Difference between revisions of "3204: Dinosaurs And Non-Dinosaurs"
(Silhouette in "seem like dinosaurs / are not dinosaurs" previously listed as "?" is likely a quetzalcoatlus. Silhouette in "don't seem like dinosaurs / are dinosaurs" previously listed as "?" appears to be a falcon but could be a different bird of prey.) |
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This comic explores the seeming paradox that certain extinct prehistoric species which are popularly thought of as being "dinosaurs" are, from a strict taxonomic viewpoint, not. It also takes into account the fact that all bird species are descended from dinosaurs and thus - again, from a strict taxonomic viewpoint - are themselves dinosaurs as well. To illustrate this, Randall provides silhouettes of dinosaurs, of entities that are widely thought of as dinosaurs but are not, of entities that are ''not'' widely thought of as dinosaurs but ''are'' (i.e., birds), and, lastly, of entities that are neither dinosaurs nor thought of as dinosaurs (which is funny because it's so all-encompassing). | This comic explores the seeming paradox that certain extinct prehistoric species which are popularly thought of as being "dinosaurs" are, from a strict taxonomic viewpoint, not. It also takes into account the fact that all bird species are descended from dinosaurs and thus - again, from a strict taxonomic viewpoint - are themselves dinosaurs as well. To illustrate this, Randall provides silhouettes of dinosaurs, of entities that are widely thought of as dinosaurs but are not, of entities that are ''not'' widely thought of as dinosaurs but ''are'' (i.e., birds), and, lastly, of entities that are neither dinosaurs nor thought of as dinosaurs (which is funny because it's so all-encompassing). | ||
| − | * Silhouettes in "seem like dinosaurs / are dinosaurs": stegosaurus, triceratops, tyrannosaurus, diplodocus | + | Clockwise from upper left in each box: |
| − | * Silhouettes in "don't seem like dinosaurs / are dinosaurs": penguin, | + | * Silhouettes in "seem like dinosaurs / are dinosaurs": stegosaurus, triceratops, tyrannosaurus, velociraptor, diplodocus |
| − | * Silhouettes in "seem like dinosaurs / are not dinosaurs": mosasaur, | + | * Silhouettes in "don't seem like dinosaurs / are dinosaurs": penguin, stork or egret, falcon, pigeon, ostrich |
| − | * Silhouettes in "don't seem like dinosaurs / are not dinosaurs": squirrel, stapler, | + | * Silhouettes in "seem like dinosaurs / are not dinosaurs": mosasaur, quetzalcoatlus, dimetrodon, plesiosaur, pteranodon |
| + | * Silhouettes in "don't seem like dinosaurs / are not dinosaurs": squirrel, stapler, bicycle, human, pineapple | ||
| − | The title text is a further joke about taxonomy, predicated on the assumption that staplers are biological organisms (which they are not){{citation needed}}, and can thus be sorted into taxa. ''Pseudosuchia'' is in fact the clade that encompasses all crocodilians, and staplers bear a certain resemblance to the open jaw of a crocodilian. | + | The title text is a further joke about taxonomy, predicated on the assumption that staplers are biological organisms (which they are not){{citation needed}}, and can thus be sorted into taxa. ''{{w|Pseudosuchia}}'' is in fact the clade that encompasses all crocodilians, and staplers bear a certain resemblance to the open jaw of a crocodilian. |
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
Revision as of 20:07, 6 February 2026
| Dinosaurs And Non-Dinosaurs |
 Title text: Staplers are actually in Pseudosuchia, making them more closely related to crocodiles than to dinosaurs. |
Explanation
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This is one of 62 incomplete explanations: This page was created recently. Don't remove this notice too soon. If you can fix this issue, edit the page! |
This comic explores the seeming paradox that certain extinct prehistoric species which are popularly thought of as being "dinosaurs" are, from a strict taxonomic viewpoint, not. It also takes into account the fact that all bird species are descended from dinosaurs and thus - again, from a strict taxonomic viewpoint - are themselves dinosaurs as well. To illustrate this, Randall provides silhouettes of dinosaurs, of entities that are widely thought of as dinosaurs but are not, of entities that are not widely thought of as dinosaurs but are (i.e., birds), and, lastly, of entities that are neither dinosaurs nor thought of as dinosaurs (which is funny because it's so all-encompassing).
Clockwise from upper left in each box:
- Silhouettes in "seem like dinosaurs / are dinosaurs": stegosaurus, triceratops, tyrannosaurus, velociraptor, diplodocus
- Silhouettes in "don't seem like dinosaurs / are dinosaurs": penguin, stork or egret, falcon, pigeon, ostrich
- Silhouettes in "seem like dinosaurs / are not dinosaurs": mosasaur, quetzalcoatlus, dimetrodon, plesiosaur, pteranodon
- Silhouettes in "don't seem like dinosaurs / are not dinosaurs": squirrel, stapler, bicycle, human, pineapple
The title text is a further joke about taxonomy, predicated on the assumption that staplers are biological organisms (which they are not)[citation needed], and can thus be sorted into taxa. Pseudosuchia is in fact the clade that encompasses all crocodilians, and staplers bear a certain resemblance to the open jaw of a crocodilian.
Transcript
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This is one of 44 incomplete transcripts: Don't remove this notice too soon. If you can fix this issue, edit the page! |
- [A 2x2 chart containing various animals and objects.]
- Left column: Are dinosaurs
- Right column: Are not dinosaurs
- Upper row: Seem like dinosaurs
- Lower row: Don't seem like dinosaurs
- [Top left (seem like dinosaurs, are dinosaurs):]
- [Top right (seem like dinosaurs, are not dinosaurs):]
- [Bottom left (don't seem like dinosaurs, are dinosaurs):]
- [Bottom right (don't seem like dinosaurs, are not dinosaurs):]
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I don't think that's a stork. My guess would be that it's a heron. The bird in the lower right also looks like some sort of shorebird, but I've got no clue. 99.26.146.61 (talk) 19:45, 6 February 2026 (UTC) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)
I feel like this comic should be in the explanation https://xkcd.com/1211/
2600:4041:2E5:B900:66D3:74AD:D92D:356B 20:36, 6 February 2026 (UTC) Add comment
