that larger, heavier modern
animals have bigger marks, we
know we need to add bigger muscles to
those dinosaurs.
Our understanding of the finer details
of dinosaur anatomy has altered over
time, and continues to improve with 3D
computer models that use the physiology
of living animals to make predictions
about extinct species. Sauropods, like
Diplodocus, used to be depicted with
their heads held high on their necks and
their tails dropping down to the ground,
but we now know this wouldn’t have
been possible. Instead, we reconstruct
them with their necks and tails in a more
horizontal position, acting as
counterbalances to each other.
Palaeontologists are increasingly making
use of digital, biomechanical models to
test their ideas about how dinosaurs
walked and used their jaws.
Finally, layers of fat and skin are added
to our reconstructions, as well as scales,
feathers, armour, crests and any other
features such as cheeks, lips, claws and
beaks. There are surprising pieces of
evidence that come to bear on these
decisions too. We have some truly
incredible skin impressions for a range of
dinosaurs – particularly herbivores like
Edmontosaurus and Saurolophus. The
prevalence of scaly skin impressions in the
fossils of herbivorous dinosaurs has led
experts to believe that the majority had
scales instead of feathers (although a
handful of herbivorous dinosaurs have
been found with bristles and other
feather-related features).
We also know that some herbivores,
particularly the armoured ankylosaurs,
were covered in defensive bony plates,
spikes and knobs. These bony growths in
the skin, known as osteoderms, often
fossilised and give a good sense of how
animals like Scelidosaurus – discovered in
Dorset in the 1850s – would have
appeared in life.
In herbivorous dinosaurs there are
other features that we can infer from the
bones in the skull. Duck-billed hadrosaurs
have large grinding teeth at the backs of
their jaws, and it’s likely that these were
covered with cheeks, allowing them to
hold more food in their mouths for
chewing before swallowing. In other
dinosaurs, such as Protoceratops,Megalosaurus
is described
by William
Buckland
(pictured) as
a giant reptile.1842
1824
1964
2010
1996
2014
Richard Owen
names dinosaurs
as a group. Early
depictions show
them as giant lizards.Giant carnivore
and dinosaur-
poster-boy
Tyrannosaurus
rex is named by
Henry Fairfield
Osborn, preside
of the American
Museum of
Natural History.
Deinonychus is
discovered by John
Ostrom, leading to the
‘dinosaur renaissance’- a rebirth of interest
and research into the
animals.
The first known
feathered dinosaur,
Sinosauropteryx,
is discovered
in China by a
team including
Canadian dinosaur
hunter Philip
Currie.Sinosauropteryx
becomes the first
dinosaur to have its
colours revealed,
thanks to preserved
melanosomes found in
its fossilised feathers.New fossils allow scientists to piece
together the detailed appearance of
Spinosaurus, showing it was the largest
ever carnivorous dinosaur. It was
adapted to life in and out of water.yent
n1905
PHOTO: GETTY X3, PRESS ASSOCIATION, CHUANG ZHAOHow our knowledge of dinosaurs has
TIMELINE improved over just a couple of centuriesHOW DO WE KNOW?