Did dinosaurs have lips?

Adam Khor · 24-03-2015 2:25am #1

http://www.wsj.com/articles/did-dinosaurs-have-lips-paleoartist-puts-a-face-on-ancient-bones-1426865210

What do you think?

Rubecula · 29-03-2015 10:56pm

No idea what to think how many species were there? how many species today have lips?

EoghanIRL · 30-03-2015 12:29am

Rubecula wrote: »

No idea what to think how many species were there? how many species today have lips?

Many mammals have lips to allow for suckling of the nipple during infant years.

Adam Khor · 30-03-2015 3:57am

But dinosaurs did not suckle...

The problem seems to be that modern dinosaur relatives (crocodiles) and descendants (birds) have no lips, but because they're both specialized (the crocodiles as aquatic predators with interlocking teeth to catch fish, and the birds with hard keratinous beaks or rhamphoteca), they don´t necessarily prove that dinosaurs lacked them as well...

EoghanIRL · 30-03-2015 8:53am

Are there any major disadvantages to dinosaurs not having lips?

It might be harder to retain food / saliva in the oral cavity but don't see this as being a major problem.

I think dinosaurs are polyphyodonts so they could just regrow damaged teeth.

Glands in the lip are only minor and wouldn't play a major role I'd imagine.

Can't see any major advantage to dinosaurs having lips.

Adam Khor · 30-03-2015 9:31pm

I think (not sure) but I think the idea is that lips would prevent dehydration and protect the dinosaur from self injury, like in Komodo dragons- we know they have lots of sharp serrated teeth but they're not very evident even when their mouth is open; there's lots of soft tissue surrounding and protecting the teeth.

Same with snakes, like pythons, they actually have lots of sharp teeth but the lips and soft tissue in the mouth cover most of them:

Did dinosaurs have lips?

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