[Global Times Report Reporter Fan Wei] The New Year of the Dragon in 2024 is coming, and this year coincides with the 200th anniversary of the official naming of dinosaurs. Nowadays, dinosaurs are not only a hot topic among scientific researchers, but also become the main materia

[Global Times reporter Fan Wei] The New Year of the Dragon in 2024 is coming, and this year coincides with the 200th anniversary of the official naming of dinosaurs. Nowadays, dinosaurs are not only a hot topic among scientific researchers, but also become the main material of many popular science books, fantasy novels and film and television works, and have developed into popular culture. Over the past two hundred years, how different is the "dinosaur culture" created by humans from the real dinosaur world? What new discoveries have been made in recent years that have subverted our previous understanding of dinosaurs? In an interview with a reporter from the "Global Times", relevant experts described a dinosaur world that is different from "Jurassic Park".

Restored pictures of dinosaur life scenes

New dinosaurs are constantly being discovered

Although humans may have discovered dinosaurs and other paleontological fossils hundreds of years ago, the actual scientific research on dinosaurs had to wait until the 19th century. It is currently recognized that the earliest formal study of dinosaur fossils was the British doctor Gideon Mantel. He discovered the Iguanodon fossil in 1822, but it was not until 1852 that its official name appeared in an academic paper. Prior to this, in 1824, William Buckland, a professor of geology at Oxford University, submitted a paper to the then newly established Geological Society of London based on the fossils of strange creatures found in a quarry in England, describing the prototype organisms of these fossils. Named Megalosaurus. Since then, the concept of dinosaurs has officially entered the public eye.

On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the first scientific naming of dinosaurs by humans, CNN stated that this time point is a good opportunity for paleontologists to take stock and review the past achievements in the field of paleontology. Two centuries of knowledge. According to reports, dinosaurs have survived and thrived on the earth for about 165 million years. Today, about 1,000 species of dinosaurs have been named, and about 50 new dinosaur species are still discovered every year. Brusatte, a paleontologist at the University of Edinburgh, said in an interview with CNN that even though humans have been naming dinosaurs for 200 years, the scientific understanding of dinosaurs is still in the discovery stage. We have only discovered one of the dinosaurs that once existed. Small portion.

In such a long span of time, it is difficult for humans to discover all types of dinosaurs. However, in recent years, the discovery of some important fossil materials has enabled humans to make considerable progress in the study of dinosaurs. Xing Lida, an associate professor at China University of Geosciences and a paleontologist, gave an example in an interview with a reporter from the Global Times. Anchiornis, a basal Anchiornis dinosaur with bird-like "wings" discovered in the Middle and Late Jurassic, represented the bird. The time node for the emergence of humanoid ancestors was at least 20 million years earlier, breaking the previous time paradox of the origin of birds; sauropods and theropod dinosaurs that began to appear in the middle and late Jurassic and had obvious gigantic characteristics began to appear at different ages. The stages show different body proportions, food or habitats, etc., showing in different aspects the growth trajectories of these behemoths that are different from the dominant mammals of the Cenozoic Era. This probably means that for large dinosaurs, the differences within the group mainly depend on Due to ontogeny rather than genetic differences, this is very different from the structure of today's terrestrial animals such as mammals and birds. Dinosaurs were once considered to be cold-blooded animals, but since different groups of haired dinosaurs have been discovered one after another, and the subsequent application of other biological Through in-depth research, the current academic view is that at least a considerable number of advanced theropods, sauropod dinosaurs, and even their relatives pterosaurs have homeothermic characteristics.

In July 2023, a paper published by scholars from China and Canada in Scientific Reports, a sub-journal of the internationally renowned academic magazine Nature, completely subverted mankind's previous understanding of the Cretaceous dinosaur world. A rare fossil discovered in Chaoyang City, Liaoning Province, China, shows that about 125 million years ago, a badger-like carnivorous mammal tried to prey on a Psittacosaurus that was much larger than itself. This precious fossil is also considered to be the earliest evidence of mammals preying on dinosaurs discovered so far. Dr. Wu Xiaochun, one of the authors of the paper and a paleontologist at the Canadian Museum of Nature, said in an interview with a reporter from the Global Times that the special significance of this discovery is that it proves that mammals can indeed prey on dinosaurs, challenging the "dominance" of dinosaurs in the Cretaceous period.Previously, the common view in the academic community was that during the Cretaceous Period, dinosaurs dominated the earth and were almost impossible to be threatened by mammals of the same era.

