History Analysis / ArtisticLicensePaleontology

* Any time ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' is depicted with three functional fingers or more. It had only two functional fingers on each hand. Also, tyrannosaur arms being described as weak -- short, yes. Weak, no.

* Depicting allosauroids as being able to easily kill completely armored dinosaurs such as ankylosaurs, an impossible feat since they have weak bites and cutting teeth. Hence this is why tyrannosaurs are more built for attacking armored prey. These two groups are opposite ends of the specialization spectrum; ''Allosaurus'' and it's relatives were actually well evolved for hunting the massive Sauropods by slashing into them with their teeth and bleeding them to death.

* Old portraits would show ''Megalosaurus'' preying on ''Iguanodon'' in the Early Cretaceous, despite the former [[AnachronismStew being from the Middle Jurassic]]. This was because the two genera were discovered in England, and many theropod specimens dating to the Early Cretaceous were originally assigned to ''Megalosaurus''. This becomes a case of AccidentallyCorrectZoology with the discovery and naming of ''Neovenator'', a large carnosaur that ''was'' a contemporary of ''Iguanodon''. Not to mention the also contemporary ''Baryonyx'' turned out to be more closely related to ''Megalosaurus'' than to any carnosaur.

* Sauropods having skinnier, more flexible necks than in real life; the vertebrae were actually locked together somewhat to support the weight of the neck, which probably had a lot of muscle just to hold itself up. Similarly, sauropods are depicted holding their necks either in a completely vertical pose or only in a horizontal pose. Neither is correct; it is now believed [[http://app.pan.pl/archive/published/app54/app54-213.pdf they held their necks at an incline]].

* Some depictions of ankylosaurs give them the ability to curl up into a ball like some species of armadillos. Ankylosaurs simply could not do this because their torsos are too vertically stiff, to say nothing of the gastralia (belly ribs) further limiting such flexibility.

* Primitive thyreophoreans such as ''Scutellosaurus'' and ''Scelidosaurus'' being portrayed as being quadrupedal, which is common in older works. A trackway from Poland shows a similar animal walking in a bipedal manner, hinting that Scelidosaurus may have been more proficient at bipedalism than previously thought.

* Frilled, venom-spitting ''Dilophosaurus''. The venom was made up by the ''Franchise/JurassicPark'' novel, the frill by TheFilmOfTheBook and there is absolutely no evidence for either. And now a 2020 discovery makes every previous portrayal of ''Dilophosaurus'' inaccurate. The idea that Dilophosauruses were venomous was derived from their jaws, which were initially believed to be too weak for conventional attack. New fossils have shown that in fact, its jawbones show signs of muscle attachment, meaning the jaws were powerful rather than the opposite, and its crests were reinforced by a system of air sacs and could have been used for inflating or resonating, much like those of hadrosaurs.

* The flightless bird ''Gastornis'' (called "''Diatryma''" in early works) being portrayed as a carnivore in post-2014 works. Calcium isotopes in the bones of ''Gastornis'' have confirmed it was a herbivore, not to mention it lacks other predatory features such as sharp talons (based on footprints discovered in 2012) or a hooked beak. With that said, treating it as a [[HerbivoresAreFriendly harmless gentle giant]] because of this info is also a case of artistic license, as given its large size and powerful beak, and the fact that it would need to defend its young from predators such as terrestrial crocodylomorphs, mesonychids, and creodonts, it was very likely ''not'' a bird you would want to mess with, any more so than the equally herbivorous ostrich or cassowary.

* Phorusrhacids is often thought of as a victim in the Great American Interchange being outcompeted by ''Smilodon'' when they showed up in South America. However this theory has mostly been discarded, They were already on their last legs thanks to environmental pressures and may have already died out by the time ''Smilodon'' reach South America. In fact one of the last phorusrhacids was ''Titanis'' who lived in North America and was the apex predator and lived along side ''Smilodon'' and other North American predators and are theorized to have kept those predators small and they only got bigger once ''Titanis'' died out. Not only did Great American Interchange allow the group to hang on for a bit longer But they were the ones bullying ''Smilodon''.

