Despite being a documentary series, several paleontological inaccuracies appear right throughout Planet Dinosaur. A lot of them are caused by new discoveries made after the series had aired. Here's a list of them.
General[]
- Animals would not make nearly as much noise as they did in the series.
- The ability to roar is now considered unlikely for dinosaurs. Instead, they are thought to have communicated using low-frequency sounds.
- The pterosaurs lack pteroid bones, bones that make up an essential part of a pterosaur's wings.
- The pterosaurs also lack pycnofibers; hair-like filaments that covered their heads and bodies, similar to, but not homologous (sharing a common structure) with, mammalian hair.
- All members of the Troodontidae family in the series are fuzzy, while in reality, they had wings and other feathers for show.
- Tyrannosaurids may have had feathers, but were not entirely sure if they had them, as skin impressions on Tyrannosaurus rex show they were scaled, but fossilized feathers on Yutyrannus suggested it had feathers.
- The primary feathers of the dinosaurs depicted as having them (Microraptor, Sinornithosaurus, Rahonavis, the anonymous oviraptorid, and Gigantoraptor) are shown attaching to the third finger. They should attach to the second finger instead.
- The Xianglong model is used numerous times throughout the series to represent generic lizards, often ones that lived far after the time Xianglong actually lived.
- On that note, numerous other animals also use the same models as other ones in the series, most notably:
Lost World[]
- Spinosaurus can't twist it's hands downward without breaking them. No theropod could do that. Most theropods in the show don't pronate them, but Spinosaurus is shown to do so in many shots.
- Spinosaurus in the show had an inaccurately-shaped sail, the real one had a two hump-shaped sail rather than a semicircle-shaped sail. The Spinosaurus also had an enlarged tail with elongated spines; as of 2020, as opposed to a traditional pointed and slim theropod tail, however, this documentary was made before the interpreted discovery.
- Ibrahim et al never found the arms for Spinosaurus. What we know about Spinosaurus' arms comes from assumptions based on other spinosaurids. The arms of S. aegyptiacus are unknown at the moment. The idea that Spinosaurus was quadrupedal comes from how short the legs are which very well could be a scaling error as the Ibrahim specimen is not an adult. However, the documentary was made before this discovery, and there is no way they could've made an accurate Spinosaurus.
- Spinosaurus is shown to be 18 meters long. In reality, the true maximum size of Spinosaurus is unclear and open to interpretation. There are specimens, such as NHMUK R 16421 and NMC 41852/NMC 42852, assigned to Spinosaurus that gave the animal a much more larger size limit than previously thought.
- Onchopristis is mentioned to swim up from the sea to freshwater, but newer discoveries indicate they were entirely freshwater animals, just like sturgeons.
- Onchopristis is described as a " giant, 8 meter long sawfish", but in reality, Onchopristis was a rajiform; fishes related to sharks, not a sawfish.
- Onchopristis may have looked more like a giant ray with a saw- like snout as opposed to the more sawfish- like- design in the episode.
- Onchopristis reached a length of 5-6 meters in real life, while it is claimed to have reached 8 meters in the show.
- Sarcosuchus wasn't a true crocodile, it was a crocodylomorph; species of reptiles related to crocodilians.
- Rugops was actually 4,4 meters long in reality, however, this discovery came out after the program's release.
- Rugops could not have been a pure scavenger, as all land- dwelling carnivores can't completely rely on scavenging, because they would expend too much energy. In most cases, carnivores like Rugops would have had no choice but to hunt their own food.
- Ouranosaurus, Sarcosuchus, and Rugops are not from the Kem Kem Beds. The former two are from the Elrhaz Formation, dated to 110 million years ago in current-day Niger, while Rugops was from the Echkar Formation, dated to the same time as the Kem Kem Beds but, again, in Niger rather than Algeria and Morocco.
- Ouranosaurus possibly didn't have tarsal scutes, as it is known that it's relatives, the hadrosaurids likely did not have them. We know this, because Saurolophus was discovered without tarsal scutes. Kulindadromeus, another ornithischian, was also discovered without tarsal scutes, so it is possible that Ouranosaurus didn't have tarsal scutes as well.
- Baryonyx is often interpreted to be the same animal or synonymous with Suchosaurus.
- Carcharodontosaurus could not roar to defend its territory or prey it has recently killed, but instead would have hissed and growled like modern crocodiles. It would have also produced a deep booming sound similar to modern ostriches and bitterns.
- Rugops was said to have been the dominant predator in areas where Spinosaurus was not present. However, there were other theropods present in Rugops's environment that were much bigger, such as Deltadromeus, Bahariasaurus, and Carcharodontosaurus.
