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Did Dinosaurs Sound Like Birds?
Dinosaurs in the movies often make loud roaring sounds—but a new study suggests that in reality, some may have sounded more like chirping birds than ferocious lions. A team of paleontologists from Japan’s Fukushima Museum has been studying the first known fossilized dinosaur larynx, an organ involved in vocalization that doesn’t typically preserve well. The analysis of the larynx—found in the remains of a Pinacosaurus grangeri (shown above) in Mongolia—reveals that the creature’s vocalizations may have been more subtle than previously thought. The researchers compared the larynx with the organs of living birds and reptiles and found that the dinosaur’s anatomical setup likely allowed it to make a wide range of noises, which may have included chirps. Still, experts say it’s too soon to say exactly what these dinosaurs sounded like. As Julia Clarke, a paleontologist at the University of Texas at Austin, explains, “There are still a lot of questions about the evolution of dinosaur vocalization.”