The Most Accurate Dinosaur Ever Reconstructed?

[@magnagermania9311]

I love how lifelike our perception of dinosaurs has become, you can really imagine what earth looked like all those years ago and that it was less alien to our time then we think

[@joefish6091]

No grasses existed, a lot of the common vegetation we take for granted is only a few tens of millions of years old. Earth temperatures were a lot higher back then.

[@Ray-c1r]

😆 it was very alien compared to what we're use to...we all would ish in our pants

[@Ray-c1r]

​@@joefish6091nevermind animals like t rex 😆

[@darkonyx6995]

​@@joefish6091 Yet, at the end of the cretaceous, most modern lineages of animals evolved, and if you ignore the giant bird-like animals, you would have a hard time to spot major differences. Sure, most birds had teeth and small bony tails, crocodyloforms were more diverse, snakes had tiny legs, ants had weirder maws, fruits were way more primitive, there were a fourth type of mammal aside from placentary/marsupial/monotreme ( multituberculates ) and grass didn't exist, but aside from small differences like these... there wasn't a lot of different stuff.

[@42ZaphodB42]

@@joefish6091 Eh, depends on when in the times of the dinosaurs you go. By the end of the cretaceous, the flora looks a lot like ours.

[@ricardomiles2957]

Imaging how dinos, and any other ancient animal really, looked like it's always so fascinating. There's always the chance the living had something we can never picture by fossils alone.

[@BenGThomas]

Definitely! It's so special to have fossils like this one that can reveal so much about the living animal

[@Chompchompyerded]

There is also always a chance that they had some sort of feature which is so different from any extant animal that we cannot imagine what it might have been used for, or what it's function might have been. For most of them we can only guess what soft structures might have existed, and what their function might have been. I'm ready for a time machine. No one will ever know what they smelled like, and we can only make educated guesses about what they sounded like. We definitely can't tell much of anything about their behaviour. There is so much we cannot know, yet so much that we are learning. It's an incredible journey.

[@boravedat2931]

dinosaurs are still alive. you see em every day in the trees

[@katbairwell]

Absolutely! We can only ever see a "shade" of what the animals were in life, both visually and behaviourally. Considering how spectacular our current "shades" are, one can only wonder at how amazing they truly were!

[@ricardomiles2957]

@@boravedat2931 Just like not all apes look the same not all dinos were the same, i know what you meant by that but there's no conparison between even the smallest dino to any bird

[@poppedweasel]

Ah yes, Psittachosauriphobia. The fear that somewhere, somehow a parrot lizard is watching you.

[@pst5345]

omg I forgot I have it... thank for reminding me to hide away again 😖🫠

[@poppedweasel]

@@pst5345 Who's a pretty Polly then...? Pieces of eight...SCREEEEEEECH! (but more lizardy)

[@dboot8886]

The fact that means you could never watch Pirates of the Dark Water is sad....

[@spidey885]

U can’t hide from mark

[@erbananito_3843]

marck @@spidey885

[@DanGamingFan2406]

It's amazingly how greatly our perception of dinosaurs and what we actually know about them has changed. We've com closer than ever to having an accurate picture of these long gone creatures.

[@watershipup7101]

Agreed

[@genjis5155]

It's really fascinating.

[@TheMightyN]

No, we haven't. This revelation merely pushes towards the surface in the form of a small ripple. We posses no further knowledge in detailing _Psittacosaurus'_ precise body mass nor the full design of its color scheme (which is something explained in my comment.) Nonetheless, this research is represent of only ONE species--not the entire genus which expands in course of 10 other species that require further study. To even expound the phrase "We've come closer than ever before" in Paleontology is adjacent scientists suggesting they found a cure to Cancer or Dementia.

[@EmanAugust]

@@TheMightyNtldr lol

[@TheMightyN]

@@EmanAugust Well, the comment is only for people mature enough to acknowledge the comment as fact. Your excuse?

[@blubbytheblobfish1582]

Didnt expect to be hearing a lecture about psittacussy today but it is really interesting that we are able to study it in this great of detail

[@Stevin523]

😂

[@GeoGamerArtistVlogger]

"PSITTACUSSY"!?!?!??! NOOOOO 🤣🤣🤣

[@ChrisMartin-iy2yy]

In order to tell if it's a fossil or rock, scientists perform The Lick Test. Which means someone alive today has licked a dinosaur's butthole.

[@judas7585]

YOU DID NOT LMFAO

[@malegria9641]

“Nono, no no no! Nono, no no no! Nono, nono, nonononono!” -Eric Cartman, “Cherokee Hair Tampons”

[@curiousKuro16]

The reconstructions always make these creatures look so content and cheerful. A beautiful friend.

[@tired_introvert6299]

some dinosaurs just look friend shaped

[@magnuskallas]

The only thing I'm wondering... If it put so much effort into camo, wouldn't it make more sense if it was more greenish?

