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(#7) The Stegosaurus's Spiked Tail Is Called A 'Thagomizer,' Thanks To Gary Larson
From Redditor u/damojr:
TIL the "thagomizer," the spiked tail on a stegosaurid dinosaur, didn't have an official name until the cartoonist Gary Larson [of Far Side fame] did a comic about it, named it, and the scientific community accepted it and started using it, too.
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(#2) Pterosaurs (Such As Pterodactyls And Pteranodons) Are Not Dinosaurs
From Redditor u/orangebob999:
TIL Pterodactyls were not dinosaurs; they were just flying reptiles that hung out with dinos.
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(#4) Brontosaurus Was First Classified As Its Own Genus, Then A Species Of Apatosaurus, And Is Now A Separate Genus Again
From Redditor u/marmorset:
TIL that the Brontosaurus was [initially established as its own genus in 1879], then considered a species of Apatosaurus, a previously discovered dinosaur, and it should have had that name. Now it's been discovered that they actually are two separate animals, and the Brontosaurus exists again.
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(#15) A Dinosaur 'Mummy' Was Discovered With Its Skin And Stomach Contents Intact
From Redditor u/looser_name_connor:
TIL of the "Dinosaur Mummy," Borealopelta, whose remains were discovered with the protective armor, skin, and partial stomach intact. It's been so well preserved that scientists deemed it closer to a mummy than a fossil.
[Editor's Note: The Archaeology News Network has some great photos of the dino.]
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(#8) The 'Bone Wars' Was A Wild Rivalry Between Two Paleontologists In The 19th Century
From Redditor u/derstherower:
TIL of the Bone Wars. In the late 1800s, two rival paleontologists sought to disgrace each other, resorting to bribery, theft, attempts to cut off funding, and destruction of bones. Both paleontologists were ruined financially, but their efforts led to the discovery of many new species of dinosaurs.
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(#9) The Formal Naming System For Dinosaurs Can Be Traced Back To One Ridiculously-Named Fossil
From Redditor u/geekteam6:
TIL the naming system for unearthed dinosaur fossils didn't start until 1758. The first named bone was called Scrotum humanum - because it was originally believed to be the [testicles] of an ancient, giant man.
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Most people know that the world experienced a mass extinction about 66 million years ago, and the dinosaurs became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous. There are intense discussions about the reasons for the extinction of dinosaurs. The most common theory is that an asteroid hit the earth. This conclusion is strongly supported by various pieces of evidence. However, some people insist that dinosaurs are not extinct, but have evolved and changed in many ways.
Human beings are addicted to the research of dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals for many years. Some new discoveries and scientific research have given people new inspirations in recent decades. Some theories may sound a bit crazy, the random tool explained 15 fascinating facts about dinosaurs that most people may not know.
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