Contents
Front Matter........................................................... iTitlePage ........................................................iPublisher Information ...................................iiIntroduction ..................................................iii
The Facts................................................................1The Basics ......................................................1General Facts - Part 1 ...................................3Unusual Dinosaurs ....................................... 5Records...........................................................7Physiology ......................................................9Interesting Dinosaurs .................................. 11Did YouKnow? ............................................ 13General Facts- Part 2 ................................. 15Well-Known Dinosaurs............................... 17The Most Amazing Facts............................. 19And Finally.................................................. 21
End Matter...........................................................22AlsoAvailable .............................................. 22
101 AMAZING FACTS ABOUT DINOSAURS
Jack Goldstein
Publisher Information
Published in 2014 by Andrews UK Limitedwww.andrewsuk.com
The right of Jack Goldstein to be identified as the author ofthis work has been asserted by him in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998
Copyright © 2014 Jack Goldstein
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may bereproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in anyform or by any means without the prior written permission of
the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form ofbinding or cover other than that in which it is published andwithout a similar condition being imposed on the subsequentpurchaser. Any person who does so may be liable to criminalprosecution
and civil claims for damages.
All facts contained within this book have been researched fromreputable sources. If any information is found to be false, pleasecontact the publishers, who will be happy to make corrections
for future editions.
Introduction
Did you know there is a species of dinosaur named afterHogwarts? Which were the largest and smallest dinosaurs? What isthe difference between a brontosaurus and an apatosaurus? Thisexcellent book answers all of these questions and more, with overone hundred facts about dinosaurs and other prehistoriccreatures.
Follow Jack Goldstein on Twitter @GoldsteinBooks
Visit Goldstein Books at www.jackgoldsteinbooks.com
The Basics
1. The word dinosaur was invented in 1842 by a Britishpalaeontologist called Robert Owen. It means ‘terrible lizard’ whentranslated from the Greek words deinos and sauros.
2. When talking about dinosaurs, one is most commonly referringto reptiles that lived on the earth between 231.4 million years and66 million years ago.
3. To put this into perspective, humans have lived on the earthfor around two million years, whereas dinosaurs roamed for morethan eighty times that!
4. This period is known as the Mesozoic era, which means ‘middlelife’ (referring to the age of the earth itself). It is furthersplit into three periods: Triassic (231.4 - 201 million years ago),Jurassic (201 - 145 million years ago) and Cretaceous (145 - 66million years ago).
5. The first dinosaurs were small, however larger speciesevolved through the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.
6. Dinosaurs lived on all continents of the earth - evenAntarctica. During the early Mesozoic era however, the earth lookedvery different as all the continents were in fact one big land masswhich we now call Pangaea. It started to break up around 200million years ago, and the continents we know today have beendrifting apart ever since.
7. We still do not know how many species of dinosaur there were,with estimates ranging from one to three thousand non-avian speciesalone.
8. Scientists believe that dinosaurs included both cold-bloodedand warm-blooded species, with the larger plant-eaters almostcertainly being cold-blooded and the fast, active meat-eaterswarm.
9. 66 million years ago, there was a mass extinction ofdinosaurs and other animals which is known as theCretaceous-Tertiary Extinction Event.
10. We do not know for sure is what caused the mass extinction.One popular theory amongst scientists is that a huge meteorite sixmiles in diameter hit Mexico which would have sent shockwavesthroughout the earth, wiping out everything but the smallestspecies of animal. We have discovered a 112-mile wide crater thatsupports this theory, however it does not prove it. Other theoriesinclude an increase in the number of animals using dinosaur eggs asa food-source, leading to dwindling numbers; another is a plaguethat quickly spread across the globe.
Ankylosaurus
General Facts - Part 1
11. Someone who studies dinosaurs is known as apalaeontologist.
12. Although this book does include facts and information aboutthem, technically species such as the pterodactyl are flyingreptiles and not dinosaurs; similarly plesiosaurs and the like arewater-based reptiles. It is therefore more correct to call theseother species prehistoric creatures.
13. Each dinosaur had its own defense mechanism. Some,obviously, had very sharp teeth and claws; others had horns orspikes, and stegosaurus had bony plates on its back - althoughthere is some debate as to whether these were actually used as aweapon.
