#Dinosaur facts

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

So in the spirit of the season what are some good creepy/scary dinosaur facts?

I mean, I'm Jewish, so for me its still Shake a Citrus Fruit at G-d and Live in a Tent Season, *however*

Have you met the Vampire Finch?

How about Shrikes, which impale their victims?

Then there's the fact that Ducks have Corkscrew Penises

As we all know, members of the genus Corvus can remember humans and will hunt you tf down if you cross them

And who can forget the Bearded Vulture, which just straight up eats bones!

[infodumpingaboutnature]

So a new species of dinosaur was just discovered and uh……. They named it Gremlin. Gremlin slobodorum…….

So Gremilin slobodorum is a species of leptoceratopsid ceratopsian dinosaur that lived during the Campanian stage of the Cretaceous period around 77 million years ago. Its fragmentary remains were first found in the Oldman Formation in Alberta, Canada and were originally thought to have belonged to a different genus of small ceratopsian called Cerasinops since their remains have been found in rock layers around that same age.

(Cerasinops compared to a modern house cat. Art by cisiopurple on Deviantart)

However, it was just recently discovered to be a completely new genus and so it was given the name: Gremlin slobodorum. The genus name “Gremlin” obviously refers to the mischievous mythical creature while the species name “slobodorum” is in honor of Ed and Wendy Sloboda who were both involved in the discovery of the holotype specimen.

If I’m being honest I don’t really like the genus name of this dinosaur. Like I’m all for extinct creatures having names inspired by mythology but just calling it Gremlin feels lazy in my opinion. Like it does look like a Gremlin but maybe Gremlinsaurus or Gremlinceratops would’ve been better names. But despite its uncreative (in my opinion) name I still think it’s a pretty cool dinosaur and can’t wait for more paleo art of this guy to start popping up. Also, no hate to the people who named this genus or if you like the name. I just wish it wasn’t just called Gremlin. Who knows maybe the name will grow on me.

[clobertina]

Fellow Dino Nerd ruining y'all's prehistoric childhoods lol

-its not scientifically backed up that raptors hunted in coronated packs. They most likely hunted in an unorganized mob behavior and likely even killed eachother over carcasses.

-Group hunting is not the norm.

-Ceratopcid dinos could not ram into things like rhinos, otherwise it would have shattered their skulls.

-Dinosaurs could not roar, but can make bellowing sounds etc. Roaring is a mammalian thing.

-The raptor's sickle claw was not used for disembowelment, it was only sharp enough to puncture the skin but not slice it. It's been theorized that it was used to pinning it's prey down as the creature ate it's prey alive as well as for helping them climb.

-Most dinos didn't have protruding teeth like you always see in media, they had lip coverings, otherwise their teeth would dry out. One of the few creatures like Crocodilians who do have their teeth protruding out; their skulls and teeth do not match with those of dinosaurs. In fact, most skulls of carnivorous dinos have these little holes above their teeth, something found in animals that have lip coverings.

-Troodon is a Nomen dubium, meaning that it is not a valid genus. Sorry to all the Troodon fans. This is because Troodon was made from a single tooth, causing many scientists to lump in all things with similar teeth into that genus, causing major problems in the long run. It is now refered to "an Arctic Troodontid" instead of just "Troodon".

-The Brachiosaurus you see in most dino movies, (mainly Jurassic Park/World) is NOT ACTUALLY A BRACHIOSAURUS. The dino you keep seeing is ACTUALLY a Giraffatitan!

-It is unclear if Triceratops (and I mean Triceratops specifically) lived in large herds. It is more believed that they lived in smaller groups.

- "Pterodactyl" is not a real word, dinosaur, or a real genus. The real classification is called "Pterosaur". In fact, Pterosaurs are not even dinosaurs lol. Pterosaurs are actually reptiles and it's even been found from fossilized eggs that they layed soft-shelled eggs like snakes!

-Spinosaurus looked like this (at least as of now, this Dino keeps changing fr lol)

To make up for that, here's cool prehistoric facts.

-feathers make dinosaurs more dangerous believe it or not. Feathers can break their fall, make them more silent, protect them from the cold, and more.

-Mosasaurs are not dinosaurs and are, interestingly, a distant relative to Monitor Lizards, they even have a forked tongue!

-T-Rex was pretty intelligent, had incredible vision, incredible since of smell, and can run as fast (or slightly faster) than the average human. They where the irl Mary Sue fr lol. That said, they weren't unstoppable and just an animal. (I'm side eyeing the T-Rex fan boys so hard rn lol).

-Fossilized chemicals give us an idea of some dinosaur's actual colors! Sinosauropteryx is the most common example!

-T-Rex was an ambush predator and would be much scarier than the Hollywood counterpart. This is because they would be much more silent and would stalk their prey instead of immediately making it's presence known.

-Tyrannosaurids start out leaner, faster, and weaker than their adult counterparts when a juvenile or adolescent. This is because they filled a different niche. Once they age, they grow chunkier, slower, and stronger to fill in their new niche of hunting bigger creatures like Triceratops.