[@tired_introvert6299]

@manguskallas yeah, but wouldn't a lot of the backdrop have been brownish tones considering tree bark?

[@Racc-Kun_YT]

​@@magnuskallasmost animals go brown or develop spots/stripes to camouflage themselves. Evolution is also random, if green worked well they would've evolved green because those are the ones that would've lived long enough to breed.

[@justseelemonina]

yeah!! like the capybara of that era

[@fennydantom]

It's unbelievable how well preserved this specimen is. Our perception of dinosaurs are become more and more accurate. Truly mind-blowing how we can actually even have an idea of how these long gone creatures lived.

[@michaelpacinus242]

That’s what this whole video was about. What did this comment add?

[@littlebadger]

While I agree that "hehe butthole", I also think that cloacal openings are indeed very worthy of study, because they fulfill a role in the digestive and reproductive processes, the activities that guarantee the species' survival.

[@rebecculousrk]

Also, they serve as a distinct feature helpful in identifying and distinguishing between species.

[@hiccups6531]

imagine how that particular organism felt when they see humans analyzing their butthole for science

[@michaelpacinus242]

You’re really immature

[@Mikelaxo]

Yeah, but just knowing that someone conducted a scientific study to interpret in detail what a dinosaur's ass looked like is just very intriguing in a very peculiar way

[@Brix_H]

Wow… I remember how dinos were slow lumbering animals from my childhood days but now, they’re really lively and sometimes colorful animals

[@S-T-E-V-E]

I would think that the Tail Bristles were probably used for Mating displays and perhaps made a noise when shaken together, much like a Porcupine!

[@jimbrydon1443]

The noise idea is great. Perhaps also a sensory adaptation, as anything that snuck up on him/ her would initiate a quick flicked of the head and spin around to engage those cheek horns in defence.

[@bitter-bit]

Living in a forest they could use it to imitate wind through leaves to hide

[@rebecculousrk]

I can’t wrap my mind around the detailed anatomy preserved for millions of years! The very idea that there’s enough detail there to be able to analyze the cloaca is absolutely brilliant! This was a fascinating video. Thank you for all your hard work.

[@ZeFroz3n0ne907]

Have you thought of doing a series of videos on the best fossil specimens that have been found? That would be amazing. Like the dinosaur mummies, this specimen and everything else that has been found with extremely good preservation?

[@ZeFroz3n0ne907]

I'd watch the heck out of that.

[@sethturner5242]

@@ZeFroz3n0ne907same!

[@Daft_Vader]

It's interesting that a lot of the non-avian dinosaurs we know the colours of were brown or reddish-brown (Psittacosaurus, Borealopelta and Sinosauropteryx coming to mind). Perhaps this was a widespread colour scheme in non-avian dinosaurs or simply the pigment (melanin) is better preserved than other pigments

[@patreekotime4578]

Brown happens to be the most common color for all terrestrial animals today... and it happens to be a good color for camoflauge in many common environments, so its likely a safe bet. But there is also very little data at this point.

[@amonraphoenix]

The reason why certain colours are known is cause the structures that produced these colours can be fossilized. Some colours could come from an animals diet. Like for example flamingos. If they don’t eat the little shrimps in their diet they’ll lose their pink colouring and turn grey. An then you have other colours like blue jays that aren’t actual blue. The structures that produce this colour comes at the nano level changing light as it hits the animal. The light that escapes makes the animal appear blue. In both cases the structures that cause these colourations don’t fossilize well. Or they’ve been morphed and degraded in the fossilization process that we no longer know what the colour structure was like. Earth tones, white, black, even red are more ridged and the pigment structures fossilize better.

[@joefish6091]

Feathers, you dont need colorful skin when you have feathers, tufts or spines

[@EvillAnime]

@@joefish6091you rarely see any colorful skin or fur in the first place. generally everything is somewhere between white, black, brown, grey and red

[@christosdoesthings]

@danijelovskikanal7017 feathers are an ancestral feature to dinosaurs, every dinosaur would have had feathers, even if they were 3 little peach fuzz like hairs in the belly

[@Tsukonin]

Came for the cuteness of Psittacosaurus, remained for the cloaca. Wondering if the crocodilian-like longitudinal slit shape opening in dinosaurs is influenced by the tail's size and lenght, explaining birds' round cloaca as they have kept only a quasi-vestigial tail and what's left has fused to form the pygostyle. I could be completely wrong though.

[@charoleawood]

Yes, it is curious how far along the tail the cloaca of Psittacosaurus is --- I think you are probably right about how modern birds developed a more round cloaca.

[@archonmarch3965]

This is a top shelf comment on so many levels❤

[@bugmachine777]

very intriguing

[@Takeawayjustin]

Wait idk what is a cloaca

[@teslacoil4335]

@@Takeawayjustin poop-pee-birth hole

[@mhdfrb9971]

Borealopelta joined the chat

[@AnonymousTranquility]

Am I a joke to you?

