# Is it possible some Dinosaurs still existed during the Dark Ages? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 4, 2017, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-some-dinosaurs-still-existed-during-the-dark-ages/792800 "2017-08-04T20:08:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-some-dinosaurs-still-existed-during-the-dark-ages/792800/41 "2017-08-05T01:55:55Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Yeah, that’s not how islands work. _King Kong_ isn’t a fucking documentary. If anything, being exiled by circumstance to an island tends to lead to [insular dwarfism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insular_dwarfism), which is kind of the opposite of King Kongification. ---
**Author:** ![Trancephalic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trancephalic/32/380_2.png) [@Trancephalic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trancephalic)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-some-dinosaurs-still-existed-during-the-dark-ages/792800/42 "2017-08-05T01:59:17Z")
Not to mention a coelacanth doesn’t look as different from any extant fish in either size or appearance as a marine reptile does. A layman is likely to notice that “fish” has a long neck. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-some-dinosaurs-still-existed-during-the-dark-ages/792800/43 "2017-08-05T02:39:53Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > If anything, being exiled by circumstance to an island tends to lead to [insular dwarfism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insular_dwarfism), which is kind of the opposite of King Kongification. His ancestors were much bigger monkeys. You Kongification deniers are all alike. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-some-dinosaurs-still-existed-during-the-dark-ages/792800/44 "2017-08-05T02:43:34Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > His ancestors were much bigger monkeys. You Kongification deniers are all alike. His ancestors are hiding in video games. It’s on… ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-some-dinosaurs-still-existed-during-the-dark-ages/792800/45 "2017-08-05T02:58:25Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > So hiding in the sea makes it more plausible? Coelacanth–mediumish fish that looks like a fish, lives surrounded by hundreds of other species of fish. Sauropod–reptile the size of an apartment duplex, can eat a forest on a lazy afternoon. See a slight disparity in overall noticeability? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-some-dinosaurs-still-existed-during-the-dark-ages/792800/46 "2017-08-05T03:30:24Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Is it absolutely impossible that there’s a small, neat-extinct population of Aquilops in the Brazilian rainforest? The OP’s question was whether surviving dinosaurs might be the inspiration for the worldwide legends of dragons. So a small population of dinosaurs in a remote location wouldn’t qualify. ---
**Author:** ![Ignotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecc23a/32.png) [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-some-dinosaurs-still-existed-during-the-dark-ages/792800/47 "2017-08-05T04:06:18Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > The closest thing to some “ancient” species actually being alive when modern humans were around that I can remember is there were some woolly mammoths still roaming about when the great pyramid in Egypt was built. At this point they were only left on some extremely remote island in northern Siberia and I doubt there were any humans alive at that point who saw one but they were still on the planet when modern humans were zooming about. > > Obviously this is waaaay after dinosaurs unless you want to count things like crocodiles or alligators. [Elephant birds](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_bird) survived in Madagascar until the arrival of humans, and may possibly have inspired legends of the [roc](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roc_(mythology)). ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-some-dinosaurs-still-existed-during-the-dark-ages/792800/48 "2017-08-05T04:33:13Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > The closest thing to some “ancient” species actually being alive when modern humans were around that I can remember is there were some woolly mammoths still roaming about when the great pyramid in Egypt was built. At this point they were only left on some extremely remote island in northern Siberia and I doubt there were any humans alive at that point who saw one but they were still on the planet when modern humans were zooming about. > > Obviously this is waaaay after dinosaurs unless you want to count things like crocodiles or alligators. Well, what’s a “modern human”? I mean Homo Sapiens saw and ate Mammoths, Megatherium, and many other ancient extinct giant land mammals. Not to mention Moas and Aepyornis which are technically dinosaurs and very large. The last Aepyornis may have existed until about 1000 BP. There have been rumors of truly huge Nile crocodiles. Large monitor lizards still do exist and larger ones may have been hunted by man (or the other way around). ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-some-dinosaurs-still-existed-during-the-dark-ages/792800/49 "2017-08-05T05:47:56Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > There is a sci-fi short story ([Day of the Dragon](http://www.scribbleandshutter.com/2007/writing/daybeaver/daydragon01.htm)) that is based on the theory that crocodiles are dragons with bum tickers. Someone fixes that problem and trouble ensues. There’s also a recent sci-fi thriller book called “The Great Zoo of China” that the main scientist character postulates that dragons are dinosaurs that had eggs that could “hibernate” for centuries in the event of non-favorable conditions, thus all the stories of dragons were just these eggs hatching once every few decades from some remote cave that still housed them. The reason why there was a sudden drop-off in dragon sightings after the middle ages was because most of the remaining eggs had already hatched. Then China finds a still viable batch of eggs, uses genetic engineering to clone them and make their own “Jurassic Park” style animal park to show them off. Then the dragons escape. Hilarity ensues. ---
**Author:** ![rat\_avatar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rat_avatar/32/255_2.png) [@rat\_avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rat_avatar)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-some-dinosaurs-still-existed-during-the-dark-ages/792800/50 "2017-08-05T09:34:33Z")
Just because it has been alluded to but not called out directly and this being Genreal Questions. Birds are theropod dinosaurs, and birds the only dinosaur group that are known to have walked the earth at the same time as humans. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-some-dinosaurs-still-existed-during-the-dark-ages/792800/51 "2017-08-05T10:30:41Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > As I understand it the kamodo dragon was limited to one small island in Indonesia. Now is it a surviving “dinosaur” or did it evolve on its own? Komodo dragons are, even now, not actually limited to one small island; despite the name, they are not just found on the small island of Komodo. They’re actually found on several islands, including Flores, which is over 200 miles long. They are the largest extant species of lizard, specifically a monitor lizard (which are a very widespread group of lizards), not a dinosaur, as has already been said. They may well have been found over a much larger area before being restricted to their current range. Fossils very similar have been found in Australia, as well as many more small islands. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_Arachnid_Laser_1)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-some-dinosaurs-still-existed-during-the-dark-ages/792800/52 "2017-08-05T11:33:43Z")
