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What did dinosaurs sound like?

Tiny answers for ages 4–11, then goes 2 steps deeper each time a child asks why.

Painted picture for the question What did dinosaurs sound like?
  1. Tiny says

    Sounds don't turn to stone, so no fossil can tell us for sure. But remember, birds are dinosaurs, and some birds call with their beaks shut. A dove puffs up its neck and goes coo. Scientists think some dinosaurs may have cooed or boomed like that, with their mouths closed!

    For ages 4–7

    Checked against Dinosaurs may have cooed like doves (University of Texas at Austin)

  2. Why would a big dinosaur keep its mouth shut to call?

    To call with a closed mouth, an animal pushes air into a stretchy pouch in its neck. The sound comes out deep and low. Only bigger animals do it, about dove-sized and up. Lots of dinosaurs were much bigger than a dove, so many of them could have made deep, rumbly booms.

    For ages 6–9

    Checked against Dinosaurs may have cooed like doves (University of Texas at Austin)

  3. Could any dinosaur make a really loud call?

    Parasaurolophus had a long crest on its head with a hollow tube inside. The tube ran up through the crest, looped round and came back to the skull. Blowing air through it might have made a deep, trumpeting bellow. Nobody knows for sure, but it's a good guess.

    For ages 8–11

    Checked against Parasaurolophus (Natural History Museum Dino Directory)

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