[@chrisdaignault9845]

Yeah I just saw that one two days ago. Extremely cool.

[@ThatFunnyTortoise]

Anchiornis joined the chat Sinosauropteryx joined the chat

[@f.u.m.o.5669]

*Living birds joined the chat*

[@formersamonellaclone]

I’ve gotta get a list of dinosaurs we know almost everything down to colors and soft tissues about. I didn’t think there were so many lmao

[@Cohen.the.Worrier]

Oh man, this poor little bugger has zero privacy left. 🧐 I didn't know we had this much information about any dinosaur. Thanks for pointing it out.

[@kR-qj7rw]

tha lil guy's cloaca forwarded paleontology like no one else did

[@penusbutter4182]

Strangely, i found the cloaca video segment really interesting. Ive seen so many dinosaurs get the ken doll treatment, so the attention was refreshing

[@saladinbob]

If this was still around today, it has a cuteness to it that I can definitely see resulting in it being a popular pet.

[@MugshotMidge]

Never in my life have I ever wanted a dinosaur to come back until now, THESE LITTLE GUYS ARE THE CUTEST DINOSAURS EVER!!! Omg I love them.

[@WobblesandBean]

Aren't they cute? I just wanna hug it

[@bingusbongus9807]

it sucks so much we will never ever see them, even these incredible reconstructions it still feels hard to feel like its real since we dont and never will have a video of it

[@waukivory2756]

For goodness sakes - its a depiction of a dinosaur from someone's perception - often its called "guessing". Despite everything they push in our faces about dinosaurs we simply have no real idea of what they were like because we werent there when they were alive.

[@bingusbongus9807]

@@waukivory2756 yeah but this guy specifically you can literally see his skin

[@MugshotMidge]

@waukivory2756 You’re no fun

[@BenChurchill76]

I wonder if the tail bristles could have also made noise when shaken, a bit like porcupines? Whether used for mating or warning, it would not surprise me if they had some function like that. It is amazing how much more analysis is available these days with technology, and the rare fantastically-preserved fossils like this.

[@IuliusPsicofactum]

What a beautiful story. Thank you Ben.

[@FloozieOne]

As usual you have blown my mind with your fantastically detailed descriptions and conclusions. Your calm and measured voice, vs. the standard hysterical commentary, holds one's attention and makes it easy to follow and see the fossil as a real animal rather than just a pile of bones. Thank you once more for all your work and for sharing it with us.

[@TheKittyKatze]

Spinosaur and Tyronnosaur would be lovely to have such a preserved skeletton, unlikely to get ever found, but would be amazing!

[@EvillAnime]

considering the sheer amount of both of them that are being found, they're certainly out there somewhere

[@bugtalk84]

That's a truly incredible example of preservation in an extinct species. I would never have thought we'd ever get a highly accurate reconstruction of a dinosaur. Looks like we're one step closer to understanding what dinosaurs really looked like when they were alive.

[@RandyGoble]

Y'all are acting like little guy used those horns to ward off predators, but it's obvious their main defense was being so ding dang cute.

[@grandgojira5485]

Imagine if the cheek spikes are just anchors for huge masseter muscles, like a hippo, giving it an absolutely redonkulus bite force

[@failuretodeliver5910]

Thanks for teaching us, Ben! 🤠

[@davewilson9738]

I am so glad I stumbled across your channel; I enjoy my palaeontology dose every week! The YT algorithm worked, so thank you all!

[@queenthefangirl268]

dude this is so cool i couldn't stop smiling throughout this video. i freaking love paleontology

[@leppeppel]

If anyone is interested in the ever-evolving field of dinosaur reconstructions, just look at how Iguanadon has been reconstructed throughout history.

[@TheAnimalKingdom-tq3sz]

Psittacosaurus: I'm the most accurate dinosaur in history!!! Repenomamus: Hello lunch!!

[@griffinhunter3206]

To be fair i can get a more accurate dinosaur at the park, the pigeons are just free

[@lucashernandez4345]

Wasn't Psittacosaurus bigger than that rodent?

[@ProfLambeo_VT]

I'm personally curious about the stretch of skin running from the tail to the ankle on Psittacosaurus; it's not a feature you'd expect to find on a dinosaur.

[@charoleawood]

From the fossil it looked to me that there was a large thigh muscle, but then in the artwork it was presented as an empty skin flap...

[@dboot8886]

I think it's flattened out skin that's supposed to be all wrinkled up and junk.

[@caitchri2426]

If it were a skin flap of connecting skin, it could help with dissipating heat or warming the blood with the exposed blood vessels to the sun.

[@WobblesandBean]

​@@charoleawood That's how I feel, too. I'm a little disappointed the artist didn't catch that.

