Random Craziest Dinosaur Facts That Have Been Discovered Since You Were In School (25 items)

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  (#21) Paleontologists Have Little Idea What Dinosaurs Looked Like Aside From Their Skeletal Structure

  Most people have a clear mental image of what they think dinosaurs looked like, but these representations have a basis in scientific speculation and popular culture. Two paleoartists C.M. Kosemen and John Conway published a book titled All Yesterdays; they presented alternative interpretations of the fossil record to show dinosaurs could have appeared remarkably different than our modern interpretations.

  To make their point, the artists also depicted a few modern animals drawn in the skin-tight, leathery style of most dinosaur representations. In the aforementioned style of illustration, pictured above is a baboon.
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  (#23) A Massive Increase In The Fossil Record Means That Dino-Science Will Remain In Continual Flux

  Paleontologists are aware their understanding of dinosaurs may completely change over the next few decades. The fossil record is growing at a rapid rate. As paleontologist Jonathan P. Tennant explains, "There are still huge gaps in our knowledge of the fossil record, and areas in space and geological time where the rapid pace of discovery is changing much of what we thought we knew about dinosaurs."

  This “golden age” of discovery has ensured there are already enough fossils available to inspire another few decades of dino revelations. Moreover, there are still multitudes of bones awaiting discovery.
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  (#8) The Archosaur Lizard King Ruled Antarctica Long Before The T. Rex 

  Millions of years before the T. Rex took on the title of the "lizard king," an iguana-sized archosaur reigned over Antarctica. Scientists discovered a 250 million-year-old fossil that allowed them to identify that the reptile was likely four to five feet long and ran along the ground. They call it the Antarctanax shackletoni which means "Antarctica King." 

  Brandon Peecook, head researcher at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, told Live Science that the creature "doesn't have any adaptations in its feet that would make [him] think it lived in the trees or that it's a burrower."

  The discovery of the Antarctanax shackletoni allows paleontologists more insight into the evolution and ultimate extinction of the dinosaurs because it suggests "all these other crazy lineages must have existed." 
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  (#18) The Traits Defining A 'True' Dinosaur Have Become Extremely Ambiguous

  As paleontologists have dug up more prehistoric remains and added to the fossil record, the number of known dinosaur species has skyrocketed. This increase in awareness has led to a decrease in the number of traits distinguishing dinosaurs from other animals.

  Having found more traits previously thought of as unique to dinosaurs in non-dinosaurs, paleontologists narrowed down the list of what defines a legitimate dino. According to paleontologist Randall Irmis, the only distinguishing feature of a dinosaur is "having a complete hole in the hip socket.” Every other feature appears in non-dinosaurs. The hips, however, don't lie.
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  (#19) The Entire Dinosaur Evolutionary Tree Was Way Off

  Because we are constantly discovering new information about dinosaurs, the basic evolutionary tree of these creatures has changed dramatically. Many accepted this tree for over 100 years before a 2017 study of dozens of species by paleontologist Matthew Baron suggested Theropods belong in a group with Ornithischians, under the heading of Ornithoscelidans. 

  In other words, the T. rex had more in common with bird-lipped dinosaurs, like the Triceratops, than with long-necked creatures, like the Apatosaurus.
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  (#11) Most Dinosaurs Had Feathers

  Books and educational materials traditionally depicted dinosaurs as giant lizards. However, this is beginning to change as their evolutionary connection to birds is becoming increasingly apparent. The idea of a dino with plumage is difficult to imagine, but the majority of paleontologists now agree most - if not all - dinosaurs had feathers.

  The discovery didn't happen all at once, but in stages, as researchers discovered more feathered specimens, and the truth became impossible to ignore. Since feathers don't usually preserve well, it took years before scientists discovered enough fossils to support the hypothesis. At first, only flesh-eating dinosaurs purportedly had feathers, but the discovery of a well-preserved, feathered herbivore species in 2014 compelled paleontologists to consider perhaps all dinosaurs were downy.

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