See AlsoDid Dinosaurs Have Thumbs? - Dinosaur Facts For KidsChoosing Unconventional Main Characters - The Open NotebookEver Ask Yourself Why You Are In EMS? | EMS SEO14. Many dinosaurs - particularly herbivores - lived in herdsfor protection, just as many species do today. These herds couldrange in size from just a few animals to thousands ofindividuals.
15. The best fossils tend to come from dinosaurs that lived nearwater - it is thought that the soft, muddy ground has helpedpreserve them better than those in other dryer areas.
16. Birds are the closest living relatives of dinosaurs. Nexttime you see a chicken, look at it very closely - you might besurprised as to just how ancient it seems!
17. In fact, chickens are so closely related to the prehistoricbeasts that scientist are trying to create dinosaurs bymanipulating the DNA of normal chickens! Amazingly, they believethat only a few small alterations are required.
18. In 1824, William Buckland became the first person toidentify dinosaur bones correctly, naming a fossilmegalosaurus.
19. Recognition should also be given to Gideon Mantell, whodiscovered dinosaur teeth and bones in Sussex in 1822. However,other pioneering scientists - including William Buckland -dismissed his findings as being those of fish and other animalsrather than dinosaurs!
20. The first dinosaur discovery in North America was in 1854when Ferdinand Vandiveer Hayden explored the upper Missouri riverand found a collection of teeth. These were later found to havebelonged to trachodon, troodon and deinodon.
Epachthosaurus
Unusual Dinosaurs
21. There was a prehistoric creature which lived during theCretaceous period called deinosuchus. It was very closely relatedto today’s alligators - although it was around eight times asbig!
22. Corythosaurus had a large bony crest on top of its head,containing a large hollow chamber into which its nasal passagesextended. This acted as an amplifier for sound, and it is thoughtthat it could have had a cry much like the sound of a trumpet!
23. The skull of the pentaceratops (a dinosaur with five hornson its head) was an amazing three metres long!
24. The quetzalcoatlus, a pterosaur from the late cretaceousperiod, had a wingspan of at least eleven metres - and some thinkit could have been as much as twenty! This makes it one of thelargest flying creatures the earth has ever seen.
25. Therizinosaurus had claws which were each a whole metrelong. Scary!
26. It is thought that the troodon was the most intelligent ofall the dinosaurs. It lived around 77 million years ago, was aroundtwo metres long and had the brain the size of a comparable mammaltoday.
27. Therizinosaurus had extremely long and thin claws,effectively like medieval swords. With three on each hand, this wascertainly a dinosaur you wouldn’t.
28. Archelon was a sea turtle that lived around eighty millionyears ago measuring four metres long and almost five metres widefrom flipper to flipper.
29. Sinornithosaurus is a small, turkey-sized member of theraptor family that had long fang-like teeth that scientists believewere used to inject venom into their prey.
30. Oryctodromeus cubicularis burrowed under the ground with itsshovel-like snout; its name literally means ‘digging runner of thelair’.
Plesiosaurus
Records
31. The earliest dinosaur that we have discovered has been namedeoraptor, meaning dawn stealer, as it lived at the dawn of the eraof dinosaurs. It was around two feet long and weighed five pounds,with sharp teeth and claws.
32. The dinosaur with the longest name ismicropachycephalosaurus, which means small, thick-headedlizard.
33. The stegosaurus had the smallest brain in comparison to itsbody size; whereas its body was the size of a large car, its brainwas only the size of a walnut!
34. Although we think of dinosaurs as huge, the blue whale isthe largest creature to have ever lived on the earth, and is infact twice as long as the biggest aquatic dinosaur,liopluerodon.
35. The smallest dinosaur discovered so far is the microraptor,found in China and measures around 40cm in length. A smallerdinosaur called mussaurus has been found (coming in at 37cm) butthat is thought to have been a baby, whereas the microraptor fossilwas an adult.
36. The largest dinosaur footprint discovered to date was foundin Australia and is just over one and a half metres long. It isbelieved to have come from an apatosaurus.
37. The fastest dinosaurs are believed to be ornithomimosaurs,which bore a striking resemblance to ostriches today. It is thoughtthat they could run at speeds up to 45 miles per hour.
38. The first ever dinosaur nest discovered was found by RoyChapman Andrews in Mongolia in 1923. This was the first evidencefound which supported the theory that dinosaurs laid eggs - atheory later confirmed of course when dinosaur eggs were found.
39. Mamenchisaurus had the longest neck of any dinosaur, thelargest of which we have found is an amazing fourteen metreslong.