[@StonedtotheBones13]

I was wondering if there were compressed leg bristles tbh

[@cjalexanderjr8811]

Awesome video! I’m surprised you never made a video about the “fossilized mummy” of the nodosaur found in Canada.

[@arjunjadhav8658]

An accurate life sized model should be made for borealopelta as well

[@WretchedRedoran]

Something funny about the borealopelta that you may not know about, is that the town he was found next to is often considered by people where I'm from to be one of the real rough parts of my province. So I just think it's kinda funny that the dino was found there.

[@arjunjadhav8658]

What do you mean by rough

[@darkyboode3239]

I wish we had fossils like this of all the dinosaurs we’ve discovered.

[@wonderstuck-gg]

​@vyhozshuThat would be so nice. This dino is a really rare find, we don't even have this good of a find often for hominids or mega fauna. When we do find any its because they're frozen. The fact that this dinosaur is so well persevered and living things from closer periods of time don't even have this happen often.

[@riccardoraimondi4468]

There's another similar one, Scipionyx Samniticus

[@seanzibonanzi64]

In just my lifetime, dinosaurs have gone from cold to warm blooded, slow and lethargic to quick and agile, scaled to feathered, lizard like to bird like. When phrases like "most accurate dinosaur ever" are thrown around, I can't help but sigh. I doubt we'll ever know what they truly looked like but I do believe we're going in the right direction and it's not so alien after all.

[@42ZaphodB42]

Huh, sighing? In this Case? Why? This is as accurate as you can get.

[@Drak976]

@@42ZaphodB42 >it changed so it's true Sigh

[@rabbitguts2518]

Well with the partially mummified remains of the borealopelta in 2011 we now know 100% what at least one dinosaur looks like as well as what colours it had abs even its stomach contents! These are obviously unfathomably rare occurrences but it's still an amazing peak into what they look like in life.

[@StonedtotheBones13]

I like the "all of the above and more I couldn't possibly dream of" option pls. Also, along with the technology to look closer at fossils, we are getting better and better art tech. Will we ever get it correct? No, probably not- but it is fun to try, and see how we do along the way.

[@seanzibonanzi64]

@@42ZaphodB42 I only meant that we shouldn't get attached to any specific representation because a fossil could show up tomorrow that changes everything, even when things appear to be solid and accurate.

[@Linguae_Music]

I have a newfound respect for the cloaca. Thank you, Ben

[@caitchri2426]

I had to truly dig through the comments to find one comment about the butthole. I was like “SURELY someone, just one person has to mention it”

[@jaydubya3698]

@@caitchri2426 I sort of thought the same thing. I mean, this specimen is so, so amazing, but that being said....you're dead for 100 million years, your body is discovered, and then suddenly you're known world-wide for what your butthole looked like? Come on, man. How humiliating of a legacy is that? And....what I don't understand is why paleontologists did not note in their conclusions in their various papers that this specimen proves, without a doubt, that anal bleaching was not available during the Cretaceous period. So, OK...did that satisfy your need to read lame butthole comments?? LOL...have a good one.

[@Hotchpotchsoup]

​@@caitchri2426seemingly half of the video was focused on the rectum of this unfortunate individual, I'd hate to know my butt would be studied so intensely by future paleontologists if I ever somehow learn of my butt's destiny throughout time in the cosmos.

[@caitchri2426]

@@Hotchpotchsoup i hope if my goodies are preserved like this, archeologists and paleontologists say "oh, show up queen, okay, she worked. She ran the house with it, yes queen hold it down."

[@EvillAnime]

​@@caitchri2426 this might be a worst case scenario lol

[@gabrielmagister6072]

Love this channel--you guys do a great job!

[@robertillston2350]

So could they have filled a "role" similar to deer, a larger prey animal that has multiple species that covered a wide variety of habitat from "open" grasslands to "closed" woodlands and forests?

[@pauls5745]

sure. a forest creature, scurry around, countershaded and spotted, can be spotted in fields but runs to the woods for cover, some branch off to prefer the open grazing

[@АлтайскийКазак]

There were no grasslands back then because there was no grass. The things that did occupy the grounds of non forested areas would have been very low to the ground and provided no cover. I think they would have done most of their grazing in forested areas.

[@refindoazhar1507]

@@АлтайскийКазак you forget about ferns. Ground ferns still to this day grow in open fields and they are more than tall enough to provide cover for something the size of a small deer.

[@АлтайскийКазак]

@@refindoazhar1507 I knew ferns existed back then, but I didn’t know they could provide that much cover. I don’t live in an area where ferns are exactly abundant, and they always struck me as very small plants.

[@EvillAnime]

@@АлтайскийКазак that's because grasses largely replaced their ecological niche

[@laurachapple6795]

I love knowing that Psittacosaurus really was that cute.