Feathered Dragons[]
- Epidexipteryx is shown to coexist with and serve as prey to Sinraptor, when the two never met. Epidexipteryx lived during the Middle Jurassic, about 164 million years ago, while Sinraptor lived in the Late Jurassic 160 million years ago. However, it is possible that a similar theropod coexisted with Epidexipteryx, perhaps Gasosaurus, and Sinraptor may have coexisted with similar scansoriopterygids like the recently-discovered Yi qi
- Sinraptor's crests would have been more pointed than in the programme.
- In the programme, Sinraptor's eyes are located right above it's crests, when the crests were actually a bit further down the skull.
- Saurornithoides is shown to have been covered with fuzz, while in reality, they had wings and other feathers for show.
- Sinornithosaurus may not have been venomous. The elongated teeth may have actually been loose and the venom grooves are actually the same as other theropods. So this hypothesis may have been based on a badly preserved skull. However, in the same journal issue, Gong and his team submitted a reassessment of the 2010 study, casting doubt on their findings. They admitted that grooved teeth were common among theropods (though they suggested they were really only prevalent among feathered maniraptorans), and hypothesized that venom may have been a primitive trait for all archosaurs if not all reptiles, which was retained in certain lineages. They also disputed the claim that the teeth were significantly out of their sockets in the holotype specimen of Sinornithosaurus, though they admitted that they were not in a completely natural position. Gong's reassessment also claimed that certain undescribed specimens had fully articulated teeth showing a similar length. So it may have been venomous after all. But it is still debated.
- Oviraptor had a ridge on its head.
- Gigantoraptor never met Oviraptor, as Gigantoraptor lived 96 MYA in the Cenomanian, not 85 MYa, while Oviraptor lived 75- 71 MYA in the Campanian.
- Gigantoraptor's beak is a bit too sharp, it's neck is a bit too long and it is less heavily built than the real animal.
- Oviraptor wouldn't have had evolved yet, it first appeared 75 MYA.
- Saurornithoides first appeared 75 MYA and wouldn't have met Gigantoraptor either.
- Microraptor is depicted with the wrong color, as we now know from fossilized melanosomes that they were completely black.
- Microraptor didn't coexist with Sinornithosaurus, as Microraptor lived 120 MYA in the Jiufotang Formation, while Sinornithosaurus lived 124,6- 122 MYA in the Yixian Formation.
- There is evidence small Ornithopods like Jeholosaurus had quills or primitive feathers.
- Jeholosaurus's skull is the wrong shape. In real life, it was a bit longer and less elevated.
- The skull shape of Microraptor is now known to be wrong, as around the base is taller and the tip gradually gets narrower.
Last Killers[]
- Troodon is shown to have been covered with fuzz, while in reality, they had wings and other feathers for show. They were also omnivores rather than pure carnivores.
- Troodon as a genus; is not valid anymore.
- The show claims that the polar troodonts were the apex predators in the arctic circle during the late Cretaceous, however, it was known that there were tyrannosaurs living in the arctic circle, which were described as Nanuqsaurus hoglundi in 2014; although competing dominant species similar to modern North American forests, African Savana's & South African Rainforests is probable.
- The alaskan troodontid remains are no longer thought to belong to the genus Troodon.
- Edmontosaurus regalis actually had a small, fleshy crest on it's head in real life, which it lacks in the programme. However, this discovery came out after the show aired.
- Edmontosaurus's digit on it's foreleg should actually be pointing downwards, not sidewards.
- Daspletosaurus, like all tyrannosaurids, may have had feathers, but it’s considered unlikely so it’s technically not an inaccuracy. They also did not roar, but instead made low rumbling noises like modern cassowaries.
- Daspletosaurus actually had small horns in front of his eyes, a bit like Allosaurus.
- Daspletosaurus's skull is the wrong shape.
- Daspletosaurus's head is too big.
- Majungasaurus didn't live 75 MYA, it lived from 70-66 MYA during the Maastrichtian.
- The proportions of Majungasaurus are wrong. In reality, it had a proportionally very long body and short legs.
- Raptorex was not an ancestor of T. rex, and did not live alongside Psittacosaurus. Raptorex lived 70 mya while Psittacosaurus lived 126-101 mya. A possible replacement should be the feathered Yutyrannus. However, the documentary came out a year before Yutyrannus was discovered. Also, this error was because Raptorex kriegsteini has been considered to be early Cretaceous in age first.
- All Ceratopsians may have feather-like bristles on their backside much like Psittacosaurus or Triceratops.