40. The biggest dinosaur we have ever found is called theargentinasaurus. It is believed to have been around 35 metres long,although we have found very little of its skeleton. There are notesdating back to 1877 of a bone which could have come from a largerdinosaur (which we have called amphicoelias fragillimus), howeveras the fossils were lost, the theory that it could have been 60metres long has been disputed.
Triceratops
Physiology
41. Meat-eating dinosaurs (sometimes called therapods, meaningbeast-footed) had hooked claws on their toes for ripping flesh,whereas plant-eating ones usually had blunt hooves.
42. Therapods generally walked on two feet rather than four,which made them faster and helped them catch prey with theirarms.
43. Some dinosaur skulls had large holes in them that made theirheads lighter. This was especially important for some of the largerdinosaurs, whose heads could be as big as a family car!
44. It is thought that the reason many dinosaurs had long tailswas to help with balance whilst running or standing up on theirhind legs.
45. Like lizards today, dinosaurs hatched their young from eggs.The largest eggs were the size of basketballs, and the smallest wehave found are just 3cm in diameter.
46. Dinosaurs can be divided into two groups. Saurischian meanslizard-hips, and these dinosaurs had one hipbone pointing forward,whereas ornithischian dinosaurs had all hipbones pointing backwardslike a bird, the word of course meaning bird-hipped. Amazinglyhowever, scientists believe that the birds we know today actuallyevolved from saurischians not ornithischians!
47. The largest herbivores had to eat a ton of food every singleday - an incredible volume of vegetation!
48. Dinosaurs’ eyes generally faced out on opposite sides oftheir heads (like a cow) rather than both facing forwards (like ahuman). This allowed them to see danger coming from a much widerangle.
49. We believe that most dinosaurs would have had green andbrown scaly skin which would have been effective camouflage amongstthe trees and plants which made up their habitat.
50. Some scientist believe that a number of dinosaurs would haveshed their skin as they grew, just as snakes and lizards dotoday.
Pteranodon
Interesting Dinosaurs
51. Deinonychus - its name means terrible claw and it was one ofthe most ferocious dinosaurs of the Cretaceous period. If you’veseen Jurassic Park, what they call velociraptors were in factexamples of this beast!
52. Ultrasaurus - a large dinosaur discovered in South Korea,however its provenance is in dispute, as some believe the bonesfound were misidentified and were in fact those of asupersaurus
53. Carnotaurus - a similar dinosaur to tyrannosaurus rex, butthought to have been able to run at fast speeds, possibly making iteven more deadly!
54. Euoplocephalus - one of the largest species of anklyosaur,with an enormous club on the end of its tail.
55. Compsognathus - turkey-sized and feather-covered dinosaurwhich fed on a diet of small lizards.
56. Spinosaurus - now thought to be the largest carnivorousdinosaur, 18 metres in length and weighing in at 23 tons.
57. Parasaurolophus - a dinosaur with a huge, elaborate crest onits head; the purpose of which is still unknown - althoughscientists suggest it could have been for regulation of bodytemperature.
58. Gigantoraptor - the largest feathered dinosaur discovered todate - eight metres long and weighing over two tons, it is anamazing 35 times bigger than the next largest!
59. Sauroposeidon - thought to be the tallest land animal everto have existed at over 18 metres in height!
60. Archaeopteryx - the transition between feathered dinosaursand birds; the fossils of this species which have been discoveredgive us the strongest evidence of the theory of evolution.
Tyrannosaurus Rex
Did You Know?
61. We aren’t sure exactly how long an individual dinosaur wouldlive for - although some palaeontologists say it is realistic thatthe larger species could have lived as long as 200 years!
62. The first ever stegosaurus skeleton was found in Colorado,which is now known as the ‘Stegosaurus State’!
63. It is theorised that most dinosaurs were no bigger than aman, however the larger ones were fossilized easier, so we don’tsee an ‘even spread’ of sizes when excavating.
64. The first dinosaurs were carnivores (meaning they ate meat),whereas herbivores (who only ate plants) actually evolved later. Intotal, it is thought that there were more plant-eaters.
65. Dinosaurs had hollow bones which are lighter than they look- just like birds do today.
66. Some herbivores swallowed rocks which stayed in theirstomachs and helped grind up food.
67. Tyrannosaurus rex couldn’t actually chew - it only had teethfor ripping flesh. Because of this it would swallow huge chunks ofmeat up to 500 pounds each!