* {{Anachronism stew}}ing is endemic with popular depictions of paleontology, whether it is humans using ''Triceratops'' to plough fields, or depicting ''T. rex'' and ''Stegosaurus'' [[WesternAnimation/{{Fantasia}} living alongside each other]], despite the fact that they never would have met in real life. In fact the time between ''Tyrannosaurus'' and ''Stegosaurus'' is significantly greater than that of ''Tyrannosaurus'' and human beings.[[note]]The time between ''Stegosaurus'' and ''Tyrannosaurus'' is roughly 80 million years, while that of ''T. rex'' and humans is about 66 million years[[/note]] This type of thinking probably comes from the idea that [[OneMillionBC "prehistory" is just one single, vague time period,]] not considering that the scale of geologic time is unfathomably vast.

* ''Smilodon'', a [[WeAllLiveInAmerica strictly American genus]], is sometimes placed in any other continent, and often long after every other sabertooth had gone extinct there. It's also [[SnowySabertooths often shown living in a snowy environment alongside woolly mammoths]], despite ranging farther south in warmer climates. The South American species ''S. populator'' was known to have lived in a savannah-like environment which spread much of the Amazon was during the Ice Age, and it didn't live alongside mammoths but rather the elephant-like gomphotheres. On the other hand, the North American species ''S. fatalis'' would have seen snow during winter, given California's colder climate at the time, but its range is still far away from woolly mammoths. That species, however, ''did'' live alongside the massive Columbian mammoths as well as American mastodons.

* The traditional depiction of ''Dunkleosteus'' with a long, thin body has been discredited by 2023 studies, which suggest it had a shorter, more compact body.

* Ornithomimids being exclusively herbivores or carnivores, with older portrayals showing them as [[EvilEggEater eating eggs]]. They were actually omnivores, though they leaned to a more herbivorous diet similar to the ratites that they resembled.

* In a similar vein, evolution is not a single, forward-moving line. If it were, there would be no fish, reptiles or amphibians on Earth today. It's bushy and chaotic, with multiple offshoots of the same species as they evolve according to their own environments. That's why humans could coexist for tens of thousands of years with both Neanderthals and ''Homo erectus''; why wombats were preyed upon by ''Thylacoleo'', which was essentially a giant predatory wombat; and, despite what creationists may say, why there are still apes, and ''Tiktaalik'', the earliest known example of a fish-amphibian transition, could coexist with vertebrates already on land.

* Whether all avialans including ''Archaeopteryx'' were birds or not is still not settled; some argue that they are, others argue that birds should only be those animals classed under the clade ''Aves''. Right now the consensus seems to be settling on the latter option, but the argument persists.

[[folder:''Archaeopteryx'' and other Avialans]]
* Whether ''Archaeopteryx'' and the other avialans were birds or not is still not settled; some argue that they were, others argue that birds should only be those animals classed under the clade ''Aves''. Right now the consensus seems to be settling on the latter option, but the argument persists.

* "Paleoart meme" is a term used to describe when artists assume a previous artistic depiction is 100% on-point and copy it despite the fact that a large portion of it was speculation (for example, think of how many depictions of ''Deinonychus'' hunting ''Tenontosaurus'' you may have seen). That one picture or interpretation becomes the status quo despite the fact there is no proof of that characteristic. This has not only plagued the public perception but even the paleontology community itself. Recently there have been steps to avoid this in paleoart.

* Sauropods are commonly depicted having either grins with their teeth sticking out or fleshy, pliable lips. It has been recently discovered that their teeth were covered over by gums which in turn would have been covered by a keratinous sheath forming into a beak (or more accurately a pseudo-beak, since there's still teeth).

* It used to be common practice to label all bipedal ornithischians as ornithopods, but this is no longer applicable. ''Hypsilophodon'' and its close relatives were likely very basal ornithischians without any ties to specific groups, pachycephalosaurs are most closely related to ceratopsians, and the fang-bearing heterodontosaurs [[https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08912963.2020.1793979?journalCode=ghbi20 have recently been found to be very primitive pachycephalosaurs themselves]].

