Scientists have actually rather discovered that lots of predatory types would have had scaly, lizard-like lips covering and sealing their mouths.
Theropod dinosaurs, a group of two-legged dinosaurs that includes the velociraptor along with birds, were formerly believed to have lipless mouths where noticeable upper teeth hung over their lower jaws, comparable to the mouth of a crocodile.
But a global group of scientists now think these dinosaurs had lips comparable to those of lizards and their relative the tuatara – an uncommon reptile discovered just in New Zealand.
The researchers analyzed the tooth structure, use patterns and jaw morphology of lipped and lipless reptile groups and discovered that theropod mouth anatomy and performance looks like that of lizards more than crocodiles.
They said this indicates lizard-like oral tissues, consisting of flaky lips covering the teeth.
The scientists said these lips were most likely not muscular, like they remain in mammals, as many reptile lips cover their teeth however cannot be moved individually or curled back into a snarl.
Co-author Dr Mark Witton, from the University of Portsmouth, said: “Dinosaur artists have actually gone back and forth on lips given that we began bring back dinosaurs throughout the 19th century, however lipless dinosaurs ended up being more popular in the 1980s and 1990s.
“They were then deeply rooted in pop culture through movies and documentaries — Jurassic Park and its follows up, Walking With Dinosaurs, and so on.
“Curiously, there was never ever a devoted research study or discovery instigating this modification and, to a big degree, it most likely showed choice for a brand-new, ferocious-looking visual instead of a shift in clinical thinking.
“We’re overthrowing this popular representation by covering their teeth with lizard-like lips.
“This means a lot of our favourite dinosaur depictions are incorrect, including the iconic Jurassic Park T rex.”
The results, released in the journal Science, discovered that dinosaur teeth were no bigger, relative to skull size, than those of contemporary lizards, recommending they were not too huge to be covered with lips.