-Even though it is not supported that raptors hunted in packs. It IS actually supported that Albertosaurus did! While with raptors, their group remains are mostly found near other fossilized animals, Albertosaurus Fossils have been found in LARGE groups of numbers of other Albertosauruses.

-Smilodons actually had smaller brains compared to modern cats

-Dimetrodon was related to mammals

-Irrirator (a relative to Spinosaurus) had a split jaw to swallow bigger prey whole.

DISCLAIMER: Science is ALWAYS progressing, so some of these could be disproven in the future. It is always important to make your own conclusions.

[devilish-parrot]

Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles[note 1] of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is a subject of active research. They became the dominant terrestrial vertebrates after the Triassic–Jurassic extinction event 201.3 mya and their dominance continued throughout the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. The fossil record shows that birds are feathered dinosaurs, having evolved from earlier theropods during the Late Jurassic epoch, and are the only dinosaur lineage known to have survived the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. Are these words in Tally Hall?

Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles[note 1] of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is a subject of active research. They became the dominant terrestrial vertebrates after the Triassic–Jurassic extinction event 201.3 mya and their dominance continued throughout the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. The fossil record shows that birds are feathered dinosaurs, having evolved from earlier theropods during the Late Jurassic epoch, and are the only dinosaur lineage known to have survived the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event.

[factoidfactory]

Random Fact #6,463

Spinosaurus is the only known semi-aquatic dinosaur.

Part of the reason we know it was semi-aquatic is the shape of its head, which looks very similar to a croc’s or a hippo's (with the eyes at the top of its head and the nose further up its muzzle so that they can remain mostly submerged).

[derpdino34]

Dinosaur facts day: 48 🦖🦕

[moggieeee]

New edit coming soon!

Some facts cause I’m bored:

The goats in Jurassic Park and Jurassic World are bred to be blind and deaf.

Tyrannosaurus has the strongest bite force out of any dinosaur discovered.

Baby tyrannosaurs likely had a layer of fuzzy feathers.

No one knows exactly how long a dinosaur’s lifespan was. Some scientists speculate some dinosaurs lived for as long as 200 years.

[vee-and-yourmom]

A scientist named Alfred Wegener has a theory that the continents we once knew were actually all stuck together into one super continent called Pangaea, which excited 220 million years ago

Everyone thought his theory was a load of rubbish until after his death, many scientists started testing his theory and they determined that he was actually onto something

One of the ways he actually determined his theory was using Dino Fossils!

Africa and South America, at the very bottom, there were fossiles of a freshwater dinosaur found, and ofcourse, what's one thing that we all know freshwater animals can't do? Swim through deep salt water!!!!

There are ofcourse many other fossils found in one place then found across the world from there

Along with mountain ranges! There are mountains with the same form as other ones from across the world! (I'm not very knowledgeable about the mountain range part so please correct me if I'm wrong)

Darn u Mrs geography teacher, now look what you've done.. I tot a new special interest and I gotta wait till my next lesson with her 😭😭

UPDATE: I HAV A GEOGRAPHY LESSON TODAY WOOP WOOP

[a-drunk-50s-queer-housewife]

DINO FACT:

No dinosaur that we’re aware of is fluent in Latin

[heyimastopsign]

Many animals in the Stegosauria genus had a distinctive set of spikes on their tail for defence.

These are known as the “thagomizer”. It has been calculated that the tail would have been swung at roughly 360 metres per second, causing severe damage and puncturing even bone.

Here’s the thing. The term “thagomizer” has no scientific basis. It was invented by the cartoonist Gary Larson in his comic series known as “The Far Side”

It was then adopted by the scientific community as the thagomizer had no official name at the time.

[silly-baba]

Here ya go, baba :3

I think the paint is watercolor?

Oh, that's so fun, Bubs!!

Yes, that definitely looks like watercolor.

Oh and I have the same dinosaur species in my toy collection, I think! :D

This is the dino species called Ankylosaurus, they where armored tanks of a dinosaurs!!

This impressive herbivore defended itself against predators, with its clubbed tail and spike-studded body.

They lived in the late Cretaceous period.

･.*.ﾟ☆❗please only interact if your blog is SFW❗☆ ﾟ.*.･

[infodumpingaboutnature]

This year has gone by fast! There are only 44 more days left of 2023 so to celebrate I’m gonna make a post about five extinct animals that were described this year!

1. Bos primigenius thrinacius n. ssp.

(Bos primigenius thrinacius n. ssp. Size estimate of a bull, cow, and calf compared to a human and an adult Palaeoloxodon falconeri. Art by Joschua Knüppe)

This new sub species of Aurochs lived on the Greek island of Kythera during the Late Pleistocene. The sub species was probably present on Kythera while it was still part of the mainland, but became trapped when it was separated sometime during the Middle to Late Pleistocene and their small size was a result of insular dwarfism. Insular dwarfism is a common phenomenon in evolution where a population of large animals becomes trapped on an island and slowly evolve to become smaller over time to better adapt to the reduced space and resources. The opposite, insular gigantism, where an island-bound population of small animals grows larger than their mainland counterparts also occurs regularly. During the Pleistocene, the various islands of Greece were full of giant swans and miniature elephants but now we know they had tiny cattle roaming about as well.