** It's been recently established that the plates of stegosaurs were covered in horny sheaths, based on well-preserved tissues on the plates of ''Hesperosaurus'', which would make the portrayals of ''Stegosaurus'' with skin-covered plates unlikely. This would also mean the plates could not have turned red by flushing blood, as ''Series/WalkingWithDinosaurs'' demonstrated, though seeing as stegosaurid plates likely evolved for the sake of display and species recognition, they could've been brightly colored like the beaks of toucans at least during the breeding season (so they probably weren't dull-colored as commonly portrayed in fiction).

* ''Stegosaurus'' with an unrealistically long neck. While its neck wasn't exactly short (according to a recently-discovered young adult named "Sophie", which is the most complete specimen to date), it was far from the sauropod-like necks some depictions portray it with. Although ''Miragaia'', a long-necked stegosaur, was discovered in 2009.

* ''Deinotherium'' has been recently portrayed with a short trunk, due to deinothere skulls lacking attachment marks for trunk muscles. But since it's been discovered elephants don't have these marks either, it's seems more likely that ''Deinotherium'' and its kin had longer trunks. Especially given while their necks are longer than those of elephants, their legs are also longer meaning they would have difficulty kneeling (and therefore unable to drink). It should also be noted ''Deinotherium'' has a large nasal bone suggesting it had a powerful trunk, and a longer trunk would endure more strain than a shorter one. That said, some paleontologists stick with the short trunk due to the fact deinotheres are far from elephants, and the drinking problem can be resolved by submerging in water much like how moose drink.

* Anything being called a dinosaur that isn't: Pterosaurs such as ''Pterodactylus''; giant sea reptiles such as plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs and mosasaurs; pre-dinosaur reptiles like ''Scutosaurus''; synapsids such as ''Dimetrodon'' (which were not, strictly speaking, even ''reptiles'', but proto-mammals); ''any'' modern reptiles (even closely related extinct giant species like ''Deinosuchus'' or ''Megalania''); fish or, Darwin forbid, mammals. In short, dinosaurs are usually generally defined as the last common ancestor of Saurischia and Ornithischia and all of its extinct and living descendants; this can be applied to the most recent ancestor of both ''Iguanodon'' and ''Megalosaurus'' [[note]]An ornithischian and a saurischian respectively, and the first dinosaurs to be officially described[[/note]], or ''Triceratops'', one of the last non-avian dinosaurs to live, and modern birds.

** With the 2017 paper that ''Tyrannosaurus'' was predominantly scaly, some paleontologists suggest that the other large-bodied coelurosaurs like ''Therizinosaurus'' and ''Deinocheirus'' would have had fewer feathering due to their size and bulk (''fewer'' feathering for ''Therizinosaurus'' and ''Deinocheirus'' since they would still have had arm and tail feathers as they are ancestral traits of maniraptoriforms), with ''Yutyrannus'' being a special case in that it lived in a temperate environment with cold winters.

* ''Archaeopteryx'' and many enanthiornithines possessing toothy or toothless beaks. In real life, they had toothy snouts similar to other paravians like dromaeosaurs and troodontids. Having teeth in the beak would be impossible; even in the case of birds that possess both at the same time (e.g. ''Hesperornis''), they don't occupy the same space.

* Phorusrhacids is often thought of as a victim in the Great American Interchange being outcompeted by ''Smilodon'' when they showed up in South America. However this theory has mostly been discarded, They were already on their last legs thanks to environmental pressures and may have already died out by the time ''Smilodon'' reach South America. In fact one of the last phorusrhacids was ''Titanis' who lived in North America and was the apex predator and lived along side ''Smilodon'' and other North American predators and are theorized to have kept those predators small and they only got bigger once ''Titanis'' died out. Not only did Great American Interchange allow the group to hang on for a bit longer But they were the ones bullying ''Smilodon''.

* Whether ''Archaeopteryx'' and the other avialans were birds or not is still not settled; some argue that they were, others argue that birds should only be those animals classed under either the class ''Aves'' or the clade ''Ornithurae''. Right now the consensus seems to be settling on the latter option, but the argument persists.

