The fact of the matter is, kids love dinosaurs. No matter their age or gender, almost every kid has a dinosaur phase. Most parents are probably familiar with the poorly pronounced dinosaur names and the off-key theme songs.
There are lots of kids TV shows about dinosaurs (most of which are both the match and the kindle that keeps the obsession roaring), and some are more accurate than others. Such is the case of the “Dinosaur Train”. This show was released on PBS in 2009, and became a tool for a lot of parents to occupy children, while also allowing them to learn more about the seemingly mythic prehistoric creatures that used to roam the Earth.
“Dinosaur Train” was chock full of facts about dinosaurs; the show itself centered around a family of five Pteranodons and one t-rex who traveled by train to learn about other dinosaurs.
But the writers of the show made one quite large mistake. And no, it wasn’t a mini detail about a side character dinosaur. It was about the main characters themselves.
You see, Buddy, the adopted t-rex, he’s a dinosaur. And the train conductor, a Troodon, is also a dinosaur. But the main family, Mr. and Mrs. Pteranadon, Don, Tiny, and Shiny, are not dinosaurs.
That’s right. But how can this be?
I’m so glad you asked! Pteranodons and pterodactyls, known in the science world as pterosaurs are not considered dinosaurs.
A large part of the confusion comes from the time period that they lived in. Though pterosaurs and dinosaurs both lived in the Mesozoic Era, and they’re both a part of the same subclass (archosauria), they are distinguishable by their bones, with pterosaurs missing the hole in the hip socket and long crest in the upper arm bone that dinosaurs have.
They are also distinguishable by their descendants. Pterosaurs have no living descendants, due to the Chicxulub asteroid. Animals like birds and crocodiles are considered dinosaurs.
If it helps you to distinguish, pterosaurs were functionally giant flying reptiles.
It was such a bummer to learn that one of my favorite shows as a little kid wasn’t entirely accurate, but it still holds a place in my heart, and it can still be educational to all the littles out there.
Just remember to let them know: Pterodactyls are NOT dinosaurs!
