Did Dinosaurs Have Beards?

Beards are some of the best things to happen to faces since skin. So whenever I think about dinosaurs, it’s with equal parts reverence and pity. I—like just about everyone—recognize that dinosaurs were (are?) totally sweet, but they’d have been a lot sweeter if they could have grown beards.

This is where I tell myself to hold my prehistoric horses. New research from China suggests that dinosaurs might have developed feathers millions of years earlier than previously thought. Not only that, but many of those terrible lizards might have been covered with what scientists refer to as “dino-fuzz,” which could have functioned for both warmth and display…just like beards!

Apparently the findings are sending researchers into a bit of a tailspin, but at least we’re closer to answering the age-old questions of dino-grooming.

Photo of fuzzy dinos via BBC.