2. Garumbatitan morellensis

(Size comparison between Garumbatitan morellensis and a human. Art by cisiopurple on Deviantart)

Meaning “Garumba Giant”, Garumbatitan morellensis was a species of sauropod dinosaur that lived during the Cretaceous period in what is now Spain. Its remains were first discovered in 1998 at the Arcillas de Morella Formation near the city of Morella, however, they would not be excavated until an expedition in 2005. More material would later be discovered in a 2008 expedition and a paper would be published on the findings in 2016, but it wasn’t until this year that the species was officially named and described. Its genus named is a mix of the name for the tallest mountain in the region it was discovered in, Mola de la Garumba, and the Greek word “Titan”.

3. Nihohae matakoi

(A pair of Nihohae matakoi hunting some squid. Art by Daniel Verhelst)

Nihohae matakoi was a species of dolphin that belonged to the now extinct Waipatiid family and lived during the Oligocene in the waters surrounding what is now New Zealand. It possessed a bizarre set of tusk-like teeth that protruded from its beak. It is thought that this dolphin used it’s strange teeth much like a sawfish to stun their prey before consuming them. The holotype specimen was discovered all the way back in 1998 in Awamoko Valley on New Zealand’s South Island. The specimen consisted of a nearly complete skull, a single atlas and axis, eight vertebrae, and seven ribs. However, Nihohae matakoi would not be officially described until 2023. Its genus name combines the Māori words “Niho”, meaning “teeth”, and “Hae”, meaning “slashing”. The species name is also derived from Māori and comes from the words “Mata”, meaning “face” or “point”, and “Koi”, meaning “sharp”.

4. Perucetus colossus

(A pair of Perucetus swim together in the shallows. Art by Gabuded on Deviantart)

Another cetacean, Perucetus colossus was a species of early whale that lived during the Bartonian age of the Middle Eocene and was found in Peru (obviously). The remains we have or Perucetus are pretty fragmentary, but it has an estimated length of around 55.8-65.9 ft and was probably just as, if not heavier, than the modern Blue Whale. Due to the density of its bones and its absolute chonkiness, Perucetus likely was not a fast swimmer and likely lived in shallow waters and fed on crustaceans and mollusks. However, this is just speculation as very little about its ecology is known.

5. Vectipelta barretti

(A pair of Vectipelta barretti graze near a stream. Art by Stuart Pond)

Vectipelta barretti was an ankylosaurian dinosaur that lived during the Early Cretaceous in what is now England. It was discovered in the Wessex Formation and it’s genus name means “Isle of Wight shield”. The holotype specimen of Vectipelta was originally discovered in November of 1993, however, at the time it was believed that the specimen belonged to the genus Polacanthus. In May of 2021 it was discovered that the specimen was in fact a new genus and in June of 2023 it was officially named and described. Funnily enough, fossil evidence suggests that Vectipelta might be millions of years older than Polacanthus, the genus it was originally thought to be a member of.

I hope you all enjoyed reading about these recently described prehistoric species! I LOVE dinosaurs and other extinct animals and can’t wait to see what new discoveries 2024 has to offer!

[facts-that-you-will-never-need]

The largest dinosaur that we know of as of March 2024 is Patagotitan mayorum or the Titanosaur being an estimated 37.2 meters long or 122 feet

[saytrrose]

This monopoly game is slowly draining j sanity- you should tell me a fun dinosaur fact to refill it pretty pls

The Archeopteryx, my favorite dinosaur is known as the first ever bird and the females are neutral tones such as cream, browns and white while the men were very colorful, ranging from blues to greens to yellow and purple and red and more all at once completely.

[dino-boyo-agere]

If a dino could make a sandwich, which do u think would make the best sandwich?

oOoOO, that's such a fun question!!

Hmm.. I want to say brachiosaurus, because that's my favorite dinosaur and I simply want them to be the best at everything, but I don't thizthats fair..

My answer is Gallimimus!!

They lived in a semi-arid landscape with only scattered vegetation, leading to them being omnivores. The diet might've included fruit and seeds, insects, lizards and dinosaur eggs. Even baby dinosaurs may have been on the menu. If food was scarce, an opportunistic dinosaur would be likely to snap up anything edible.

Gallimimus where also most likely the fastest sprinter of any dinosaur and probably could have outrun a racehorse.

So, knowing all this, they'd probably gather all the yummy ingredients they could get their little grabbers on and make you a quick and delicious sandwich!!

[lostspelunker]

I took a dinosaur class this past semester, and did an extra credit assignment where I had to find scientific inaccuracies within Jurassic Park.

These are some of the highlights.

I wasn't intending to, but I may have gone slightly overboard.

I think I ended up with 50 total 'facts'.

Worst part is, for some reason the teacher didn't even read the five page finished project.