[@aanchaallllllll]

0:00: 🦖 Palaeoart plays a crucial role in communicating the appearance of extinct organisms, but it is often challenging due to a lack of information. However, Psittacosaurus is an exception as its fossil has provided insights into its coloration and soft tissue. 4:15: 🦖 A Psittacosaurus fossil was illegally exported from China to Arizona, then to Europe, sparking speculation and attempts to return it to China. 7:19: 🦖 Psittacosaurus was an important food source for other dinosaurs and had a type of camouflage called counter-shading. 10:24: 🦖 A Psittacosaurus fossil reveals detailed patterns and pigmentation, including the presence of fossilized melanosomes. 14:28: 🦖 The speaker discusses a fossil preservation and the correction of a previous interpretation of the anatomy of the cloacal region. 17:49: 🦖 The presence of feathers in Psittacosaurus would provide significant evidence for feathers being an ancestral feature for all dinosaurs. 20:52: 🦖 Psittacosaurus, a non-avian dinosaur, retained its umbilical scar and had distinct features like bristles and jugal horns. Recap by Tammy AI

[@joshuaW5621]

I’m glad we live in an age where we know exactly what a non-avian dinosaur looked like.

[@Drak976]

I honestly can't tell if this is parody or not probably not right? Now we know. Science is solved. This is what they looked like. In 1 year he won't make another video and you won't say the same thing to a new pic with new findings. Right? THE Science IS Settled. Period.

[@joshuaW5621]

@@Drak976 don’t worry dude, I can assure you that what I said isn’t parody or sarcasm.

[@Ray-c1r]

We don't

[@EvillAnime]

@@Drak976 are you doing satire? The commentator isn't talking about how non-avian dinosaurs in general looked like, just this specimen. When we study more specimens that will be another large revelation worthy of discussion and it's quaranteed this old specimen will be used as a comparison

[@thisisobviouslynotmyrealname]

@@Drak976 sure, science never settles, but the idea is that science provides us with models that are each time better approximations of reality. And we have a reasonably good approximation of this animal

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

I appreciate the extra attention on the cloaca. Thank you. Tbh if any university press has a decent editor + marketing board, they need to do an anthology rounding up all the new research with essays summing up various findings from different authors/teams & name the publication "The Cloacal Monologues".

[@OlessanYT]

Butthole science aside, this specimen is probably in the top 3 most incredible fossil preservation examples overall, and it wouldn't surprise me if it has many other secrets to reveal yet. If I could pick anything to find in a similar state, it'd probably be: 1 also a spinosaurus specimen, probably a hand foot or part of the abdomen; 2 a neck or even head of any sauropod; 3 way more of a stretch, but a lystrosaurus or other dicynodont with any soft tissue (especially the head) lol

[@dragonfox2.058]

oooo yeah!

[@refindoazhar1507]

Aren't there quite a few fossilized lystrosaurus mummies around already?

[@fluoxeturtle]

The multimillion year old fossilized belly button scales gave me the amount of joy I have never thought belly buttons can

[@wallrider4194]

2:37 I want to call this species of psittacosaurus: p.superior.

[@chir0pter]

I also think this is great because in my opinion the aridity of paleoenvironments is often overestimated- thus these animals, from an area often held to be highly arid, in fact lived in forests. Hope we get similar data from eg the Nemegt formation

[@jessehutchings]

Obviously, we all would go crazy for a T-Rex preserved this well and I'm holding out hope that there is one out there somewhere

[@Skyset_angel]

Imaging being the one finding it 😮

[@oakdew]

Your enthusiasm is contagious. Thank you for sharing with us Ben!

[@stevethomas9320]

I'd like for there to be a fossil discovery like this of a mating pair. Just to see if their colors were the same as some mammals and crocodilians or if they were different as seen in some birds, as the female more earth toned and males flashier in color.

[@dragonfox2.058]

that would be too cool

[@IuliusPsicofactum]

Lol, countershade is so common in nature that I realize mostly all representations of dinosaurs have it.Even more, every time I colored dinosaurs I draw I gave them countershade DUH hahaha. I didn't even notice it was an automatic thing to do. Why do the palm of my hands have countershading? 👀

[@patreekotime4578]

Maybe it is just because Im old, but I grew up with dinosaur reconstructions that were monochromatic brown or green. Also, just because there is a trend in the art that happens to anticipate the evidence doesnt mean the evidence is invalid. What if the evidence had shown monochromatic coloration? Or stripes? Many birds are not counter-shaded. Heck, there is one outside my window right now that the females are counter-shaded and the males are not... the Common Cardinal. So evidence of counter-shading of this specimen doesnt mean its present in all dinosaurs, or in all of the species of this genus, or in both sexes!

