What did the dinosaurs that used to hit the earth in ancient times look like?



Various studies and analyzes have been conducted on

dinosaurs that appeared in the Triassic period of the Mesozoic era and became extinct about 66 million years ago, but Kurzgesagt , a science YouTube channel, released 'What did you actually look like?' doing.

What Dinosaurs ACTUALLY Looked Like? --YouTube


The earth has a history of 4.6 billion years, and human beings do not know all of them.



There are about 1.5 million species of eukaryotes recognized by humankind, but it is said that more than 10 million species are currently alive.



Currently, 15,000 new species are discovered each year, but much of life on Earth has yet to be discovered. In the history of the earth, it is estimated that 4 billion species of organisms were born.



However, most of the creatures are 'unknown and unknown' because 99% of them are extinct before human beings speak the language.



This movie uses science and imagination to guess what the creatures that lived in the past looked like. Starting with what you know, you need fossils to learn about past creatures. Fossils are those that have survived to the present day, with bones and shells buried in the ground and preserved in amber. The total amount of fossils remaining on the earth is called the 'fossil record' and is an important window for knowing the past.



In order for an animal's death to become a fossil, the proper environment, timing, and conditions must be in place.



And fossils will remain for millions and hundreds of millions of years and need to be discovered.



So finding fossils and getting information from them is 'a miracle,' says Kurzgesagt.



Dinosaurs can only get information from fossils, which are like a mass of miracles.



Over the past 200 years, more than 1000 species of dinosaur fossils and tens of thousands have been discovered.



In recent years, a particularly large number of fossils have been discovered, and about 50 new dinosaur fossils are discovered each year, and new knowledge about dinosaurs continues to increase.



Suppose that 1000 individuals are randomly selected from 1000 species of creatures and fossilized for all animals that have lived in the last 50 million years.



In that case, how long did a dinosaur with a characteristic appearance like a giraffe live? The characteristic appearance like a giraffe is formed by the area where it lives.



For example, in a lush jungle, animal carcasses are less likely to be buried in the soil, so they are basically less likely to fossilize. This is because excrement of various sizes can quickly break down dead animals, and acidic soil can dissolve bones.



In other words, dinosaur fossils rarely come out of the jungle.



Currently, 2% of the living organisms on earth live in the rainforest.



On the other hand, when dinosaurs roamed the earth thousands of years ago, the jungle occupied most of the earth. Therefore, there should be many species that have disappeared without leaving any trace.



Humans are a typical example of creatures that live in areas other than the jungle. Most of the human body is fluffy and soft, so long-term storage is impossible.



Therefore, the longest remaining part is the crystallized part of the bone. Most dinosaur fossils are bones and teeth, usually only fragments, not the entire skeleton.



In other words, boneless and shellless animals almost disappear from the fossil record.



Given the variety of boneless organisms living today, such as earthworms, jellyfish, and slugs, it is clear that these species of fossils are lacking.



So, considering the 'boneless species' that might have existed for 500 million years, 'our imagination isn't enough,' Kurzgesagt said.



Even with the presence of bone fossils, it is not easy to inflate the whole image from the bone.



In the past, dinosaurs had a minimalist design with bones, and the majority of illustrations expressed how ferocious and dangerous they were by showing their teeth and laughing.



However, if you imagine the appearance of modern creatures based on their skeletons ...




It can look strange.



'Elephants, swans, baboons, etc. are like monsters in nightmares,' Kurzgesagt said.



In other words,

imagine a dinosaur with more soft tissue , fat belly and chest, flaps and lips, and strange soft tissues like gums, much like modern animals. Then the dinosaurs will look like more fun creatures.



Some soft tissues have characteristic traces on their bones, such as those found on the skeleton of extinct animals, so you can imagine their appearance from modern animals with similar characteristics. increase.



The same is true for colors. We know what a living bird's feathers look like, so by combining modern technology with a very rare fossil that preserves the traces of fluffy feathers, you can get a glimpse of the true color of an extinct dinosaur. I can do it.




A small dinosaur, Sinosauropteryx has a striped tail ...



Its companion

, Anchiornis Fuchsley , is known to have white and black, and gorgeous red feathers around his head.



However, it is not really known what color most of the ancient extinct dinosaurs had.



Given the surprising variety of modern dinosaurs, some dinosaurs try to blend in with the environment, to gather friends and show that they are dangerous. There must have been some dinosaurs with an aggressive color scheme.



Dinosaurs with impressive decorations and colorful beaks ...



There must have been some dinosaurs with striped patterns and patterns.




Similarly, not much is known about dinosaur behavior, but it can still be inferred from extant animals. For example, even predators at the top of ecosystems, such as lions, spend a lot of time lying down, hugging, and licking.



On the other hand, Tyrannosaurus , the strongest predator of the dinosaur's survival era, is imagined to be a ferocious and stupid animal from the fossils of the skull and the tough teeth and the bite marks that are probably the strongest of the terrestrial animals. Was being done.



However, state-of-the-art scanning technology reveals that Tyrannosaurus had a higher proportion of brains than other giant carnivores.



It was also found to have very sharp hearing, sight and smell, and is believed to have never been a stupid animal.



'That is, Tyrannosaurus may have been a cute guy who spends a lot of time playing and impressing his companion when he's not hungry,' Kurzgesagt said.



Similarly, with its horns and tough skin,

Ceratops may look like a natural warrior, but it's probably more than that.



Considering modern animal behavior and birds dancing intricately for mating ...



Ceratops also had a surprisingly colorful look and may have been dancing for mating like a bird.



If a dinosaur had the characteristics mentioned in the movie, 'It's an incredible loss to not be able to meet the dinosaurs in person,' Kurzgesagt said.



Considering the conditions for fossils to remain mentioned in the movie, many of the wildlife that are living now will probably disappear forever without leaving fossils. But there is something that humanity can do, not to accelerate the extinction of living things, but to protect living things as guardians of life, Kurzgesagt said.



in Creature,   Video, Posted by logu_ii