68. Scientists argue as to whether tyrannosaurus rex could run.Some believe it could reach speeds of up to 20 miles per hour,whereas others think that it was so big that it couldn’t run atall!
69. Both Argentina and China currently boast some of the bestspots to find dinosaur fossils, and recently some extremelywell-preserved examples have been found there.
70. The dinosaurs with the shortest names are mei and kol, twofeathered species discovered in China and Mongolia.
Diplodocus
General Facts - Part 2
71. There are a number of cases of different palaeontologistsgiving the same dinosaur different names. For instance,brontosaurus and apatosaurus are in fact the same species, and wehave known this since 1911.
72. You may picture the huge complete skeletons you have seen inmuseums, however the sad truth is that most dinosaurs areidentified from a single bone or tooth - and often more than halfof a ‘complete’ skeleton in a museum is actually made fromplaster!
73. Because birds today are descended from dinosaurs, somescientists believe that dinosaur meat tasted like chicken!
74. You might wonder how the stegosaurus mated without hurtingeach other, with those big spiny plates on their backs... well, sodo scientists! No definitive theory has been proposed, althoughoptions range from the female lying on her side whilst the maleapproaches upright to them both lying down belly-to-belly andshuffling together!
75. Because of the fact that the young of many dinosaur specieshave skeletons quite different to their equivalent adults, it isnow thought that up to a third of species named so far may notactually exist, rather they are younger examples of other correctlyidentified species!
76. There is a town in Colorado called Dinosaur, whose streetsinclude Triceratops Terrace, Cletisaurus Circle, BrontosaurusBoulevard and The Stegosaurus Freeway!
77. Chinese scientists have discovered flea-like creatures fromthe Jurassic era which would have clung on to the scaly skin ofdinosaurs with powerful legs. They were much larger than fleastoday however, and even had long beaks that worked like the needlefrom a syringe, piercing the skin and sucking the dinosaur’sblood!
78. Dinosaurs have been found in 35 of America’s 50 states.
79. Fossilization is rare - but natural mummification is evenrarer - however, in 1999 a teenager called Tyler Lyson found amummified hadrosaur in North Dakota. Palaeontologists have sincebeen studying this incredible find, which has led to an amazingincrease in our understanding of dinosaurs, including how theywalked and what their skin looked like.
80. One incredible find was made in 1971 when palaeontologistsfound the fossilized remains of two dinosaurs trapped in battle!The velociraptor and the protoceratops were found in the Gobidesert in Mongolia.
Brachiosaurus
Well-Known Dinosaurs
81. Tyrannosaurus rex - one of the last dinosaurs to evolvebefore the mass extinction event, T. rex was one of the largestland predators the world has ever seen.
82. Dimetrodon - living around 290 million years ago, thisreptile in fact became extinct before the first dinosaurs evenevolved!
83. Ankylosaurus - considered the archetypal armoured dinosaur,nine metres long and weighing six tonnes. It was covered in hornsand plates of bone and had a club on the end of its tail.
84. Triceratops - distinctive three-horned dinosaur which washunted by the tyrannosaurus rex.
85. Pteranodon - not a dinosaur but a flying reptile, it had awingspan of over six metres. We have discovered around 1200fossilized examples, many almost perfectly preserved.
86. Stegosaurus - one of the most recognisable dinosaurs, ninemetres long with huge armoured plates rising vertically from itsback. Scientists believe these may have been a form of defense, orused to regulate body temperature.
87. Plesiosaurus - again, not a dinosaur but a water-basedreptile. It has been suggested that if the legends of sea and lakemonsters are true, they could have evolved directly from thisspecies... although this is highly unlikely!
88. Diplodocus - long dinosaur with sturdy legs; easilyrecognisable and for many years was thought to be the longestdinosaur that existed.
89. Brachiosaurus - with its front legs longer than its hindlegs, this sauropod had the stance of a giraffe - also having asimilarly long neck and relatively short tail for its order.
90. Velociraptor - although the name was popularised by Jurassicpark, the dinosaurs featured in the film were actually of thespecies deinonychus. Actual velociraptors were smaller featheredcreatures which attacked prey with a claw on their hind foot.
