A common scenario in speculative biology projects is how would dinosaurs evolve should they had survived the K-T event.
Overview[]
This scenario is divided in three main sub-groups:
K-T absence scenario: Basically the most common scenario on speculative evolution projects, usually located in a parallel earth where dinosaurs never became extinct and continued to evolve during the Mesozoic. The most common scenario in serious speculative evolution projects.
Lost World scenario: A scenario in which mesozoic species survived isolated, mostly on an island. Not as common in speculative evolution scenarios, but predominant in popular culture, though in the later cases the animals might have evolved little from their prehistoric ancestors and are recognisable as the same genera as their ancestors.
Sapient Dinosaur scenario: More often than not connected to the other scenarios. Basically explores the possibilities of dinosaur sentience.
Lost world scenarios date as early as the 19th century, but little to none evolutionary studies are present in them, as they were mostly offered as a possibility for modern humans to find ancient animals. Sapient dinosaur scenarios date from the late 70s, when scientists began considering how troodonts would evolve sentience should they had survived. A full dinosaur dominated world was made in Dougal Dixon's The New Dinosaurs.
Project examples[]
K-T absence scenarios[]
The Speculative Dinosaur Project[]
Main article: The Speculative Dinosaur Project
Considered by far the most accurate project regarding this theme. Beginning probably as far ago as 2000 as a hobby between paleoartists, it eventually got its own site where it was displayed. However, due to continuous new discoveries that made the original project inaccurate, it is currently on a development hell.
The New Dinosaurs[]
Main article: The New Dinosaurs
The first project regarding this theme. Nowadays considered quite inaccurate, but still a classic.
Lesser Projects[]
Main article: List of minor speculative evolution projects
Several minor projects regarding this theme occurred in the internet, though most are incomplete.
Lost world scenario[]
While prevalent in popular culture, only serious speculative evolution scenarios are presented here.
World of Kong[]
Main article: Skull Island
Created by Peter Jackson, this book was a guide to his version of Skull Island. Presents a semi-realistic lost world that, while counting on several inaccuracies (such as the size of the larger invertebrates and the absolute lack of integumentary structures in dinosaurs), has an amazing artwork and an impressive set of non-dinosaurian vertebrate animals.
Dinotopia[]
While seldomly presenting any new non-vegetable species, most of the native animals are of a different species than their prehistoric ancestors (both Protoceratops and Quetzalcoatlus, for example, share their genus with their ancestors but are of different species)
Sapient Dinosaur scenarios[]
Dinosauroids[]
Main articles: Simon Roy and Nemo Ramjet
Probably the most accurate project regarding intelligent dinosaurs, it focuses on realistic, bird like sapient troodontids that live in a post-KT world. The project began soon after Darren Naish's post about the unlikeliness of humanoid sapient dinosaurs.
The dinosaur world in the Super Mario Bros. Movie[]
Although mostly a movie adaptation of a video game, it does feature an alternate dimension where dinosaurs evolved sapience and became human like. Very inaccurate in several ways, as dinosaur anatomy is so radically different from that of mammals that a human like shape, let alone appearance, is impossible to evolve