[[folder:Ornithurans (Birds)]]

* Any time early synapsids are shown with dinosaur or reptile anatomy and lacking the more mammal like features. ''Dimetrodon'' suffers heavily from this, a lot of times being shown as just a lizard with a sail on it’s back. A real ''Dimetrodon'' (and other basal synapsids) might have had naked skin like a mammal's coupled with pseudo-scales (of a completely different structure than those of true reptiles) on the underside.

* Despite what [[Literature/{{Meg}} sensational fiction]] or [[http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/shark-week/videos/megalodon-monster-shark/ media hoaxes]] may tell you, no one has found even the tiniest shred of evidence that megalodons are still alive. In fact, since megalodon preyed on whales, the super-giant cetaceans like blue whales would never have evolved if it hadn't gone extinct. The baleen whales that co-existed with the megalodon were relatively smaller and faster than modern whales, the better to avoid being preyed on.

** A commonly stated "fact" is that nobody knows what the distinctive back plates of stegosaurs were used for. The common consensus nowadays is that because they came in a variety of shapes and sizes from species to species, they most likely evolved precisely to ''be'' distinctive (i.e. species recognition) and to appear attractive to potential mates or intimidating to rivals.

* Anything being called ''not'' a dinosaur that ''is'', such as ''Archaeopteryx'' or modern birds. Birds being regarded as different from dinosaurs is acceptable for 1980s/1990s works, but not today, as the modern consensus is that all birds are descendants of small feathered dinosaurs from the end of the Jurassic, or share the same last common ancestor as other theropod dinosaurs.

* Anything being called ''not'' a dinosaur that ''is'', such as ''Archaeopteryx'' or modern birds. Birds being regarded as different from dinosaurs is acceptable for 1980s/1990s works, but not today, as the modern consensus is that all birds are descendants of small feathered dinosaurs from the end of the Jurassic.

* ''Iguanodon'' being depicted as a medium-sized dinosaur. It actually rivalled ''T. rex'' in size.

* Whether or not pterosaurs practiced parental care is still up for debate, but they most certainly did not [[AllFlyersAreBirds raise their young like birds-of-prey]] like in many depictions. Fossils of baby pterosaurs have shown they were capable of flight immediately upon hatching, which led to the idea that pterosaurs abandoned their young like lizards and turtles, but since living archosaurs practice parental care even if their young are precocial upon hatching, there's no reason to believe this was not the case for pterosaurs. It's very likely baby pterosaurs had their parents stayed around as protection, while looking for food on their own.

* Whether or not pterosaurs practiced parental care is still up for debate, but they most certainly did not [[AllFlyersAreBirds raise their young like birds-of-prey]] like in many depictions. Fossils of baby pterosaurs have shown they were capable of flight immediately upon hatching, which led to the idea that pterosaurs abandoned their young like lizards and turtles, but since living archosaurs practice parental care even if their young are precocial upon hatching, there's no reason to believe this was not the case for pterosaurs. It's very likely baby pterosaurs relied on their parents for protection, while looking for food on their own.

* Ceratopsians are often victims of being confused [[SmallTaxonomyPools for other ceratopsians.]] This often includes [[MixAndMatchCritters putting whatever head on to whatever body]] and calling it whatever (usually ''Triceratops'') or just giving it a completely made up and inaccurate skull [[RuleOfCool because it would look cooler.]] Some examples include the aforementioned ''Styracosaurus''-with-''Triceratops''-brow-horns, ''Triceratops'' itself having a long ''Styracosaurus''-like nose horn rather than the much shorter one it had in reality, and ''Pachyrhinosaurus'' with a horn on its nose despite this genus being known for ''lacking'' one.

* Whether or not pterosaurs practiced parental care is still up for debate, but they most certainly did not [[AllFlyersAreBirds raise their young like birds-of-prey]] like in many depictions. Fossils of baby pterosaurs have shown they were capable of flight immediately upon hatching, which led to the idea that pterosaurs abandoned their young like lizards and turtles, but since living archosaurs practice parental care even if their young are precocial upon hatching, there's no reason to believe this was not the case for pterosaurs. It's very likely baby pterosaurs were capable of finding food on their own, but relied on their parents for protection.