Artists like John Payne like to know how a dinosaur behaved as well as what it looked like. Knowing this helps them create realistic dinosaur art.

But scientists don't always know how dinosaurs behaved! Scientists study fossils and make educated guesses-or theories-about dinosaur life based on this evidence. Sometimes new fossils strengthen a theory, but other times they can prove it wrong. Click to discover old and new theories about these dinosaurs!

Here are several dinosaur body parts. What do you think they might have been used for?

What was Parasaurolophus's long hollow head crest for?

What was inside Ankylosaurus's clubbed tail?

Imagining Dinosaurs
Artists and scientists draw, paint and sculpt how they think dinosaurs looked like. Their art reflects the ideas and beliefs of their time. When the first fossils of the Iguanodon were found, scientists thought it walked on all fours. Now we think that this dinosaur walked upright.
 

Iguanodon (on right) fighting another dinosaur. This illustration is from the 1800s.

According to current theory, Iguanodon walked on two legs.

 

Dragon or Dinosaur?
Thousands of years ago, Chinese peasants probably found dinosaur bones as they farmed. Some people believe that these huge bones helped inspire the first legends of dragons in ancient China (as in the painting on the left). Not until the 1830s, when scientists began examining dinosaur bones more closely, was the truth about these prehistoric animals discovered.

And theories about dinosaurs are changing even today. For over one hundred years, scientists have thought that the gigantic sauropods like Brachiosaurus and Apatosaurus used their long necks to eat leaves atop tall trees.

But new research suggests that their necks could not rise above their bodies. Instead, they may have swung their long necks back and forth to graze on grasses and marshes!

As we learn more about dinosaurs, outdated ideas might seem a little silly. But only by imagining dinosaurs can we think of new answers to questions. And it's fun! Try it yourself!
 

and create an imaginary dinosaur!

Fossil Forms  Color & Patterns Nature's Balance Movement

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