- Chasmosaurus did not have hoofed feet. It's eye sockets are also shrinkwrapped.
- Centrosaurus had rostral scales in real life, however, in the show, it doesn't have them.
- Ceratopsians most likely did not charge at predators like the Chasmosaurus did to defend itself from the Daspletosaurus in the episode, it will most likely flee.
- Deinosuchus did not co-exist with Centrosaurus and Daspletosaurus, as it wasn't found in the Dinosaur Park Formation,
Fight For Life[]
- Predator X is now known as Pliosaurus funkei, it has also been downsized from 15 metres and 45 tonnes to 10 to 13 metres in length, while weighing in at 10 to 20 tonnes.
- Predator X, scientifically called Pliosaurus funkei, did not live in late Jurassic England. However, other species of this genus lived at this place and this time.
- Angel sharks are not known from the Kimmeridge clay.
- The Morrison Formation did not look like a semi- desert with many termite hills. While it was an arid area in real life, it likely had a lot of conifer forests covering it.
- Stegosaurus has 2 significant errors: The elephant-like feet and a very short neck.
- Stegosaurus had an armored throat in real life, which was not present on the model used in the documentary.
- Stegosaurus is said to have weighed 2 tons in the programme. However, in real life, Stegosaurus actually weighed between 5 and 7 tons.
- Stegosaurus could reach up to 10 meters in lenght in reality, while it was shown to be 9 meters long in the show. Although technically not an error, as some Stegosaurus specimens could have been that size, 9 meters wasn't their maximum size.
- Camptosaurus had some errors, such as shrinkwrapping or lacrimal ridges above it's eyes causing it to have possessed a way of looking similar to an eagle.
- Camptosaurus likely had a thumbspike, like Iguanodon, which was exposed and not covered by it's scaly skin.
- Camptosaurus was likely more robust in real life then it was in the documentary.
- Kepodactylus didn't have a long neck like ahzdarchid pterosaurs. This error is due to Kepodactylus probably sharing a model with Alanqua, an ahzdarchid pterosaur.
- A new paper on the cranio-dental morphology of Allosaurus and how it worked has deemed the hatchet jaw attack unlikely, reinterpreting the unusually wide gape as an adaptation to allow Allosaurus to deliver a muscle-driven bite to large prey, with the weaker jaw muscles being a trade-off to allow for the widened gape.
- Saurophaganax's crest horns weren't as pointed and large as they were in the documentary.
- Saurophaganax was claimed to have been 12 meters long in the documentary, when it was a little longer than 11 meters in reality.
- Saurophaganax may have been a sauropod in real life, and not a theropod as depicted in the episode, according to a 2024 reassessment of the genus.
- The remains of a large Allosaurid from the Morrison Formation are no longer thought to belong to the genus Saurophaganax. The remains have been attributed to a new species of the genus Allosaurus, Allosaurus anax, in 2024.
New Giants[]
- Argentinosaurus was probably not the largest dinosaur of all time, but merely a candidate for the title, other fossils of similarly sized, if not larger, animals have been found, such as Puertasaurus, Patagotitan, and "Brachiosaurus nougaredi" (an undescribed sauropod known from a massive partial sacrum discovered in the Kem Kem Beds). It is still possible that Argentinosaurus is the largest, however, but more studies need to be done on this matter.
- Argentinosaurus actually held its neck more vertically, like most titanosaurs.
- Argentinosaurus's head is a bit shinkwrapped in the program.
- Argentinosaurus possibly had osteoderms on it's back, tail and neck in real life. However, in the documentary, it doesn't have osteoderms on it's back, tail and neck.
- Argentinosaurus could reach up to 40 meters in real life, while it was depicted as being 35 meters long in the programme. While it is reasonable to depict Argentinosaurus individuals as being 35 meters long, as some individuals could have been 35 meters long in real life, this size was not the maximum size of Argentinosaurus.
- In the show, it is said that Argentinosaurus went extinct before Mapusaurus, however, in real life, it was quite the opposite. Mapusaurus actually went extinct 93,5 million years ago, while Argentinosaurus went extinct 92,19 million years ago.
- There is no concrete evidence to suggest that Skorpiovenator was was primarily a nest raider. However, it is possible that it was.
- Skorpiovenator was much more robust than what is shown in the show.
- Skorpiovenator's tail is too long.
- Gasparinisaura didn't live 95 million years ago, it actually lived 83 million years ago.
- Lacusovagus was already fossilized, when there was Argentinosaurus, since Lacusovagus lived on the Aptian, 117 Million years ago.