Stegosaurus
The Most Amazing Facts
91. Although we consider the first discovery of dinosaur fossilsto be in 1822, some bones were in fact found prior to this - around300 years ago, people believed they came from elephants or evengiant humans, whereas when some dinosaur teeth were discovered inChina 3500 years ago, people thought they belonged to a dragon!
92. Most dinosaurs had a single body opening for urination,defecation and reproduction; however some did have separate organs.Some scientist think that the tyrannosaurus rex had a penis overthree and a half metres in length!
93. We have discovered fossilized trackways in Australia. Atfirst it was thought this was evidence of a stampede of dinosaursrunning away from a massive carnivore, however recent researchsuggests that it may be the site of a river crossing!
94. Dinosaurs were not in fact the first reptiles to rule theearth! Archosaurs (‘ruling lizards’) and therapsids (mammal-likereptiles) were the original kings of the land until around thebeginning of the Jurassic period.
95. Contrary to what you may think, there were a number ofmammals around in the time of the dinosaurs. Repenomamus forinstance was one of the largest - about a metre long, and enjoyed adiet of small dinosaurs. We know this because one repenomamusfossil has been found with the remains of a psittacosaurus in itsstomach!
96. Over half of all of the species of dinosaur identified havebeen found in the last 20 years or so!
97. The stegosaurus lived around 156 million years ago, whereasthe tyrannosaurus rex lived around 67 million years ago. This meansthat the T-rex lived closer in time to us than it did to thestegosaurus! Amazing!
98. A new species of dinosaur discovered in 2006 was named afterthe famous wizarding school in Harry Potter - dracorex hogwartsia,literally the Hogwarts Dragon!
99. The first dinosaur in space - that we know of - was amaiasaura fossil taken on a space shuttle mission in 1985, althoughno-one from NASA has given a scientific explanation as towhy...
100. Sadly, although it seems reasonable, the science ofJurassic Park isn’t going to bring dinosaurs back. Unfortunately,DNA degrades over time, and is not thought to last more than 1.5million years at the most. This means that even the most perfectlypreserved specimen from the finest and most secure piece of amberwill not have any DNA left to clone from. However, that doesn’tmean there aren’t other methods of bringing dinosaurs into themodern world!
And Finally...
101. The dinosaurs actually became extinct before either theRocky Mountains or the Alps were even formed!
Dimetrodon
Also Available
CoverContentsFront MatterTitle PagePublisherInformationIntroduction
The FactsThe BasicsGeneral Facts - Part 1UnusualDinosaursRecordsPhysiologyInteresting DinosaursDid You Know?GeneralFacts - Part 2Well-Known DinosaursThe Most Amazing FactsAndFinally...
End MatterAlso Available
FAQs
What does the Bible say about dinosaurs? ›
According to the Bible, dinosaurs must have been created by God on the sixth day of creation. Genesis 1:24 says, “And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.”
What are 5 amazing facts about dinosaurs? ›Basic Dinosaur Facts
Dinosaur fossils have been found on all seven continents. All non-avian dinosaurs went extinct about 66 million years ago. There are roughly 700 known species of extinct dinosaurs. Modern birds are a kind of dinosaur because they share a common ancestor with non-avian dinosaurs.
Thus, modern birds or avian dinosaurs are alive and the other types of dinosaurs are extinct. Q. Crocodiles are the closest relatives of dinosaurs.
What was God doing before creation? ›Nothing. Since the world was created out of nothing (ex nihilo), nothingness prevailed. Therefore God was idling, just existing, perhaps contemplating creation.
What does Bible say about Ark? ›New Testament
John. Hebrews 9:4 states that the Ark contained "the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant." Revelation 11:19 says the prophet saw God's temple in heaven opened, "and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple."
Dinosaurs must have had sex to reproduce. As in nearly all modern-day reptiles, males would have deposited sperm inside females, which would later lay fertilized eggs containing developing dinosaur embryos.
How many babies did dinosaurs have? ›The number of eggs in a dinosaur nest depended on the species. Allosaurus and other theropods are thought to have laid between 10 and 20, whereas sauropods invested less per egg, sometimes laying up to 100 per nest.
What's the last dinosaur to live? ›Today's birds are the last of the dinosaurs, descendents of ancestors that didn't just survive this mass extinction, but evolutionarily exploded into thousands of species distributed around the world.
Can dinosaurs exist again? ›Although that would be fascinating, the answer is almost definitely no. While there's only one generation between you and your grandparents – that is, your parents – there are many millions of generations between today's birds and their ancient dinosaurs ancestors.