Fossils of Cretaceous mammals preying on Psittacosaurus

In Xing Lida's opinion, many research directions in recent years have made new discoveries of the same level of significance, such as the update of many key nodes in the evolution of dinosaurs to bird-like evolution, and the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs. The continued discussion of the causes, etc., have deepened our understanding of dinosaur taxa.

"Hairy Dinosaurs" Refreshes Cognition

Unlike scientists who understand dinosaurs through fossils, most people understand dinosaurs through dinosaur-themed film and television works. Although these dinosaur images are more exciting and dramatic, they are often very different from the real situation.

Many people think that dinosaurs were all giants, but dinosaurs of all sizes occupied almost all terrestrial ecological niches in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Among the large dinosaurs, the carnivorous Tyrannosaurus rex was up to 13 meters long, and the herbivorous Argentinosaurus was up to 40 meters long. Among small dinosaurs, the carnivorous Anchiornis was only 34 to 40 centimeters long, and the presumably omnivorous Liaoningosaurus was only 34 centimeters long.

The image of "Velociraptor" in the movie is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

The conclusion that "dinosaurs are extinct" is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. But modern scientific research believes that dinosaurs were not truly extinct. Xing Lida said that modern birds are the descendants of dinosaurs. Avian dinosaurs, including birds, differentiated from theropods as early as the middle Jurassic and continued to "spread out". Birds continue to this day. . Therefore, the statement that the dinosaurs became extinct is not rigorous.

In recent years, some major scientific discoveries have also changed people's understanding of dinosaurs, showing a more vivid and interesting world of dinosaurs. Xing Lida believes that the most typical one is the "furry colorful dinosaur wailing and flying". "In the science fiction film "Jurassic Park," the dinosaurs were all giant beasts with scales. But since 1996, dinosaur fossils such as Sinosauropteryx have been discovered one after another, and some furry dinosaurs have been dropped by paleontologists from time to time.' Bombshell'. This is mainly due to the excellent preservation conditions in the western Liaoning region of China. The skin derivatives and some soft tissues on the fossils have been preserved. From the beginning to the end, fibrous and feather-like imprints often appear on the edges of the fossil bones. ”

The discovery of Microraptor Gu in 2003 opened up another world. Xing Lida said that Microraptor Gu's had feathers on both its front and rear limbs, with asymmetrical pinnae suitable for flight, indicating that Microraptor Gu's was a four-winged dinosaur that could at least glide, and that this small dinosaur had typical The arboreal characteristics of birds provide new basis for the origin of bird flight.

In 2010, scientists from China and other countries also provided scientific basis for the restoration of dinosaur body surface color for the first time. According to the eumelanin and pheomelanin information in feather fossils, after comparing with modern birds, the bodies of some hairy dinosaurs already had gray, brown, yellow and red colors. Interestingly, although the color of Microraptor Gu's is black, its black feathers have structural colors on the surface, similar to today's crows, and can show a rainbow-like luster, more like what we now commonly call "colorful black" .

Why the study of dinosaurs endures

On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the first scientific naming of dinosaurs, from a larger time dimension, there is still a lot for us to learn about the dinosaur world. Humans don't yet fully understand why and how dinosaurs got so big, or what a world with talking dinosaurs would look like.

Why should we explore such a distant world of dinosaurs and try to restore the reality? According to Xing Lida, this is a question that paleontologists are often asked. "We might as well take a longer view. Studying the evolution of life is the ultimate proposition of paleontology and the historical mission of all mankind. Where did life come from and where will it go? This is an evolutionary question that humans must answer. Darwin He published "The Origin of Species" in 1859, formally proposing this great theory of evolution for the first time.Paleontological fossils are the most intuitive evidence to support the theory of biological evolution. Many fossil records that troubled Darwin back then can now be well answered, including fossils such as the Chengjiang fauna and the Jehol biota studied by Chinese paleontologists. A treasure trove of specimens. "Xing Lida believes that there are still countless problems about the evolution of life, whether it is the past of all things on earth or the past of human beings. Dinosaurs have existed for 160 million years and are particularly suitable for explaining the evolution of life on earth.

In addition, paleontological fossils can It provides important time and space scales for basic geological research. The study of paleontology is an indispensable part of many disciplines such as paleoenvironment and paleogeography. Xing Lida said: "The significance of paleontological research is not only to understand the history of life on earth and explore life It is an important scientific practice of the laws of evolution, and can provide important basic scientific evidence for the exploration of fossil energy, sedimentary minerals and other natural resources. "