- Lacusovagus lived in Brazil, not Argentina.
- Sarcosuchus and Ouranosaurus run into the same problem here as they did above.
- Recent studies have shown that Argentinosaurus was incapable of rearing onto its hind legs like portrayed in the episode. In reality, the sauropods would have stretched their necks high enough to reach the tops of the trees. They also would have stomped on predators like Mapusaurus to defend themselves.
- In real life, female Argentinosaurus would have laid flat on the ground and laid their eggs in the hole they were using as a nest.
- Mapusaurus's first and third fingers should be much shorter than the second finger.
- Mapusaurus is not known to have had tiny spikes on its back.
- Mapusaurus was; likely, slightly smaller than T. rex, having reached a bit more than 12.5 meters when fully grown, when Tyrannosaurus reached 12.8 meters.
- Mapusaurus actually didn't weight as light as 4 tonnes, recent weight estimates put it at almost 7 tons.
- Being a very large and heavy theropod, Mapusaurus couldn't have jump to higher distances like it did in the documentary.
- Paralititan actually held it's neck more vertical than what's shown in the programme.
- Paralititan is a bit shrinkwrapped on its head.
- Paralititan had osteoderms on it's back in reality, while it is lacking them in the documentary.
- Paralititan had spikes on the upper neck, like Brachiosaurus. However, in the series, it doesn't have them.
- There is no evidence Paralititan had claws on it's forelegs like in the series.
- Carcharodontosaurus has been stated to weigh 7 tons in the programme, when it actually weighed a little less.
- Technically, the Carcharodontosaurus seen in the segment with Paralititan could not be Carcharodontosaurus, but a close relative named Tameryraptor markgrafi. In 2025, Kellermann et al. examined two previously unlisted photographs, Stromer's initial sketches, and an endocast of the braincase of the original holotype specimen of Carcharodontosaurus destroyed during World War II, and through their examination, they found enough distinctions between the specimen and the neotype specimen of Carcharodontosaurus to errect a new species.
The Great Survivors[]
- Bradycneme is shown to have been covered with fuzz, while in reality, they had wings and other feathers for show.
- Hateg Island didn't look like an island with horsetail forests, instead, it's environment consisted of floodplains, rivers and forests.
- Bradycneme, like all alvarezsaurids, had only one finger on its hand.
- During the first scene in which Hatzegopteryx appears, it scares away a flock of Eurazhdarcho. However, in reality, the two never met. Eurazhdarcho lived 69 MYA during the middle Maastrichtian, while Hatzegopteryx lived 66 MYA, in the late Maastrichtian.
- Hatzegopteryx had the crest of Quetzalcoatlus, not Hatzegopteryx. However, it is a close cousin.
- Hatzegopteryx was quite a bit stockier than it was depicted here.
- Hatzegopteryx could actually reach a wingspan of up to 12 meters in real life, while it was said to have a 10 meter wingspan in the program. However, there were likely many individuals that did have a wingspan of 10 meters, since the wingspan of Hatzegopteryx has been estimated to have been 10- 12 meters, but 10 meters likely wasn't the maximum size, so Hatzegopteryx could've grown bigger than it was depicted here.
- Hatzegopteryx is lacking pycnofibers, a kind of fur all pterosaurs are known to have had.
- Magyarosaurus had osteoderms on it's back in real life, like many titanosaurs. However, in the program, it does not have osteoderms.
- The tyrannosaur from the Zuni Basin isn't called Zunityrannus, They just named it that, but still, due to scientific rules, the first name stays unless the animal is just the same of another species. Zunityrannus is estimated to be 4 meters long and weigh a tonne. The name of the tyrannosaur in the Zuni Basin is Suskityrannus.
- Suskityrannus had a much longer, thinner snout than it was shown in the program. It's first and third finger should also be shorter.
- Suskityrannus could have had feathers, though that is debated.
- Suskityrannus in the program is oversized, being almost as large as Nothronychus, when in real life, it was probably much smaller than Nothronychus. However, Suskityrannus is only known from juvenile specimens, so fully grown adults were likely larger.
- Nothronychus most likely had wings, used for display and brooding of nests.
- nothronychus, zunityrannus, gigantoraptor and alectrosaurus didn't live in the maastrichtian as they went extinct before the asteroid hit.
- Gigantoraptor runs into the same problems as it did above.
- Bradycneme is depicted as a troodontid, when in real life it was an alvarezsaurid.
- In the database says that the mortality of the dinosaurs is 100, is not quite correct because the Birds are modern dinosaurs, as shown in episode 2.