{"id":21114,"date":"2022-12-06T18:40:52","date_gmt":"2022-12-06T17:40:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sciencefocus.com\/?p=68608"},"modified":"2022-12-06T19:42:16","modified_gmt":"2022-12-06T18:42:16","slug":"absolutely-everything-you-want-to-know-about-dinosaurs","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/rss_feed\/absolutely-everything-you-want-to-know-about-dinosaurs\/","title":{"rendered":"Absolutely everything you want to know about dinosaurs"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Thomas Ling\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 06 December 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Dinosaurs: understandably you may have questions. Questions like \u2018just how formidable was the Tyrannosaurus Rex?\u2019<\/em>, \u2018what was the largest dinosaur of them all?\u2019, and \u2018why does the pot-bellied Nothronychus<\/em> look that<\/em> weird?\u2019.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, palaeontologists have these answers \u00ad\u00ad\u00ad\u2013 they\u2019ve uncovered much about this intriguing group of reptiles that roamed the Earth 230 \u2013 66 million years ago.<\/p>\n

From the meteor that made them extinct, to what they may have looked like (feathers and all), below you can learn everything worth knowing about dinosaurs from our top experts. You can also find the latest dino discoveries, such as the Scottish fossils recently identified as Scleromochlus<\/em>, a flightless, cat-sized early ancestor to the winged pterosaurs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And if you want to dig even deeper, make sure to also check out our in-depth guide to the iconic Stegosaurus<\/a>, the mighty Triceratops<\/a> and the scary truth about Velociraptors<\/a>. Spoiler: there\u2019s a lot Jurassic Park<\/em><\/a> got wrong.<\/p>\n

The latest Dinosaur discoveries and news<\/strong><\/h2>\n

With their teeny arm span, we can only imagine how annoying a back itch must have been for a T. Rex<\/em>. But a recently discovered dinosaur may have suffered from the same plight. At least, that\u2019s what we can guess from its fossils.<\/p>\n

While its skeleton was a gigantic 11 metres long and weighing more than four tonnes, the newly named Meraxes gigas<\/em> also wielded two disproportionally small forelimbs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, the Meraxes<\/em> became extinct some 20 million years before the T. Rex<\/em>. While very distantly related, the two species evolved their tiny arms separately for a survival advantage. What advantage exactly? Researchers aren\u2019t sure, but some scientists have theorised the tiny limbs could help with non-predatory activities, like supporting movement or holding during mating.<\/p>\n

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An illustration of the Meraxes gigas<\/em> dinosaur<\/span><\/figcaption> \u00a9 Carlos Papolio<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Elsewhere, scientists have also discovered how dinosaurs came to dominate Earth in the first place. New evidence, based on recent excavations in the remote desert of northwest China\u2019s Junggar Basin, indicates that freezing temperatures caused by repeated volcanic winters may have led to the dinosaurs\u2019 initial success<\/a>.<\/p>\n

How? Well, the warm blood and feathery insulation of these early dinosaurs may have helped them survive the cold that killed off the planet\u2019s early dominant reptiles.<\/p>\n

\u201cSevere wintry episodes during volcanic eruptions may have brought freezing temperatures to the tropics, which is where many of the extinctions of big, naked, unfeathered vertebrates seem to have occurred,\u201d explained study co-author Dr\u00a0Dennis Kent<\/a>, a geologist based at Lamont-Doherty.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhereas our fine feathered friends acclimated to colder temperatures in higher latitudes did OK.\u201d<\/p>\n

What killed the dinosaurs? When did they go extinct?<\/h2>\n
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It\u2019s believed dinosaurs were killed off by an asteroid<\/a>. Although some scientists theorised a flurry of volcanic activity wiped out the reptiles, research now points to a major impact off the coast of modern-day Mexico about 66 million years ago.<\/p>\n

Just how big was the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs? The impact left behind a crater off the coast of Mexico\u2019s Yucatan Peninsula that measures 150km across and 20km deep. It is thought to have triggered tsunamis, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions that not only led to the demise of the dinosaurs<\/a> but to almost three-quarters of all plant and animal life on Earth.<\/p>\n

After blasting into the Earth, scientists say the asteroid would have released particles and gases, which blocked out the Sun and caused a lengthy winter. While this caused the extinction of many dinosaurs, many species that later evolved into birds survived.<\/p>\n

In a 2021 study, researchers at Harvard University claimed that the Chicxulub comet may have originated from the Oort cloud<\/a>, an extended shell of icy debris located at the edge of the Solar System.<\/p>\n

Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n