The Phenomenon of the Dinosauroid

 

Credit: Jim Linwood 

Many people have heard of the “dinosauroid”, a thought experiment conceived by Canadian paleontologist Dale Russell (who passed away in 2019). The dinosauroid is a hypothetical intelligent dinosaur, and Russell apparently believed that some (non-avian) dinosaurs might have evolved human-like intelligence had they not been extirpated 66 million years ago. Other scientists were less convinced, and it seems the dinosauroid became really unpopular in the scientific community, all the while becoming a pop cultural icon. The article linked below is from a science blog that occasionally dabbles in cryptozoology and paranormal research (mostly from a skeptical angle). It turns out that much more than a quirky paleontological thought experiment was going on!

The similarity between the dinosauroid and a reptoid space alien is obvious, and apparently not a co-incidence. Russell worked with Carl Sagan on the SETI project. Russell also corresponded extensively with Sagan as the latter was writing his runaway bestseller “The Dragons of Eden”, a book about dinosaurs and human intelligence (which – as a side point – has a positive blurb from none other than Colin Wilson). Russell was interested in speculations about alien life, including alien intelligent life.

However, there is more. The science blogger Darren Naish believes that Russell´s real motivation for inventing the dinosauroid might have been religious. Russell was a heterodox Catholic and admirer of Teilhard de Chardin, who believed that God-driven evolution inevitably goes through a humanoid stage (an idea I suspect might be derived from Theosophy). If so, the humanoid dino-alien creature was a peculiar expression of Russell´s private spirituality. Apparently a controversial take, since the editors of a recent book honoring Russell stopped Naish from publishing anything on the paleontologist´s religious views!

Personally, I consider this to be the most fascinating aspect of the dinosauroid phenomenon…  

Humanoid dinosaurs revisited again