Some thoughts on the popularity of prehistoric mammals
Feb 28, 2021 21:36:27 GMT 5
creature386 and Supercommunist like this
Post by Infinity Blade on Feb 28, 2021 21:36:27 GMT 5
The extent of popularity that prehistoric mammals enjoy is something I've thought about at various times. Typically people will tell you that they're underrepresented in comparison to dinosaurs, which is true to an extent. But I've wondered just why this is, and I think I've come up with a few reasons as to why prehistoric mammals (except those from the Quaternary) are paid less attention to.
DISCLAIMER: I am not an expert on the machinations of popular culture, and it's not like I've actually gone out of my way to empirically study this question. This is just my best guess.
Let's start with the obvious one:
1.) Dinosaurs: I'd be lying if I said dinosaurs didn't attract more attention than most prehistoric mammals (again, with the exception of Quaternary taxa). I guess we can't help but love an exotic extinct reptile unlike any other animal living today.
It should be noted, however, that only a relatively small handful of dinosaurs are actually popular to everyone (i.e. not just paleo enthusiasts, but also to the general public at large). There are dinosaurs that your average paleo enthusiast will most likely know but your average person won't, and dinosaurs that even most paleo enthusiasts (let alone people who aren't into paleontology) don't pay much heed to. In my eyes, it's really these select handful of dinosaurs that steal the spotlight.
This talk about how exotic an animal is brings me to my second point.
2.) Modern mammals: Mammals are still alive and well (Captain Obvious moment). Of course, dinosaurs are too, but modern birds are so different from non-avian dinosaurs that the dinosaur-bird link still isn't quite cemented in the mind of the general public at large (people still tend to think of dinosaurs and birds as two distinct things). Hell, there's a depressingly large number of people who actively deny the dinosaur-bird link.
By contrast, it's relatively easy to connect the mammals living now to the various extinct mammals from the fossil record, many of which are the ancestors to today's mammals. One might very well not see anything "exotic" in fossil mammals from the mammals we see today. And there's no shortage of large, fierce, and weird mammals living today. Just look at this figure below (Albert et al., 2018).
These are the 20 most charismatic species alive today. Are you noticing something? Almost all (9/10) of these species are mammals.
It's not that we don't love mammals. We definitely do. In fact, given how these species have their extant status and (in some cases) millennia of cultural importance going for them, I think it's safe to say that they're more popular, beloved, and charismatic than even the most popular dinosaur. I think, however, that we're more focused on the mammals that live today, and tend not to view fossil mammals as compelling in their own right (of course, many are).
3.) Quaternary mammals: Woolly mammoths, saber-toothed "tigers", cavemen (whether Neanderthals or our own species), cave bears, etc. You know, ice age fauna. It probably makes sense that they're by far the most famous extinct mammals, considering how relatively similar they are to modern mammals and how relatively close they are to us on the geologic time scale.
So these are just my thoughts on why most prehistoric mammals aren't as popular as we'd like them to be. A combination of (stock) dinosaurs, modern mammals, and ice age mammals.
What do you guys think?
DISCLAIMER: I am not an expert on the machinations of popular culture, and it's not like I've actually gone out of my way to empirically study this question. This is just my best guess.
Let's start with the obvious one:
1.) Dinosaurs: I'd be lying if I said dinosaurs didn't attract more attention than most prehistoric mammals (again, with the exception of Quaternary taxa). I guess we can't help but love an exotic extinct reptile unlike any other animal living today.
It should be noted, however, that only a relatively small handful of dinosaurs are actually popular to everyone (i.e. not just paleo enthusiasts, but also to the general public at large). There are dinosaurs that your average paleo enthusiast will most likely know but your average person won't, and dinosaurs that even most paleo enthusiasts (let alone people who aren't into paleontology) don't pay much heed to. In my eyes, it's really these select handful of dinosaurs that steal the spotlight.
This talk about how exotic an animal is brings me to my second point.
2.) Modern mammals: Mammals are still alive and well (Captain Obvious moment). Of course, dinosaurs are too, but modern birds are so different from non-avian dinosaurs that the dinosaur-bird link still isn't quite cemented in the mind of the general public at large (people still tend to think of dinosaurs and birds as two distinct things). Hell, there's a depressingly large number of people who actively deny the dinosaur-bird link.
By contrast, it's relatively easy to connect the mammals living now to the various extinct mammals from the fossil record, many of which are the ancestors to today's mammals. One might very well not see anything "exotic" in fossil mammals from the mammals we see today. And there's no shortage of large, fierce, and weird mammals living today. Just look at this figure below (Albert et al., 2018).
These are the 20 most charismatic species alive today. Are you noticing something? Almost all (9/10) of these species are mammals.
It's not that we don't love mammals. We definitely do. In fact, given how these species have their extant status and (in some cases) millennia of cultural importance going for them, I think it's safe to say that they're more popular, beloved, and charismatic than even the most popular dinosaur. I think, however, that we're more focused on the mammals that live today, and tend not to view fossil mammals as compelling in their own right (of course, many are).
3.) Quaternary mammals: Woolly mammoths, saber-toothed "tigers", cavemen (whether Neanderthals or our own species), cave bears, etc. You know, ice age fauna. It probably makes sense that they're by far the most famous extinct mammals, considering how relatively similar they are to modern mammals and how relatively close they are to us on the geologic time scale.
So these are just my thoughts on why most prehistoric mammals aren't as popular as we'd like them to be. A combination of (stock) dinosaurs, modern mammals, and ice age mammals.
What do you guys think?