WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: How Do We Know What Dinosaurs Looked Like?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren vocal bamb here with another classic episode from our

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<v Speaker 1>archives featuring former host Christian Sagar. This one is so

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<v Speaker 1>classic that it's prehistoric. How do we know what dinosaurs

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<v Speaker 1>looked like? Hey? I'm Christian Sagar and this is brain Stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>Dinosaurs are super old and they are also super popular.

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<v Speaker 1>We see them in movies, museums, children's toys, cartoons and more.

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<v Speaker 1>But how do we know what they actually looked like?

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<v Speaker 1>It all comes down to fossils. Think of reconstructing a

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<v Speaker 1>dinosaur's appearance like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. The fossils

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<v Speaker 1>are the pieces on the edge of the puzzle, but

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<v Speaker 1>most of the other pieces are missing. So while they

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<v Speaker 1>don't tell us everything, fossils are the best starting point

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<v Speaker 1>for figuring out a dinosaurs appearance. The way the bones

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<v Speaker 1>fit together can give us a basic understanding of a

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<v Speaker 1>dinosaur's shape and paw sture. We can learn a lot

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<v Speaker 1>from the teeth to Flat leaf shaped teeth indicate herbivores,

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<v Speaker 1>while sharp pointed teeth suggests a carnivore. Cavities in the

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<v Speaker 1>skull can help us figure out how well a dinosaur

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<v Speaker 1>could see or hear. We also use CT scans to

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<v Speaker 1>build three D images of the skeletons. From there, we

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<v Speaker 1>can add virtual layers of tissue, muscle and skin. Under

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<v Speaker 1>very rare conditions, a dinosaurs soft tissue can fossilize two

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<v Speaker 1>in paleontologists Tyler License found in Edmonton Soaurus in North Dakota.

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<v Speaker 1>The skin and muscle tissue of its fossil remained intact.

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<v Speaker 1>CT scans of the body have revealed a treasure trove

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<v Speaker 1>of new information about dinosaurs. And here's the weirdest thing.

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<v Speaker 1>Dinosaurs weren't all scaly creatures like crocodiles or Godzilla. Some

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<v Speaker 1>had weird filaments all over their bodies, which dinosaur expert

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<v Speaker 1>Brian Swittek calls dino fuzz and some dinosaurs even had feathers.

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<v Speaker 1>We can tell by quill barb marks little bumps where

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<v Speaker 1>feathers connect to bone. These marks aren't just one or

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<v Speaker 1>two obscure species either. We're talking about famous dinos like velociraptors.

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<v Speaker 1>It turns out quite a few dinosaurs had these feathers,

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<v Speaker 1>or technically something like feathers. Not every paleontologist is comfortable

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<v Speaker 1>with the name preferring to describe these markings as into

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<v Speaker 1>gumentary structures or proto feathers instead. But these feathers and

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<v Speaker 1>feather like structures may have been pretty colorful too. In

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<v Speaker 1>scientists analyzed a micro raptor fossil with a scanning electron

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<v Speaker 1>microscope and found evidence of melanosomes. These are the organelles

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<v Speaker 1>inside a cell that store melanin or pigment. Different types

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<v Speaker 1>of melanosomes store different colors. This is the same stuff

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<v Speaker 1>that determines your hair color. The researchers found that this

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<v Speaker 1>microraptor had an irridescent glossy coat. As scientists look for

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<v Speaker 1>more fossilized melanisomes, they're reconstructing the appearance of Earth's ancient

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<v Speaker 1>dinosaurs with increased and impressive accuracy. Not a bad job

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<v Speaker 1>considering they're literally working with a pile of bones. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>episode was written by Ben Bolan and produced by Tyler Clang.

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<v Speaker 1>Brain Stuff is a production of I Heart Radio's How

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff Works. For more on this and lots of other

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<v Speaker 1>topics that you can really dig into, visit our home planet,

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<v Speaker 1>how stuff Works dot com. Plus for more podcasts for

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