Nobody today has ever seen a dinosaur in real life. We may have seen museum models and illustrations, but we don't know if dinosaurs really looked like that.
The best skeletons are only 90% complete, and even specialists called paleoartists have to make informed guesses.

Knowing how dinosaurs look

<ul>
<li>Stance: Without cartilage and connective tissues, experts map extinct skeletons against how birds and reptiles stand and walk.</li>
<li>Head: Dinosaurs were terrestrial and may have needed to trap moisture inside their mouths. That's why many depictions have partial lips similar to lizards.</li>
<li>Muscle and fat: Paleontologists most often refer to the same muscle groups in birds. A T. rex is given a thicker neck because he could bite through bones.</li>
</ul>

Dinosaur's stance, head, muscle and fat

<ul>
<li>Limbs: The structure of the bones can show how appendages moved. The T.rex used to be shown with its hands facing down but a 2018 analysis of turkey and alligator shoulders worked out that their palms may have turned in. The angle between M. gui's shoulder blades and rib cage may not have allowed its wings to flap.</li>
<li>Skin: A small piece of fossilised skin of a T. re was found in Montana and helped artists make a stamp of the texture to apply to the rest of the body.</li>
</ul>

Dinosaur's limbs and skin

Small structures named melanosomes vary in colour depending on their shape: Black ones are sausage-like, and reds are round. A well-preserved M.guid feather shone raven. Nanostructures also suggest it had an iridescent sheen.
Close relatives to the T. rex have protofeathers on their heads, backs, and tails, suggesting that the T. rex may have had too.

Dinosaur feathers

Paleontologists pull inspiration from modern birds and reptiles to design true-to-life T. rexes.

 
 By
 
 <a href="https://www.popsci.com/authors/sara-chodosh/" rel="author" dir="ltr">Sara Chodosh</a>
 
 April 11, 2020
 
<img src="https://www.popsci.com/app/uploads/2020/04/10/EUROHXVOU5HRPCFBWLQHQI6ZGI.jpg?width=1440" alt="dinosaurs" width="785" height="475"><div dir="ltr">
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 </div></div>You’ve seen enough museum models, illustrations, and CGI predators that you’d likely recognize a <a href="https://www.popsci.com/story/science/t-rex-teenagers-fossils/" dir="ltr">Tyrannosaurus rex</a> if you saw one. But how can you be sure? Nobody has ever clapped eyes on one in real life, and even the best skeletons are often only 90 percent complete. Specialists called paleoartists do base their re-creations on hard evidence (bones, feathers, and bits of skin) but, just as often, well-informed guesses. We may never know exactly how T. rex and other prehistoric creatures like the Microraptor gui looked, but here’s how we landed on the current incarnations of these deceased beasts.<img src="https://img.connatix.com/d0aa10a3-c0c5-48e8-865e-f5d73ae74404/1.png" alt="" width="40" height="40"><cnx>Top Articles</cnx><cnx dir="ltr">by Popular Science</cnx><img src="https://img.connatix.com/b9979545-b5b2-4ef1-a527-a877cdc17c6e/6aad2c3b-c338-4d82-9e39-475c2a229c06.jpg?crop=600:338,smart&amp;width=600&amp;height=338&amp;format=jpeg&amp;quality=60&amp;fit=crop" alt="The 7 best apps for sending money" width="600" height="338"><h2>Stance</h2>The way joints fit together informs a dino’s pose—along with a bit of inspiration from contemporary creatures. Without cartilage and other connective tissues, experts map extinct skeletons against how birds and reptiles stand and walk. Using those methods, they inferred that T. rex held its spine horizontally, which means the tail shot straight back rather than dragging as it was depicted prior to the ’70s.<h2>Muscle and fat</h2>Like reptiles, dinosaurs probably didn’t have much body fat, so they looked pretty swole. To determine just how stocky or svelte to render a species, paleontologists most often refer to the same muscle groups in birds. But sometimes there’s an evolutionary reason to make an area extra burly: A T. rex, for example, had to kill prey and bite through bone with only its jaw strength—hence its thick-neckedness.<h2>Head</h2>Tyrannosaurs’ smooth, toothy skulls are quite reptilian. But unlike crocs or gators, dinosaurs were terrestrial, so they may have needed to trap moisture inside their mouths to stay hydrated. That’s why many depictions have partial lips, more akin to lizards. Studying eye sockets tells artists how to orient the peepers. Frontward-angled holes, such as those on the Microraptor, would have pointed the eyeballs ahead.<h2>Limbs</h2>Bones’ structures can indicate how appendages moved. T. rex, for one, used to be shown with its hands facing down, like it was playing a piano, but a 2018 analysis of turkey and alligator shoulders determined their palms may have turned in. Similarly, the angle between M. gui’s shoulder blades and rib cage may have prevented its wings from lifting high enough to flap; wind-tunnel tests suggest these dinos glided.<h2>Skin</h2>Soft tissue generally doesn’t last underground, but sometimes we get lucky. For the T. rex, a small slice of fossilized skin found in Montana enabled artists to make a stamp of the texture and apply it to the rest of the body. Coloring is trickier: Designers take cues from the environment more than the fossil record. T. rex lived in semi-marshy areas and flood plains, so it likely had brownish-greenish dappled skin to blend in.<h2>Feathers</h2>Tiny cellular structures called melanosomes vary in color depending on their shape: Black ones are sausage-like; reds are round. Thanks to a very well-preserved M. gui feather, we know it shone raven. Nanostructures also suggest it had an iridescent sheen, like a crow or magpie. We’ve never dug up a plumed T. rex, but its close relatives often have protofeathers on their heads, backs, and tails, so we suspect the king did, too.This story appears in the <a href="https://www.popsci.com/tags/origins/" dir="ltr">Spring 2020, Origins issue</a> of Popular Science.<img src="https://www.popsci.com/app/uploads/2021/04/14/sara-chodosh-icon.png?crop=80:80&amp;width=80" width="80" height="80" alt="Sara Chodosh">
 <a href="https://www.popsci.com/authors/sara-chodosh/" dir="ltr">Sara Chodosh</a>is an associate editor at PopSci where she writes about everything from vaccine hesitancy to extreme animal sex. She got her master's degree in science journalism at NYU's Science Health and Environmental Reporting Program, and is getting a second master's in data visualization from the University of Girona. Contact the author <a title="Contact to Sara Chodosh" href="mailto:sara@popsci.com" dir="ltr">here.</a>

