Dinofuckingtopia

A little while ago I noticed this news article about Norway's first dinosaur. There's a little bit of noteworthy information about deducing the lineage of a long-dead animal from a fossilized knucklebone found deep beneath the sea but I was most struck by the accompanying illustration:

I'm in no position to judge the scientific validity of this depiction of a Plateosaurus, but it bears a suspicious similarity to Gertie the Dinosaur, the subject of the groundbreaking animated film by early 20th century cartoonist Winsor McCay:

Now, I'm not saying that the Plateosaurus drawing is necessarily inaccurate just because it was cribbed from 90-year-old paleontological theories as fancifully rendered by the creator of Little Nemo in Slumberland. But while modern research has borne out some of Gertie's behaviors, such as eating tree leaves and walking upright out of water, some of her actions would be considered doubtful by contemporary paleobiologists, including but not limited to:

• Walking with her elongated neck held upright.
• Eating the entirety of the tree in addition to its leaves.
• Throwing a boulder at a wooly mammoth.
• Allowing early 20th century cartoonist Winsor McCay to ride on her back.

I'll leave it to the Sam Neills of the world to decide how realistic it is but color me skeptical.