Page 26 - Everything You Know About Dinosaurs is Wrong

Dinosaurs were green and scaly
When dinosaurs were first described, early palaeontologists assumed they were most closely related to animals like lizards. This led them to believe that they were covered in lizard-like scales and were greeny brown. But as more has been discovered about dinosaur biology, it looks less likely that this is what dinosaur skin R E A L LY looked like . . .
Some dinosaurs were ‘scaly’, like the long-necked HAESTASAURUS. But their scales weren’t like the overlapping scales found on many species of lizards but more like the bobbly, pebbly skin – like on the surface of a basketball – of Gila monsters from North America . . .
The skin of dinosaurs wouldn’t have been rock-hard either, but similar to the soft, stretchy skin on a chickens’ legs and feet.
Palaeontologists now know that a lot of theropods, like TIANYURAPTOR, were covered with feathers – on their heads, arms and tails.
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Some dinosaurs, like D I LO N G , had very simple, fuzzy feathers called ‘protofeathers’, which might have kept them cosy and warm.
Some other dinosaurs, like GARGOYLEOSAURUS, had large, horny scutes – like the bumps that cover a crocodile’s skin – which were a lot more heavy-duty than scales!
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