Top Ten Dinosaur Facts

The earliest discovery of this connection is the Archaeopteryx, which was discovered in Germany in the 1860s. The connection itself was not fully considered until about a century later. Additionally, birds are remarkably similar to dinosaurs in terms of anatomy and evolutionary line. Theropod dinosaurs are known to possess wishbones, which are currently only found in birds.

When I first read this in an encyclopedia in about second grade, I didn't believe it until a year later when I found it somewhere else too.

It's a common misconception, but people unfortunately believe it. All four of them are similar to an extent (they're all reptiles after all), but they're different enough to not be the same animals. They all evolved in different environments with unique attributes.

Considering they're reptiles, this is rather surprising. Many dinosaurs were fast, active animals, particularly those in the theropod line, although herbivores are not excluded. Dinosaurs had a fast metabolism rate, and this is even more evident in sauropods, who had to devote about 20 hours exclusively to eating plants in order to sustain their bodies.

A more modern discovery, but one that is increasingly becoming mainstream. Most maniraptorian dinosaurs are known to possess feathers. Even Tyrannosaurus is speculated to have some feather coating in some areas.

Interestingly, Jurassic World acknowledges this discovery, and there's an explanation for why the dinosaurs in the film are depicted as scaly. It's a series of genomes that scientists decided to select, and they felt that the traditional scaly appearances of dinosaurs would suit the general audience more than their more realistic feathery counterparts.

Saurischians have hips resembling those of a lizard, whereas Ornithischians' hips look more like those of birds.

Furthermore, all Ornithischians were primarily herbivorous dinosaurs, although sauropods were Saurischians. Conversely, all carnivorous dinosaurs were Saurischians.

They were discovered in China. Interestingly, they were labeled "Dragon Bones." Dinosaurs and dragons do look similar in many ways. In addition, Megalosaurus remains were uncovered in 1676 in England but were identified as the bones of a human giant. It was only in 1822 when the discovered remains of an Iguanodon were taken seriously as a brand new animal. Another set of Megalosaurus bones was later discovered and studied in 1824 by William Buckland, thus becoming the first known dinosaur to be named, with Iguanodon soon following a year later.

By this point, there were three named dinosaurs: Megalosaurus, Iguanodon, and Hylaeosaurus, all discovered in England. The term "Dinosaur" was coined by biological scientist Richard Owen. The word "Dinosaur" means "Terrible Lizard" in Ancient Greek (Deinos = Terrible, Sauros = Lizard/Reptile). The reason for this name was because the three species Owen recognized were large for reptiles, and he speculated that dinosaurs must have been very large animals (which turned out to be a mix of right and wrong).

Despite their impressive and interesting origins, features, and relevance in prehistory, dinosaurs were surprisingly short-lived animals by natural age. While crocodiles can live up to 70-100 years, elephants for 60-70 years, and some sharks are estimated to be around 70 years, most dinosaurs didn't live beyond the ages of 10-30. Hadrosaurs were fully grown in a very quick time span and passed away at around 10 years. The oldest Tyrannosaurus remains by natural age are estimated to be around 28 years. Even the gigantic sauropods were susceptible, only reaching up to about 50 years of age.

This one is a real shocker, considering how grand, fearsome, and majestic dinosaurs are meant to be. But considering that they are descended from a line that also includes birds and crocodiles, it starts to make some sense. Birds have a syrinx, a different vocal box compared to larynxes that most animals possess. Crocodiles and (surprisingly) humans also have larynxes. So it's safe to assume that dinosaurs must have developed syrinxes as well.

This does bring up a bizarre perception: A quacking Tyrannosaurus. It's hard to actually imagine the T. rex using sound effects similar to that of a duck.