believe it.

[SiL]

Velociraptors weren't up against much prey bigger than them; there's no real reason they couldn't have hunted on their own.

The raptors in the original Jurassic Park snarled - That's about as far as you could really get for facial expression. You'd think someone would've made a note of muscle attachments on the face and said "Hey, they can make faces" by now.

[Puks]

They would have had to have hunted in packs. There's no other way for them to have hunted and lived because of the prey that was around at that time. Maybe not lived together, but hunted, I highly believe it.

There was plenty of prey not bigger than your average dromaeosaurid (be it Velociraptor or Utahraptor). Really big dinos, like sauropods, were hunted by larger carnivores - families like Allosauridae, Spinosauridae, Tyrannosauridae, etc. 

[DoomRulz]

I doubt Tyrannosaurids hunted in packs. Maybe pairs, but if we're talking prey, the largest land animal of the Late Cretaceous would've been Triceratops, or maybe a male hadrosaurid. Such animals would not require pack hunting techniques to bring them down.

[Puks]

Where have I stated tyrannosaurids hunted in packs?

[Undeadite]

Ok, so I'm sitting here reading this... fascinating argument, and all I can do is cry over the fact that I have forgotten almost all dino nomenclature. How come at age 10 I could speak it like a primary language, but now all I can muster is "that big one with the teeth"? 

[chupacabras acheronsis]

Velociraptors weren't up against much prey bigger than them; there's no real reason they couldn't have hunted on their own.

Lies.

[SiL]

Then post truths!