Dinosaurs have captured imaginations for years. While many studies focus on their evolution or extinction, a fascinating question arises: if dinosaurs were alive today, could we eat their meat?
This isn’t just a fun thought experiment. Modern birds, our closest living relatives to many dinosaurs, might help us understand what dinosaur meat could have been like. Scientists are diving into muscle structure, diet, and body makeup of dinosaurs to figure out if species like Tyrannosaurus rex or Triceratops would have been good for dinner.
Paleontologists have an intriguing take on this. Steve Brusatte from the University of Edinburgh shared that while we can’t taste fossils, studying their anatomy gives clues about flavor and safety. “Dinosaurs were definitely edible, at least to other dinosaurs,” he noted, highlighting that predators like T. rex likely provided consumable meat.
Brusatte observed that humans generally prefer herbivores. He compared this to modern animals, where we commonly eat cows and sheep but shy away from carnivores. Herbivorous dinosaurs likely had muscle and fat similar to beef or venison, while meat from predatory dinosaurs could resemble crocodile meat—darker and leaner.
Muscle composition is vital for taste. Herbivores like Triceratops might have offered a more tender bite, while apex predators would be tougher due to their muscle density. The presence of myoglobin, a protein in muscle that gives red meat its color, indicates that meat could be much leaner and harder to prepare.
But just because a dinosaur might be edible doesn’t guarantee it’s safe. Brusatte pointed out lessons from the pitohui, a New Guinea bird with toxin-filled flesh. If some dinosaurs fed on toxic plants or insects, their meat could have been harmful too. Just cooking wouldn’t necessarily make it safe.
Even without harmful substances, some dinosaurs had dense muscles and tough connective tissues, making them hard to cook effectively. This means that even in a world where we could eat dinosaur meat, preparing it might be tricky.
Modern birds, scientifically seen as avian dinosaurs, shed more light on this topic. Brusatte explained that “a chicken is as much a dinosaur as Triceratops.” Birds offer diverse flavors depending on their species and diet, suggesting dinosaur meat could vary widely in taste and texture as well. For instance, chicken and duck differ despite being related.
Research reinforces this idea. A 2007 study from North Carolina State University discovered remnants of collagen and hemoglobin in T. rex and a hadrosaur, essential for defining muscle texture. Though these findings were degraded, they support that dinosaur meat might not be too different from what we eat today.
However, there’s no way to truly test these theories. Current technology can’t recover complete DNA from fossils, and viable cell recovery remains impossible. Even projects like the de-extinction of the woolly mammoth rely on recently extinct species, making dinosaurs out of reach for now.
While the notion of eating dinosaur meat is more theoretical than practical, it sparks exciting questions about evolution and biology. By comparing ancient and modern animals, we gain fresh perspectives on how life has evolved over millions of years.
