Jonah Goh/Shutterstock

Myth: Dinosaurs are extinct

There was definitely a mass extinction event 65 million years ago (probably related to a giant asteroid that smashed into Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula), and it did spell the end for most dinosaur species. But not all. “Today’s birds evolved from dinosaurs, which makes them every bit as much of a dinosaur as T. rex or Triceratops,” says paleontologist Steve Brusatte, author of the book, The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs. “A good analogy is bats. Bats are a weird type of mammal that developed wings and the ability to fly. Birds are a weird type of dinosaur that did the same thing.”

Daniel Barta, a PhD candidate at the American Museum of Natural History’s Richard Gilder Graduate School, adds that there are more species of birds alive today (at least 10,000) than any other group of land-living animals with backbones. “Dinosaurs are alive and well today in the form of their bird descendants,” he says.