I don’t know medieval knights would even notice a dinosaur- they were too busy in their war against [GIANT SNAILS.](https://www.google.es/search?q=knights+giant+snails&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiLs5ij-L_VAhVGuhoKHVu5AL8Q_AUICigB&biw=1536&bih=751) ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-some-dinosaurs-still-existed-during-the-dark-ages/792800/53 "2017-08-05T12:14:10Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > So hiding in the sea makes it more plausible? Thus there could be plesiosaurs and elasmosaurs still hiding in the depths somewhere? > > I’m not suggesting it’s likely, but there must be a better explanation for coelacanths than “they live in the ocean, dummy.” An air breather hiding in the depths somewhere. Let me ponder upon that… ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-some-dinosaurs-still-existed-during-the-dark-ages/792800/54 "2017-08-05T13:50:20Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > [A good book](https://www.amazon.com/Big-Bone-Lick-American-Paleontology/dp/0813133866) on the subject. I didn’t know there were books about his key lime pie recipe! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-some-dinosaurs-still-existed-during-the-dark-ages/792800/55 "2017-08-05T16:34:46Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > There is a sci-fi short story ([Day of the Dragon](http://www.scribbleandshutter.com/2007/writing/daybeaver/daydragon01.htm)) that is based on the theory that crocodiles are dragons with bum tickers. Someone fixes that problem and trouble ensues. Veterinary science–when will Mankind learn! 🙂 On the subject of the legend of the roc, **Adventures in Unhistory** suggests that sailors may have seen huge domed buildings at a distance and thought they were the eggs of an enormous bird. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-some-dinosaurs-still-existed-during-the-dark-ages/792800/56 "2017-08-05T19:49:35Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > An air breather hiding in the depths somewhere. Let me ponder upon that… Yeah, who would have thought? > **[National Geographic](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/)** > > Explore National Geographic. A world leader in geography, cartography and exploration. > **[New species of Pacific beaked whale confirmed](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/30/new-species-of-pacific-beaked-whale-confirmed)** > > Researchers confirm that as yet unnamed whale previously sighted by Japanese fishermen was previously unknown to science > **[First new river dolphin species found since World War I](https://www.iflscience.com/first-new-river-dolphin-species-found-world-war-i-23819)** > > First new river dolphin species found since World War I ---
**Author:** ![Trancephalic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trancephalic/32/380_2.png) [@Trancephalic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trancephalic)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-some-dinosaurs-still-existed-during-the-dark-ages/792800/57 "2017-08-05T20:03:59Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yeah, who would have thought? > > [National Geographic](http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/07/new-whale-species/) > [New species of Pacific beaked whale confirmed | Whales | The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/30/new-species-of-pacific-beaked-whale-confirmed) > > [First new river dolphin species found since World War I | IFLScience](http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/first-new-river-dolphin-species-found-world-war-i/) Again, these aren’t all that distinct from any other cetaceans to elicit much notice, particularly from laypeople. Ichthyosaurs are close enough in morphology to dolphins I can almost buy they’d go unnoticed. Any other marine reptile not so much. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-some-dinosaurs-still-existed-during-the-dark-ages/792800/58 "2017-08-05T20:08:41Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > The closest thing to some “ancient” species actually being alive when modern humans were around that I can remember is there were some woolly mammoths still roaming about when the great pyramid in Egypt was built. At this point they were only left on some extremely remote island in northern Siberia and I doubt there were any humans alive at that point who saw one but they were still on the planet when modern humans were zooming about. > > Obviously this is waaaay after dinosaurs unless you want to count things like crocodiles or alligators. Dodos were as ancient, if not more so, than mammoths when they went extinct. Also, “modern humans” have been around for about 200,000 years, so all the extinct megafauna we are familiar with from that time was around. Perhaps you meant “civilization”. But again, there is nothing particularly ancient about wooly mammoth as compared to other species that have gone extinct in the last 5,000 years or so. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-some-dinosaurs-still-existed-during-the-dark-ages/792800/59 "2017-08-05T20:35:06Z")
> [@Trancephalic](#): > > Again, these aren’t all that distinct from any other cetaceans to elicit much notice, particularly from laypeople. > > Ichthyosaurs are close enough in morphology to dolphins I can almost buy they’d go unnoticed. Any other marine reptile not so much. Ok, I can agree to that. Kronosaurus and other Plesiosaurs probable not, but it is curious how much “sea serpents” look like a Plesiosaur. Mosasaurs are more likely, since many Ichthyosaurs went extinct before the K-Pg event . Here is a pic of many of the ancient marine reptiles:[https://www.pinterest.com/pin/369717450645464659/](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/369717450645464659/) and various types of mosasaurs: [http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/articles/mosasaurs.html](http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/articles/mosasaurs.html) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2017, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-some-dinosaurs-still-existed-during-the-dark-ages/792800/60 "2017-08-05T20:39:45Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Ok, I can agree to that. Kronosaurus and other Plesiosaurs probable not, but it is curious how much “sea serpents” look like a Plesiosaur. How old are Plesiosaur looking dipictions of sea serpents? The oar fish is a likely candidate for sea serpent sightings. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-some-dinosaurs-still-existed-during-the-dark-ages/792800.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-possible-some-dinosaurs-still-existed-during-the-dark-ages/792800.md?page=4)