6 dinosaur myths from your childhood debunked by science

You thought you knew T. Rex, but think again. by Jennifer Walter Updated: Feb. 20, 2024 Originally Published: July 29, 2021 Disney Pixar via Giphy

CSA-Printstock/DigitalVision Vectors/Getty Images Piecing together the lives of prehistoric animals is no easy task . And as we dig further into the past, our ideas about life back then change and reshape .

amaurs via Giphy Sometimes, recent discoveries can be enough to turn our preconceived notions on their heads.

Here are 6 dino myths, debunked by recent science: Shutterstock

6. Myth: An asteroid wiped out all the dinosaurs at once Though a devastating blow did kill off many of the prehistoric beasts, new research suggests they may have been in decline far before the impact. Disney Pixar via Giphy

Shutterstock A cooling climate and the declining diversity weakened populations of herbivorous dinosaurs almost 10 million years before asteroids hit.

5. Myth: Dinosaurs all breathed the same way For a long time, paleontologists believed that dinosaurs probably breathed like birds through air sacs outside their lungs. ZU_09/DigitalVision Vectors/Getty Images

Viktor Radermacher But a well-preserved Heterodontosaurus fossil — a distant relative of Triceratops and Stegosaurus — revealed that this family of dinosaurs breathed by expanding their chest and belly.

4. Myth: Dinosaurs couldn’t survive in cold climates A decade-long excavation found baby dinosaur fossils above the Arctic Circle, showing that some species may have lived there year-round.

S.Norero Image/Moment/Getty Images Though the arctic was warmer during the Cretaceous period, dinos living at high latitudes would have had to endure at least several months of cold and darkness every winter.

3. Myths: Dinos were all giant, reptilian beasts Slowly but surely, more accurate pictures of what dinosaurs looked like are coming into focus. Some were smaller than you’d think, and many likely had feathers. CREDIT: ARTWORK © BOB NICHOLLS / PALEOCREATIONS.COM 2020

In 2020, researchers described a small, bird-like dinosaur called Ubirajara jubatus that lived about 110 million years ago in the early Cretaceous period . Reconstructions suggest it had a number of “proto-feathers” sticking out of the base of its neck — earning it the name “lord of the spear.”

2. Myth: T. Rex was a fast runner Actually, it was quite the opposite. A study from 2021 showed the prehistoric beast was quite a slow walker. Nintendo via Giphy

A 3D reconstruction took into account how much the beast’s tail would sway as it walked, rather than just the length of its legs. Rick Stikkelorum, Arthur Ulmann & Pasha van Bijlert

chuchart duangdaw/Moment/Getty Images T. Rex likely trodded at a speed of 2.86 miles per hour, making its movement comparable to that of an elephant.

1. Myth: Dinosaurs are all extinct today Sure, we’re never going to come across a live Triceratops in the wild, but there are many descendants of dinosaurs alive today. Brookfield Zoo via Giphy

Marcia Straub/Moment/Getty Images Modern-day birds evolved directly from dinosaurs. And recently-discovered feathered dinosaur specimens suggest that they evolved to have wings and feathers long before they could fly.

Lia Toby/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images Thanks to new scientific discoveries, we’re constantly learning more about how dinosaurs left their mark on the world today.

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6 dinosaur myths from your childhood debunked by science

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