The Bad Hair, Incorrect Feathering, and Missing Skin Flaps of Dinosaur Art


"Elephants, zebras, and rhinos would all look pretty different if they were interpreted the same way dinosaurs are."

"Most serious paleoart bases itself on the detailed findings of paleontologists, who can work for weeks or even years compiling the most accurate descriptions of ancient life they can, based on fossil remains. But Kosemen says that many dinosaur illustrations should take more cues from animals living today. Our world is full of unique animals that have squat fatty bodies, with all kinds of soft tissue features that are unlikely to have survived in fossils, such as pouches, wattles, or skin flaps. 'There could even be forms that no one has imagined,' says Kosemen. 'For example there could plant-eating dinosaurs that had pangolin or armadillo-like armor that wasn’t preserved in the fossil. There could also be dinosaurs with porcupine-type quills.'"