Spec

The Speculative Dinosaur Project, or Spec, is, for those that don't know about it, a project about our world if dinosaurs (or any other group from the late Cretaceous that disappeared) didn't become extinct. It started as a somewhat inaccurate project that has suffered massive editings lately; the site itself (which is just an experimentaion one; the official bowdoin site is down for good) isn't very different from its original version, but the yahoo group is quite active at the moment; in fact, if I was to write Spec's pages according to the current situation, you would find that Spec has changed completly.

For instance, many solid groups of old Spec are gone, such as the salmonites, the hesperonychids, the behemoths and probably even the abelisaurs (given the fact that RL abelisaurs weren't cursorial, all fast running species of Spec will be gone or remade). The arbros have been divided into two groups (and probably will be reworked), mattiraptors are in a totally uncertain situation (they will either end up as birds or as unenlagiines), paraselenodonts, troodontids, sauropods and others have fine new additions, arjuns passed from hesperornithes to icthyornithes and malagasy mammals from marsupials to placentals, and groups previously extinct like pterosaurs are now a strong presence on Spec's world (so much that the avian rocs are gone). Em fim, this maelstrom of ideas is currently shaping Spec to the point that the final product will be completly different from the old one. I personaly like Spec, and I hope the book (yes, there will be a book) is ready, as well as the site. 'till then, I'll try to help the staff (now only 4/5 members of the original team remain, plus a new addition from Puerto Rico) to make it as accurate as possible.

The bigger issues now are within maniraptora and the cave and mangrove ecosystems. After that, its pterosauria and choristodera, and it will perhaps be ready.