Dinotopia - The Island

The Island

Upon the hidden island of Dinotopia, humans and dinosaurs live and work together in harmony with one another and with the Earth itself. It is a place of beauty and wonder lost to the rest of the world. The island itself is surrounded by a storm system and dangerous reefs that prevent safe travel to or from the island.

Aside from a highly diverse ecosystem ranging from deserts to mountains to swamps, Dinotopia also has an extensive system of natural and man-made caves.

The dinosaurs, according to their own legends, have inhabited the island for millions of years, having sought shelter in the underground caverns during the climate changes that caused the extinction of dinosaurs elsewhere on the planet.

The caverns are referred to as the World Beneath, and many dinosaurs go there to die. According to legends, a half man-half ceratopsian being named Ogthar climbed down there (where the sun is said to sleep at night) and stole pieces of it (known as "sunstones"), using them to create the empire of Poseidos and populating it with metal dinosaurs. However, the sea grew angry with the artificial city and rose to destroy it. It is implied that this is where the Atlantis myth originated.

The human population consists of shipwrecked travelers called Dolphinbacks (who are often rescued and brought to shore by dolphins) and the descendants of such arrivals. As such, they often fall into cultural zones based on the societies from whence their ancestors came, creating a cultural landscape across the island that is both unified and incredibly diverse.

Dinosaurs are not the only prehistoric creatures on the island. In the higher regions of the Forbidden Mountains (a Himalaya-like mountain chain), woolly mammoths, giant ground sloths, Chalicotheres, Sabre-toothed cats, and other prehistoric mammals can be found. At least one Lystrosaurus and one Edaphosaurus can be found in the city of Pooktook. Pterosaurs are also common, especially the Quetzalcoatlus skybax, which serve as steeds for the skybax messenger riders.

The center of the island is made up of a dense rainforest called the "Rainy Basin". This place is where most of the island's large carnivores live, such as Giganotosaurus, Tyrannosaurus, and Allosaurus. They are just as sentient as the other dinosaurs on the island but must be kept apart due to their instinctual need to hunt. They have their own language yet it is very deep and guttural and difficult even for other dinosaurs to speak or understand fluently. The Basin is cut off from the rest of the island by a series of retractable bridges. There are caravans that make passages through the basin and are made up by very large sauropod dinosaurs outfitted with heavy suits of armor studded with sharp spikes and carry offerings of meat to appease any carnivores they meet. Often, a dinosaur that senses it will die soon will make a pilgrimage to the basin and die there so that it may be eaten by the carnivores and continue to contribute to the good of the island as a whole. The carnivores are actually very respectful of this and always wait for the dinosaur to pass peacefully, never attacking them while alive. The basin is divided by packs of predators, one ruled by giganotosaurs, the other ruled by tyrannosaurs.

Both halves of the dinotopian society share responsibility equally and live under a common set of laws known as the Code of Dinotopia. The society is highly communal, lacking a monetary system or even a concrete concept of ownership. Individuals are educated from youth to be compassionate, co-operative, and generally conscious of others' needs. For example, food on the island is provided at no cost, but citizens take only what they need and leave the rest for others. Stealing or other crime is virtually non-existent.