[@WobblesandBean]

Hi, zoologist here. Your palms are lighter because there's no point in having melanin there. It's not "countershading", it's that we are so dextrous that any pigment would be broken down in the skin through constant friction, and we don't need to worry about getting sunburned there, as they and the soles of the feet aren't directly exposed to the sun.

[@skaldlouiscyphre2453]

@@WobblesandBean Thanks for explaining how that works.

[@StonedtotheBones13]

There's also a fun theory that it's for communication. Theorizing it would make hand signals more visible

[@Taomantom]

An amazing presentation young Man!! The fossil I would like to see is the Trilobite of all dinosaurs': Triceratops.

[@S-T-E-V-E]

What sort of environment was it fossilised in? It makes you wonder how many excellent fossils are in private hands!

[@Glunked]

Considering the soft counter shading, probably a closed envirnoment

[@S-T-E-V-E]

@@Glunked I'm talking about the substrate material that allowed such a high degree of fossilisation!

[@carolynallisee2463]

It was nice to see you with the specimen, Ben. So often, we are told that such-and-such fossil animal was so-and-so long, but even with an image of a six foot tall man alongside, it's hard to judge how big or small something is. Psittacosaurus might have been a 'small' dinosaur, but I'd say the specimen was roughly dog sized in life!

[@kateglew580]

Well, well. If it isn't my favourite dinosaur getting its 5 minutes of fame

[@dinohall2595]

Amazing to see what of one of my favorite dinosaurs would have looked like if I had been fortunate enough to travel back in time and see one alive. So much to love about Psittacosaurus!

[@PierceArner]

The bristles remind me a lof of Stegosaurus and makes me curious how often features like that would have been present around that area of the tail in other dinosaur species and if there's any convergent evolutionary pressure that leads to them.

[@sneeringimperialist6667]

If you could determine whether the colors extend into the ultraviolet and infrared, you could also determine how far the visual range of it's predators extended. Birds can see into the ultraviolet, and the theropods may also have had that ability. If the colors are only for mating display purposes, the vision range of the creature itself could be determined...

[@nickdahlberg7505]

Very informative! Thank you for expanding on all of the details. Thank you for sharing all of your research and for all of your hard work.

[@Thao-nathos]

I think it's very beautiful that archeology as a whole exists pretty much only necause humans liked the bones of some ancient creature enough that they went "yes we want to know everything we can about these guys" And from bones we went to be able to recreated almost perfectly what one of these creatures looked like

[@flapdrol]

There is a lot unknown about how to reconstruct with half complete skeletons and lack of info about musclestructure and skin. We are probably wrong in many ways for many species.

[@Thao-nathos]

@@flapdrol your point? Science is about progressiong and learning of course models are going to be outdated at some point, including modern ones

[@scottbubb2946]

Incredibly interesting. What a spectacular specimen. I guess it would be nice to have a really good shark fossil. Since cartilage doesn't stick around for long.

[@joemungus6063]

one thing i feel is often overlooked is self inflicted injuries, animals trip too, sometimes they hit a rock and it leaves a dent. I think this one kept living for a while until it eventually died from blood loss or something similar but it could have been anything

[@LanceThumping]

I hope we eventually develop tech that would let us fully scan it in 3D with detail all the way down to the level of electron microscopes. It'd be so amazing to be able to virtually pull the specimen out of the rock and look at it more fully from other angles.

[@maureensurdez7841]

Fantastic coverage of this find. Great job paleodetective.😊

[@ZeFroz3n0ne907]

So cool!! Thank you Ben for sharing this amazing video with us, I love to watch the videos you produce because they are always entertaining and I always learn something new! Love the channel and all you do, you and the crew! Hope you are all doing well! Take care and Keep up the amazing work!! From David in Alaska! ❤

[@themonsterbaby]

Could you imagine if we found a "mummified" fossil of a T-Rex ... or Spinosaurus? Like say they were hunting and slammed into a hill causing a perfect mudslide or something and the conditions were perfect and we got the whole animal? Like that Ankylosaur. Or this dinosaur. That would be the most amazing thing ever.

[@theodorekey7871]

What an outstanding Chanel and superb research and presentation! Thank you Ben!

[@Meevious]

5:30 "This attackosaurus" - wow, that would be such a great dino name!

[@RadicalCaveman]

Poor defendomammals

[@SikrosSpencer]

That photo of you with the specimen… the only time I’ve seen a smile reach your eyes and not look like an uncanny grimace

[@RobertGotschall-y2f]

That'd be my luck, getting fossilized forever taking a dump.

[@charoleawood]

That turd was probably pushed more laterally as the carcass was crushed in sediment.

[@VerveQuest-zc4ri]

Those cheek bone horns must've been Uber useful in stabbing at any animal attacking the throat from the sides

[@ApocDevTeam]

Imagine dying a horrible death only to have your privates studied in excruciating detail 120mln years after the fact.

