From BBC News:
Working out what a dinosaur looked like is a difficult business when all there is to go on are its fossilised bones.
Locating crucial features like nostrils has been intelligent guesswork.
Now, a US-based scientist says the traditional assumption that dinosaurs had their nostrils high on their heads is wrong.
"We... found an extraordinary amount of evidence to suggest the nostrils of dinosaurs actually were parked out front," said Lawrence Witmer, of Ohio University.
Old and new views of Diplodocus
Modern relatives
Dr Witmer examined modern-day relatives of dinosaurs to find characteristic markings etched into their bones by their soft tissues.
By comparing these "signatures" with similar markings on dinosaur fossils, he was able to map the likely positions of the cartilage, blood vessels and other soft tissues making up a dinosaur's nasal cavity.
He looked at 62 animals from 45 species of crocodile, bird and lizard before reaching the conclusion that dinosaur nostrils were more likely to have been on the front of their heads.
Working out what a dinosaur looked like is a difficult business when all there is to go on are its fossilised bones.
Locating crucial features like nostrils has been intelligent guesswork.
Now, a US-based scientist says the traditional assumption that dinosaurs had their nostrils high on their heads is wrong.
"We... found an extraordinary amount of evidence to suggest the nostrils of dinosaurs actually were parked out front," said Lawrence Witmer, of Ohio University.
Old and new views of Diplodocus
Modern relatives
Dr Witmer examined modern-day relatives of dinosaurs to find characteristic markings etched into their bones by their soft tissues.
By comparing these "signatures" with similar markings on dinosaur fossils, he was able to map the likely positions of the cartilage, blood vessels and other soft tissues making up a dinosaur's nasal cavity.
He looked at 62 animals from 45 species of crocodile, bird and lizard before reaching the conclusion that dinosaur nostrils were more likely to have been on the front of their heads.