Will dinosaurs ever be created? ›Dig up a fossil today, and any dino-DNA within would have long since fallen apart. That means, as far as scientists know, and even using the best technology available today, it's not possible to make a dinosaur from its DNA.
What was on Earth before dinosaurs? ›
Plant life consisted mostly of ferns, conifers and small shrubs. Animals included sharks, bony fish, arthropods, amphibians, reptiles and synapsids. The first true mammals would not appear until the next geological period, the Triassic.
What dinosaurs died together? ›About 67 million years ago, two iconic dinosaurs, a Triceratops horridus and a Tyrannosaurus rex, died and were quickly buried together side by side in a single grave.
Did humans live at the same time as dinosaurs? ›No! After the dinosaurs died out, nearly 65 million years passed before people appeared on Earth. However, small mammals (including shrew-sized primates) were alive at the time of the dinosaurs.
What religion was Jesus? ›Of course, Jesus was a Jew. He was born of a Jewish mother, in Galilee, a Jewish part of the world. All of his friends, associates, colleagues, disciples, all of them were Jews. He regularly worshipped in Jewish communal worship, what we call synagogues.
When did the ark disappear in the Bible? ›But in 597 and 586 B.C., the Babylonian Empire conquered the Israelites, and the Ark, at the time supposedly stored in the Temple in Jerusalem, vanished from history.
Who owned the ark in the Bible? ›Noah was instructed to build an ark, and in accordance with God's instructions he took into the ark male and female specimens of all the world's species of animals, from which the stocks might be replenished. Consequently, according to this narrative, the entire surviving human race descended from Noah's three sons.
Who stole the ark in the Bible? ›After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then they carried the ark into Dagon's temple and set it beside Dagon. When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD!
Can a dinosaur be pregnant? ›rex. Scientists examining the femur of a 68 million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex say they've confirmed that the creature was a mother-to-be. That would be a major find in the field of paleontology, where researchers are rarely able to determine a dinosaurs's sex.
How long would a dinosaur be pregnant? ›Summary: Researchers have set the timeline it took dinosaurs to incubate at three to six months, depending on the dinosaur. A human typically gives birth after nine months.
How did T. rex give birth? ›As far as we know, all dinosaurs reproduced by laying eggs, as do most other sauropsids (reptiles).
Who was the first dinosaur alive? ›
Named Nyasasaurus parringtoni, the roughly 243-million-year-old fossils represent either the oldest known dinosaur or the closest known relative to the earliest dinosaurs.
Are chickens a dinosaur? ›So, are chickens dinosaurs? No – the birds are a distinct group of animals, but they did descend from the dinosaurs, and it's not too much of a twist of facts to call them modern dinosaurs. There are many similarities between the two types of animal, largely to do with bone structure.
When was the last dinosaur born? ›A team of scientists has discovered the youngest dinosaur preserved in the fossil record before the catastrophic meteor impact 65 million years ago.
Did male T. rex raise babies? ›Based on the size of the egg clutches and the bones of the parent, Varricchio thinks that it was the males that cared for the babies. And given that small, predatory dinosaurs were the ancestors of modern birds, fatherly care was probably also the norm for the earliest members of our feathered friends.
What dinosaur was the best mother? ›Immortalized as the "good mother dinosaur," Maiasaura was a typical hadrosaur, or duck-billed dinosaur, of late Cretaceous North America.
Who killed the last dinosaur? ›Sixty-six million years ago, dinosaurs had the ultimate bad day. With a devastating asteroid impact, a reign that had lasted 180 million years was abruptly ended.
What is the most mysterious dinosaur? ›The paucity of known Deinocheirus remains inhibited a thorough understanding of the animal for almost half a century onwards, and the scientific literature often described it as among the most "enigmatic", "mysterious", and "bizarre" of dinosaurs.
Could dinosaurs speak? ›Dinosaurs didn't have email or text messages to keep in touch, but scientists are quite certain the beasts engaged in dialogue. Those communications likely included hoots and hollers, cracking sounds, dance and song, and even symbolic love calls made with showy plumage.
Will dinosaurs come back in 2050 or not? ›The Adam Smith Institute, a British think tank, has released a new report predicting what life will be like in 2050. According to the report: "Several species of dinosaur will be recreated, making their appearance on Earth for the first time in 66 million years.