[@kamion53]

A student in my freshman year ( half a century ago) called scientists studying animal behaviour "hooggeleerde gluurders" or "highly educated peeping toms" picture @16:30 shows that fascination did not disapear at all.

[@UKpolitoons]

You make some absolutely brilliantly presented videos well done!!

[@mwperk02]

When creationists try to tell me dinosaur recreations are "just imagination." I am reminded of stuff like this and think how sad it must be to live in their tiny simple version of reality.

[@emom358]

Great video . As an amateur here, those tail 'hairs' remind me of porcupine quills and purely defensive. Keep up the good work.

[@lydiarupinski9799]

All this does is make me want a Time Machine even more. How cool it would be to just observe animals like this just going around, doing their thing.

[@Ray-c1r]

And u see we completely have them wrong 😆 oh look ! A T Rex?

[@peeperleviathan2839]

@@Ray-c1rtrex are while not perfect are still quite good due to a good fossil we found that wa reconstructed with skin because skin impressions

[@Ray-c1r]

@@peeperleviathan2839 they don't know exactly what a t Rex looked like, stop it

[@peeperleviathan2839]

@@Ray-c1r i didn’t say they exactly knew how it looked i said a good recreation while not 100% certain it’s correct

[@Ray-c1r]

@@peeperleviathan2839 lol 😆 that's totally false, if u really don't know what the animal looked like, especially ones from millions of yrs ago with nothing like them today...than yeah even assumptions cam be dead wrong

[@rendelmetos100]

Amazing dinosaur, amazing presentation!! THANKS Ben!

[@Babs11549]

I wonder if Repanonamus might have been responsible for chewing on the Psittacosaurus. After all, we do have that new fossil of Repenonamus fighting a Psittacosaurus.

[@stanhry]

I want to heard more about the viscous wiggly bitty fur-ball and the Psittacosaurus. It would suggest a harassing type of hunting or wound and wait hunting.

[@quintenwhyte6660]

I thought so too🤔🤔🤔🤔

[@abe881]

The thumbnail one looks so happy to be here

[@gingersasquatch94]

Fascinating, are those little side horns what would eventually become the giant frill of triceratops?

[@somerandomperson6511]

The side horns are separate from the frill, several frilled ceratopsian skulls still have remnants of the side horns

[@gingersasquatch94]

@@somerandomperson6511 Sheesh, they were well armed.

[@UteChewb]

Thanks for this. Great video, and a surprisingly relatable animal. One could imagine it as a pet. A rare glimpse into what was lost (thankfully).

[@wyv3rn1]

I came into this expecting it to be about the nodosaur, considering the absolutely fabulous fossil found here in alberta It's really cool to hear about other Dinos that have such amazing preservation to them. Love the glimpses into what was basically another world

[@andreagriffiths3512]

That was absolutely fascinating! I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing this remarkable fossil 💕

[@lucitribal]

The bristles remind me of porcupine quills! Is it possible that it was a defensive feature?

[@nok4799]

Probably, if a dinosaur around it's size was trying to attack it from behind it would think twice due to the quills

[@jimbrydon1443]

Ben - you are amazing with your in depth analysis of the subject. I loved your turtle vid too. We’ll done keep up the good work.

[@michaelbondt8202]

my thoughts on the tail bristles is either: a) scent wafting like Lemurs, or b) irritants to predators like porcupine or caterpillers, I would love to see a Definative whole bodied Stegosaur with intact plates and spikes

[@macgonzo]

It could also be potentially used for display, similar to the way that many birds have special feathers used to attract a mate. This type of integument is one of the most commonly selected for in evolutionary terms, and often becomes over selected - think of the male peacock's tail, a stag's antlers, or the neck of a giraffe.

[@michaelbondt8202]

true, but that was alreaady covered in the article, also "for sexual display" sounds like archeologists "for ritual purposes"@@macgonzo

[@JonnoPlays]

Kind of hard to believe that so many people just "gave the fossil back" despite being extremely valuable. More to that story I'd wager.

[@RichardRenes]

I agree that specimens should stay in their country of origin as much as possible. And perhaps be returned there as soon and much as possible too. (Can we get the original Mosasaur Hoffmanii skull back please? There is a nice place for it in the Museum of Natural History in Maastricht, where there is a copy now). Then again, that would mean we would have to return T-rex Trix back to the USA... Sadly though, I fear that as long as money can be made from the (illegal) sale of fossils, things like this will keep happening. Let me say that I am just glad that it is in a museum where paleontologists can study it and learn more about this particular specimen, as wel as dinosaurs in general. It could so easily have ended up in a private collection.

[@WobblesandBean]

I disagree. Had this specimen stayed in China, we wouldn't know any of these new discoveries. It would probably just be ground up and sold as a hangover cure, or something.

