#isnotadinosaur

[isnotadinosaur]

One of these things is not like the others!

-- always

thank you @peacefulminimalist for the submission! 

[franzanth]

A-Z of Funny Old Dead Things

D is for Dimetrodon, a relative of mammal’s ancestors. There, saved you a few clicks.

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[eartharchives]

Your favorite extinct reptile may not be a dinosaur

It’s dead, it’s a –saur, it’s a dinosaur. Or is it? An extinct animal’s true identity is not always what it says on the tin. Without understanding the basic relationship between extinct reptiles, it’s easy to fall prey to the false impression their names bring.

Commonly, various non-dinosaurian extinct creatures share the  stage, lumped together with and marketed as dinosaurs to the disgruntled groans of paleonerds worldwide. To clear the misconception, we need to first figure out — what is a dinosaur? 

Image by Julio Lacerda / @paleoart

[franzanthony]

Me and a few people laughed too hard at my “Water Cats” remark the other day so I did a thing. Boy, I love it when other non-dinosaurian extinct animals get more exposure, but the misconception needs to stop. That other water cat is not impressed.

[isnotadinosaur]

Seen in the grocery store cereal aisle. I'm certain I may be repeating sightings but I've reached the point of no return: every time I see a dinosaur toy I have to investigate. It's infectious!

[isnotadinosaur]

Not actually a picture, but still...

I babysit this group of three-year-olds at a local organization once a week, and we’ve got a bunch of toys. One of them is dimetrodon. One of the kids started playing with it and I asked him what he thought it was. Of course he told me it was a dinosaur, so I told him it wasn’t a dinosaur, and that it actually lived a really long time before dinosaurs did. (I thought that explaining evolution to a three-year-old wouldn’t work out so well.) He said “Oh,” and kept playing with it, but then the next week I picked it up and asked him if he remembered what I’d told him last week and he said “Um…” so I asked him if it was a dinosaur and he said “No?” which made me really happy. (He then asked me why it wasn’t a dinosaur, and I repeated last week’s answer, and he said “Oh. Well, when did Cookie Monster live?”)

“when did cookie monster live” best 

I want someone to draw me a taxonomic tree of the Sesame Street characters

[thebrainscoop]

😁❤️ I am so excited to film another episode about early mammal evolution on MONDAY! I love my job because it helps me learn about and appreciate so many things I never considered before. I'm so grateful. Seeing this guy makes me happy. #dimetrodon #isnotadinosaur (at The Field Museum)

[isnotadinosaur]

This is some kind of fancy house in Vermont. Except Dimetrodon is neither a house nor a dinosaur.

I am so confused.