Despite many pop culture and museum depictions, no one knows for sure what dinosaurs looked like. So artists make informed guesses based on modern birds and reptiles.

history

History

scienceandnature

Science & Nature

Paleontologists pull inspiration from modern birds and reptiles to design true-to-life T. rexes.

By <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.popsci.com/authors/sara-chodosh/" rel="author">Sara Chodosh </a>April 11, 2020

You’ve seen enough museum models, illustrations, and CGI predators that you’d likely recognize a <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.popsci.com/story/science/t-rex-teenagers-fossils/">Tyrannosaurus rex </a>if you saw one. But how can you be sure? Nobody has ever clapped eyes on one in real life, and even the best skeletons are often only 90 percent complete. Specialists called paleoartists do base their re-creations on hard evidence (bones, feathers, and bits of skin) but, just as often, well-informed guesses. We may never know exactly how T. rex and other prehistoric creatures like the Microraptor gui looked, but here’s how we landed on the current incarnations of these deceased beasts.

The way joints fit together informs a dino’s pose—along with a bit of inspiration from contemporary creatures. Without cartilage and other connective tissues, experts map extinct skeletons against how birds and reptiles stand and walk. Using those methods, they inferred that T. rex held its spine horizontally, which means the tail shot straight back rather than dragging as it was depicted prior to the ’70s.

Like reptiles, dinosaurs probably didn’t have much body fat, so they looked pretty swole. To determine just how stocky or svelte to render a species, paleontologists most often refer to the same muscle groups in birds. But sometimes there’s an evolutionary reason to make an area extra burly: A T. rex, for example, had to kill prey and bite through bone with only its jaw strength—hence its thick-neckedness.

Tyrannosaurs’ smooth, toothy skulls are quite reptilian. But unlike crocs or gators, dinosaurs were terrestrial, so they may have needed to trap moisture inside their mouths to stay hydrated. That’s why many depictions have partial lips, more akin to lizards. Studying eye sockets tells artists how to orient the peepers. Frontward-angled holes, such as those on the Microraptor , would have pointed the eyeballs ahead.

Bones’ structures can indicate how appendages moved. T. rex, for one, used to be shown with its hands facing down, like it was playing a piano, but a 2018 analysis of turkey and alligator shoulders determined their palms may have turned in. Similarly, the angle between M. gui’s shoulder blades and rib cage may have prevented its wings from lifting high enough to flap; wind-tunnel tests suggest these dinos glided.

Soft tissue generally doesn’t last underground, but sometimes we get lucky. For the T. rex, a small slice of fossilized skin found in Montana enabled artists to make a stamp of the texture and apply it to the rest of the body. Coloring is trickier: Designers take cues from the environment more than the fossil record. T. rex lived in semi-marshy areas and flood plains, so it likely had brownish-greenish dappled skin to blend in.

Tiny cellular structures called melanosomes vary in color depending on their shape: Black ones are sausage-like; reds are round. Thanks to a very well-preserved M. gui feather, we know it shone raven. Nanostructures also suggest it had an iridescent sheen, like a crow or magpie. We’ve never dug up a plumed T. rex, but its close relatives often have protofeathers on their heads, backs, and tails, so we suspect the king did, too.

This story appears in the <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.popsci.com/tags/origins/">Spring 2020, Origins issue </a>of Popular Science.

<a dir="ltr" href="https://www.popsci.com/authors/sara-chodosh/">Sara Chodosh </a>is an associate editor at PopSci where she writes about everything from vaccine hesitancy to extreme animal sex. She got her master's degree in science journalism at NYU's Science Health and Environmental Reporting Program, and is getting a second master's in data visualization from the University of Girona. Contact the author <a dir="ltr" href="mailto:sara@popsci.com" title="Contact to Sara Chodosh">here. </a>

How do we know what dinosaurs looked like?

Knowing how dinosaurs look

Dinosaur's stance, head, muscle and fat

Dinosaur's limbs and skin

Dinosaur feathers

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