The ten most popular prehistoric animals of 2010
At this time of year, there are a number of charts posted. They cover a variety of topics, from the mundane, like the most popular type of burger served at a well-known international burger chain, to the more interesting, like a list of the most searched terms on the internet, favorite celebrities, most the CDs. sold, most successful movie of the year and so on. We at Everything Dinosaur have for many years kept a record of the extinct animals that students and children we have met have asked about. We have recorded the number of emails about prehistoric animals that we have received. We have generated statistics on visits to our web pages and conduct our own research to build a picture of which long-dead creatures are still “hot” and which are not.
In the quiet period between Christmas and New Years we collect all the material from our various research sources and then publish a list of the ten most popular prehistoric animals. There are only two criteria that an animal must meet to be considered for our list. First of all, the animal must be extinct, extant species are not allowed. Second, animals and imaginary creatures are not allowed. For example, when the Harry Potter movie “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” was released in 2007, we met many students on our teaching trips and school visits who wanted us to talk about this mythical creature. Unfortunately, the Phoenix as an imaginary animal couldn’t make it into our top ten list.
Based on our research, in reverse order, here are numbers ten through six on our list of the most popular prehistoric animals compiled by Everything Dinosaur for 2010.
10). Liopleurodon (giant marine reptile)
This giant Jurassic sea monster appears for the first time on our top ten list. Liopleurodon’s popularity stemmed from several iterations of the “Walking with Dinosaurs” television series featuring this giant marine reptile, as well as its inclusion in the CGI of the “Dinosaurs Live” tour.
9). Saber-toothed cat (Smilodon)
A perennial favorite and a regular in our top ten polls. This prehistoric mammal was very popular, especially among the younger children we surveyed. The “Ice Age” movies have helped maintain this fearsome popularity of carnivores. The sheer number of Saber Tooth Tiger products and toys has endorsed this particular beast in our top ten.
8). Brachiosaurus (huge long-necked dinosaur)
The first dinosaur on the list is a huge but peaceful herbivore. There have been a number of new Brachiosaurus models released this year, most notably by Safari Carnegie of the United States and Collecta. The introduction of these new hand-painted replicas and subsequent product sales propelled this behemoth into our top ten.
7). Diplodocus (long-necked dinosaur)
Right in front, perhaps by the neck, is Diplodocus, another very large dinosaur. Like Brachiosaurus, Diplodocus was a sauropod, but had a much lighter build with a very long neck and tail. This peaceful Jurassic herbivore proved extremely popular with the female students we met in 2010. We also received a number of email questions about this particular dinosaur. This helped increase the number of mentions Diplodocus got and therefore ended up in our top ten.
6). Pteranodon (flying reptile – Pterosaur)
Coming in at position number six on our top ten list comes Pteranodon. We get a lot of requests for drawing supplies for flying reptiles (Pterosaurs) and Pteranodon is the most popular. We had thought that Safari’s introduction of a long-tailed pterosaur model, Rhamphorhynchus, might affect the popularity of Pteranodon, but no, this massive flying reptile from the Cretaceous is still the most popular of its kind.
So this is the first part of our top ten most popular prehistoric animals list completed. Includes two dinosaurs and three non-dinosaurs (Pteranodon, Smilodon, and Liopleurodon). The animals that make up this list lived millions of years apart, but have all proven very popular with the kids we’ve met on our travels, museum jobs, school visits, and the like over the past twelve months.
Let the countdown continue, from five to number one.
5). Stegosaurus (armored dinosaur)
A true favorite among paleontologists and researchers and a type of dinosaur animal that we love to work on ourselves. Stegosaurus is in the top five and proved to be the most popular prehistoric animal among all the girls who helped us with our survey. Stegosaurus is number one as far as they’re concerned, but on our overall list it sits at a credible number five.
4). woolly mammoth
Breaking the dinosaur dominance of our top five comes the woolly mammoth (Primal Mammuthus) to give this particular creature its scientific name. Thanks to “Manny” from the “Ice Age” trilogy, woolly mammoths have gone from strength to strength in terms of popularity in recent years. The Chicago Field Museum’s traveling exhibit will likely help keep this animal on our top ten list for years to come.
3). Velociraptor (Fearsome Dinosaur)
The villain from the “Jurassic Park” movies continues to rank high on our list. The sheer number of Velociraptor models, toys, and merchandise have helped maintain this little Theropod’s position in the top ten. It turned out to be very popular with young children, who seem to have a preference for the more bloodthirsty dinosaurs.
2). Triceratops (three-horned face)
The horned dinosaur, also known as the three-horned face, is this year’s runner-up in our table of the most popular prehistoric animals. Popular with both boys and girls, this dinosaur has benefited from the amount of news articles related to horned dinosaurs (Ceratopsians) that we cover. Triceratops holds on to the runner-up position.
Before we reveal the number one, most popular prehistoric animal of 2010 based on our own research, it would be appropriate to mention at this point some of the animals that didn’t make our list this year. Spinosaurus, Ankylosaurus, and Apatosaurus are dinosaurs that just get lost. A special mention to the flying reptile Rhamphorhynchus and the marine reptile Ichthyosaurus who almost made it.
However, the most popular prehistoric animal of the past year, based on our surveys, school work, dinosaur questions, etc., is…
1). Tyrannosaurus rex (King of the tyrant lizards)
No surprises, the most popular prehistoric animal is T. rex. Perhaps one of the most famous of all creatures to have lived on the planet, this large carnivore, known from only a handful of articulated specimens and numerous fragmentary finds, continues to dominate. The “King of Tyrant Lizards” is our number one, by a pretty hefty margin. Doubts may have been raised about T. rex being the largest terrestrial carnivore of all time, but it remains firmly established at the top of our annual survey.