Many People Still Think Oil Comes From Dinosaurs — But This Is What Scientists Say Really Created It

Did you know that most people still think that oil and fossil fuels came from the remains of dinosaurs from millions of years ago? You might also have been exposed to this myth; however, scientists have already debunked that theory.

It is common to have this misconception, especially because the word fossil in fossil fuels could easily be attributed to one of the most iconic beings that once lived on Earth, the dinosaurs. But that idea actually came from a creative marketing strategy instead.

The Dinosaur Myth Isn’t Scientific

This notion that dinosaur remains made up most of our fossil fuels today is popularized by oil company adverts, like Sinclair’s giant green brontosaurus at World’s Fairs. But it did not have enough scientific foundation when they launched the myth back in the 1930s.

Scientists emphasize that the animals that lived on land usually die on land, where their remains decay too quickly because of a variety of reasons, including oxidation and other organisms feeding on them. So, most of the time their bodies do not end up in deep sediment layers that are required to be the process of oil formation.

Instead, oil overwhelmingly originates from microscopic plankton and algae that have existed about 66 and 252 million years ago. They died in ancient seas, where their remains sank to the seafloor. Due to the lack of oxygen, their bodies did not decay for a longer time, allowing for sediments to accumulate, creating the perfect condition for oil formation over enough geological time.

Read more: BBC Science Focus

From Sea Sludge to Oil: The Biogenic Process

Why do People Think Oil Comes From Dinosaurs

Most of our oil today may not have come from massive creatures like dinosaurs, but it was still from a biogenic process, which refers to any process driven by living organisms.

The marine microorganisms that died millions of years ago sank to the ocean floor, from there, bacteria took over and decomposed part of them, which includes oxygen and nitrogen. This activity left behind only the carbon-rich kerogen, which would be buried by sediments over time.

The accumulation of these solid materials created pressure and heat that turned the kerogen into petroleum and natural gas. Thus, the oil we enjoy today is not a product of just dinosaur bones, but most of them are from the biological decay of countless microorganisms.

Could Abiotic Oil Exist? Only as a Tiny Footnote

Despite the overwhelming evidence of how oil forms, there is still a theory called the abiogenic oil hypothesis. It suggests that petroleum and other fuels form through non-biological processes deep in the Earth’s mantle. Scientists like Thomas Gold proposed that the hydrocarbons from within were shot up above by chemical reactions instead.

Abiotic hydrocarbons may exist, but if it does, it would be in a minuscule amount that makes it not relevant at all compared to the amount of oil produced by biogenic processes.

Read more: Live Science

Why the Plankton Story Matters Today

Clearing the misunderstanding about dinosaurs making up most of our oil today could change how we think about the microorganisms in our world. It showcases that even tiny, almost non-visible life forms could produce resources so valuable over billions of years.

Because maybe some of the plankton, algae, and other microorganisms alive right now in our generation will be what powers up future civilizations. This revelation also underscores just how much Earth was their planet too, even though they are incomparable in size to dinosaurs.

Is Oil Made From Dinosaur Bones? | PaleoFAILS

Author's Final Thoughts

Oil didn’t come from dinosaurs but instead was a product of a biogenic process that involves countless little life forms that existed about 66 to 252 million years ago. Understanding the origin of one of the most valuable resources on the planet helps us correct the mistake or myth driven more by marketing than real science.

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