[@cezar211091]

This channel is just great

[@Sarafimm2]

I have a feeling that we wouldn't know as much as we do today if this fossil had remained in China.

[@MagnaFire39]

dinosaur bones are great for the gout

[@WobblesandBean]

Correct.

[@andrewsuryali8540]

China publishes nearly two times more palaeontology papers in a year than all of Europe combined. The Chinese palaeontology scene is very active and robust, and palaeontology is one of those fields of science where the level of international collaboration is very high. Almost everything we've learned about feathered dinosaurs and their coloration came from fossils kept in China. That said, I do agree that Chinese palaeontologists probably wouldn't even consider writing something like the butthole paper...

[@Sarafimm2]

@@andrewsuryali8540 But they KEEP the fossils in China and being followed / surveyed by someone 24/7 is not what I would call relaxing while trying to study something. Or if you disagreed with the Chinese scientists? You'd be kicked out of China and possibly never allowed to return. It's a threat to only agree with the Chinese and you beg to see what they will allow you to see.

[@andrewsuryali8540]

@@Sarafimm2 You have no idea what you're talking about. There is no surveillance and the fossils go abroad quite often. Even iconic fossils like microraptor have been loaned abroad. The scanning for melanin remnants have always been done in Europe or the USA. Also, go check the back-and-forth between Chinese dinosaur king Xu Xing and his foreign collaborators. They have been arguing about all sorts of stuff from the phylogenetic bracketing of Asian Tyrannosauroidea to whether all Scansoriopterygids share Yi Qi's wings for years, and no one has lost their access to Chinese fossils. The only thing resembling surveillance is the heavy security surrounding the fossils in China, but that's because THEY KEPT GETTING STOLEN, as this particular one generously evidenced.

[@diverguy3556]

What a happy, optimistic looking Dino. He really is a jolly chap.

[@2150dalek]

Fascinating to see these animals reconstructed. I guess the bristles are a part of it's senses, like whiskers on cats. Recently saw the largest creature that ever lived on Earth via yahoo, supposedly, a whale in it's earlier development. That would be cool subject to cover in an episode.

[@Tyrantlizardking105]

Not ruling it out, but it seems more likely to me that the bristles on Psittacosaurus function primarily for display purposes. Social signaling, even. That’s not to say they wouldn’t feel with them- but I doubt they have the same navigational and balance functions as cat whiskers. Of course, that’s just my two cents.

[@jonstfrancis]

@@Tyrantlizardking105 I agree, likely similar to the white under-tails of social deer, white or coloured rumps on many small birds or the stripy tails of ring tailed lemurs. I expect it was likely white to show up under the trees to the rest of their group but possibly not particularly noticeable to predators looking down on the animals.

[@visceratrocar]

It's amazing how many modern recreations don't have feathers. Not all of them did, but a lot did.

[@Achilles_Heelys]

very cool to finally have information concerning dinosaur sexual anatomy. It seems to be shied away from in dinosaur media (looking at you prehistoric planet) so it really is a nice breath of fresh air. Even Tarkovsky's Primal animated the cloaca and in great detail I might add. Hopefully this frivolous conservative washing is done away with!

[@RaptorRockDrakeJesus]

Eh that season ruined primal for me, not the egg laying part but everything else

[@Achilles_Heelys]

the ending was kinda rushed but I really enjoyed the rest @@RaptorRockDrakeJesus

[@RaptorRockDrakeJesus]

@@Achilles_Heelys so u like rape?

[@kade-qt1zu]

​@@Achilles_HeelysTrust me, you don't want to talk to this guy. They're genuinely stupid. Don't bother to waste your time with them.

[@VoltronLion]

If you can stomach it and if you absolutely love velociraptor and theropods, this video is one to watch as it gets extremely scientific with differences between raptors and theropods. It’s called: “everyone needs to watch this video about dinosaurs” And the thumbnail has a man on one side and the pyroraptor on the other side. By far the most intriguing video about the differences between raptors like allosaurus but also all other theropod dinosaurs and the maniraptorans. Trust me, it’s worth a watch.

[@bonniemob65]

I hope it isn't, but the description you gave sounds identical to Answers in Genesis' latest pseudoscientific video about how birds aren't dinosaurs, which then extends the term "bird" to all maniraptorans, despite the fact that only everything within Avialae can be called birds (and also all birds and all other maniraptorans are still dinosaurs anyway). Is this the right video, or am I thinking of completely the wrong one?

[@osmosisjones4912]

Didn't feathers start as scales

[@NiamhSinclair]

What I wouldn't give for a fossil of this quality of Spinosaurus to be found one day! Would be a dream come true

[@cecilb8287]

I know therapods are pretty popular and a little overrated, but I’d love to see a dakotaraptor with this level of preservation, they’re just my favorite

[@Flesydok_]

unbelievable how well this specimen has been preserved

[@neilc.8368]

YOOO ITS ME