Dinosaur Facts: the Fun, Interesting, or Downright Disgusting

Want to know some interesting dinosaur facts? We all know that the famous T. Rex had short arms or that dinosaurs reigned our planet for at least 165 million years, up until 65 million years ago. These animals lived through Pangaea breaking up into the continents that evolved into what we see today when we look at a map.

Even though you are passionate about fossils and dinosaurs, it’s impossible to know everything about all the species or their particularities. Here are the most interesting dinosaur facts that we found:

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18 Surprising Dinosaur Facts

Although movies and museums focus on the large specimens since they are the most impressive, many species were closer to a seagull or a rat when talking about size. A pterodactyl pterosaur called Nemicolopterus Crypticus had a 10-inch wingspan.

• With a body the size of a small bus, the Stegosaurus’ brain measured a little over one inch, making it one of the dumbest dinosaurs. The smartest, however, are thought to have been the small carnivore dinosaurs, if we’re considering the brain/body ratio.
• Officially, the avian lineage of dinosaurs is not considered to be extinct but rather slightly modified and represented nowadays by birds. this is one of the dinosaur facts that baffles us the most.
• During the reign of the dinosaurs, giant fleas were a slight inconvenience to them and an almost sure death to other smaller creatures. These insects had strong mouthparts and generally were an inch long.
• It is commonly accepted among scientists that fossils of dinosaurs and other prehistoric reptiles are directly responsible for the development of mythology revolving around sea monsters and dragons.
• The T. Rex is much closely related to birds than it is to certain other dinosaur species like the Mamenchisaurus, the tall and presumably gentle herbivore.

• Antarctica was populated by dinosaurs. In the Cretaceous (144 million years ago – 65 million years ago), this continent enjoyed warmer weather and supported many life forms, including dinosaurs.
• Up until a few years ago, the existence of warm-blooded dinosaurs, generally carnivores, and cold-blooded dinosaurs, mainly herbivores, was a commonly accepted theory. However, it has been recently suggested that dinosaurs’ blood was neither cold, nor hot, but more likely a combination of features from both categories that involves perpetual changes and improvements in metabolism over the course of a dinosaur’s life.

The largest dinosaur ever was a herbivore called Argentinosaurus, which could reach 115 feet in length.

• Sauropods, long-necked herbivores like the aforementioned Argentinosaurus, were very gassy creatures because of their fiber-rich diet and a bacteria needed to process their meals.
• The main reason we know so many dinosaur facts and information about each dinosaur’s diet is thanks to fossilized feces.
• Not all reptiles that lived during the Mesozoic Era were dinosaurs. Actually, dinosaurs only round up to about 10% of the reptiles from that time, the rest of 90% being either Pterodactyls, giant lizards, sea serpents, pelycosaurs or other prehistoric lizards.

• Another common and plausible theory that has recently gained the attention of scientists and paleontologists is that dinosaurs’ extinction allowed other life forms – like mammals – to evolve faster and to grow larger thanks to the lack of predators.
• However, there is evidence of mammals eating small dinosaurs or raiding the nests of big predators or herbivores. This proves that dinosaurs were not always at the top of the food chain.
• Some dinosaurs swallowed rocks in order to better digest their food.
• An adult Hadrosaurus had well over 1,000 teeth.
• The largest dinosaur ever was a herbivore called Argentinosaurus, which could reach 115 feet in length.
• Although the T. Rex gets all the credit, the largest carnivore was the Spinosaurus. it could measure over 50 feet in length and weigh 3 times more than a T. Rex.
• Contrary to commonly found dinosaur facts, popular belief, and most depictions that show dinosaurs as having leathery or scaly skin, protofeathers were extremely common among terrestrial dinosaurs, including the famous velociraptor.

There is no doubt about it, dinosaurs were majestic and impressive creatures. Even though their reign was cut short in what appears to be a slow and painful death, their fate stands as clear evidence for how ruthless and unforgiving nature can be. Please tell us your favorite dinosaur facts using the comment section.

Image sources: 1, 2, 3, 4.