Dinosaurs had a complex vocal apparatus, which allowed them to make various complex sounds.
If you have watched movies about dinosaurs or have ever visited a dino park, then you know that dinosaurs emit a frightening womb roar. But in fact, this sound is an invention, a fantasy of the directors. All conclusions about the voice of dinosaurs are made only on the basis of their awesome appearance. Until the last moment, nothing was known to science about the sounds of these animals. It wasn’t until 2005 that paleontologists discovered the fossilized voice box of an armored dinosaur. The age of the find was about 80 million years. You will be surprised, but the analysis showed that these animals made much more melodic and complex sounds than scientists originally thought. This is evidenced by the special structure of their larynx, somewhat similar to a bird’s.
Why birds can sing but animals can’t
Around 250 million years ago, archosaurs split into two main groups. The first group included bird-like animals that later evolved into dinosaurs, birds, and pterosaurs. Recall that birds are direct descendants of bipedal theropod dinosaurs. The second group evolved into crocodiles, alligators and some species that subsequently became extinct.
Crocodiles, mammals, and amphibians use the larynx to produce sounds. It is a hollow tube located at the top of the windpipe. Inside this tube there are many folds of resonating tissue, which, in fact, make sounds.
Birds have a complex vocal apparatus (syrinx) that allows them to make complex sounds.
In birds, the structure of the vocal apparatus, called the syrinx, is more complex. It has a two-tube structure, and is located next to the lungs, at the bottom of the windpipe. Due to the fact that the syrinx is associated with muscles that change the tension of membranes and bronchial openings, it is able to create the basis for complex melodies.
Fossilized dinosaur larynx
In 2005, scientists discovered a well-preserved dinosaur larynx for the first time in Mongolia. It belonged to Pinacosaurus grangeri, an armored ankylosaurus. Recall that ankylosaurs belong to the genus of herbivorous ornithischian dinosaurs, which belong to the ankylosaurid family.
Scientists carefully studied the structure of the fossilized larynx, which consisted of two parts, as a result of which they came to the conclusion that they must have worked with muscles that allowed them to change the shape of the airways. In addition, they found that the dinosaur had a large cricoid cartilage, which was involved in opening and closing the airways, as well as two long bones to change its size.
Dinosaurs Pinacosaurus grangeri could make complex melodic sounds like birds
Such a complex structure, similar to a bird, suggests that the dinosaur had a rich set of sounds. Scientists report this in their study, published in Communications Biology.
What sounds could dinosaurs make?
The structure of the dinosaur’s vocal apparatus showed that it could purr, grumble, roar, and possibly even chirp. That being said, there is no doubt that the dinosaur was very loud. This allowed him to make sounds over long distances. However, their voice still differed from the voice of modern birds, which is due to the large size of the animal, as well as voice mechanisms that differ from those of birds.
According to scientists, it is very difficult to imagine what kind of voice a dinosaur had. Most likely, he made unique sounds, not like the voices of animals that live now. The similarity with birds was only in functional terms, that is, the ability to make different sounds.
Scientists hope to recreate the voices of dinosaurs, but for this it is necessary to find their fossilized larynxes
In the near future, scientists plan to recreate the sounds that Pinacosaurus grangeri could make, and will also concentrate on finding other samples. They hope to find fossilized larynxes or even a syrinx of other dinosaurs. Without the vocal apparatus of these extinct animals, it is impossible to even begin to assess the limits of their “vocal” capabilities, let alone recreate sounds.
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Finally, we note that recently our understanding of dinosaurs has changed a lot. At first, scientists shocked us with the appearance of these animals. As it turned out, they often had bright plumage and were generally well adapted to the cold. In terms of mental abilities, apparently, dinosaurs were not inferior to primates. And now it turned out also that their voices were not at all what we imagined. It turns out that films like “Jurassic Park” are just a set of myths about dinosaurs, and have nothing to do with reality.