Will humans go extinct? ›The scientific consensus is that there is a relatively low risk of near-term human extinction due to natural causes. The likelihood of human extinction through humankind's own activities, however, is a current area of research and debate.
Would humans exist if dinosaurs didn't go extinct? ›
"If dinosaurs didn't go extinct, mammals probably would've remained in the shadows, as they had been for over a hundred million years," says Brusatte. "Humans, then, probably would've never been here."
Has dinosaur DNA been found? ›The bonds that hold it together are weak and, over time, they break down. This is why, even though we have an abundance of dinosaur fossils, we don't have any dinosaur DNA. The beasts died out 66 million years ago, and the DNA would simply not survive that long.
Who ruled Earth before dinosaurs? ›For approximately 120 million years—from the Carboniferous to the middle Triassic periods—terrestrial life was dominated by the pelycosaurs, archosaurs, and therapsids (the so-called "mammal-like reptiles") that preceded the dinosaurs.
Why did dinosaurs come before humans? ›The environment allowed evolution to lead to the formation of dinosaurs. The environment wasn't conducive to a somewhat large warm-blooded mammal like us. When the conditions on the Earth changed mammals evolved into larger than they were at the time of the dinosaurs and we eventually came about.
What lived on Earth first? ›The earliest life forms we know of were microscopic organisms (microbes) that left signals of their presence in rocks about 3.7 billion years old. The signals consisted of a type of carbon molecule that is produced by living things.
When did humans split from dinosaurs? ›Dinosaurs first appeared in the Triassic Period of the Mesozoic Era, and became extinct 66 million years ago. The first modern humans (Homo sapiens) appeared around 315,000 years ago; at least 65 million years after the last dinosaurs.
How many dinosaurs existed? ›Estimates vary, but in terms of extinct non-avian dinosaurs, about 300 valid genera and roughly 700 valid species have been discovered and named.
Did anything survive when the dinosaurs died? ›Not all dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago. Avian dinosaurs–in other words, birds–survived and flourished. Museum scientists estimate that there are more than 18,000 bird species alive today. A variety of other species also survived on land, including frogs, snakes, lizards and mammals.
How did humans survive dinosaurs? ›Answer and Explanation: Humans survived the mass extinction event that killed the dinosaurs simply by not being there. The extinction of the dinosaurs occurred around 65 million years ago but humans did not evolve until quite recently.
Who was the first person on Earth? ›Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, adam is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as "mankind".
What is a weird fact about dinosaurs? ›
Dinosaurs were the biggest animals ever to have walked on earth. In fact, the biggest dinosaur bone ever found was a backbone, that weighed more than a tank (one ton). 8. The heaviest and longest dinosaur ever discovered was the Argentinosaurus, which reached heights of up to 37 metres!
What is special about dinosaurs? ›Main characteristics dinosaurs share:
They had an upright stance, with legs perpendicular to their body. This is the main feature that sets dinosaurs apart from other reptiles. Like other reptiles, they laid eggs. With the exception of some birds, for example penguins, dinosaurs lived on land, not in the sea.
- The word dinosaur comes from the Greek language. ...
- Dinosaurs ruled the Earth for more than 150 million years. ...
- Dinosaurs became extinct about 65.5 million years ago. ...
- Baby tyrannosaurs were probably adorable. ...
- The largest land-based dinosaur was the Argentinosaurus huinculensis.
1. Carnotaurus. Carnotaurus was one of the weirdest dinosaurs, with its thick horns above the eyes and very short arms. In fact, its forearms were only about 1/4 the size of its upper arms.
What is the biggest dinosaur that ever lived? ›Come face-to-face with the largest dinosaur that ever lived. The titanosaur Patagotitan mayorum is a big deal—literally, the biggest dinosaur that scientists have discovered to date. This long-necked, plant-eating dinosaur lived over 100 million years ago in what is now Patagonia, Argentina.
What is the oldest dinosaur? ›Labrador-sized creature lived in modern-day Tanzania more than 240 million years ago. A team of paleontologists thinks it may have identified the earliest known dinosaur—a creature no bigger than a Labrador retriever that lived about 243 million years ago.
Do dinosaurs DNA? ›DNA – which stands for deoxyribonucleic acid – is something in every cell of every organism that ever lived on Earth – including dinosaurs.
Did humans and dinosaurs live at the same time? ›No! After the dinosaurs died out, nearly 65 million years passed before people appeared on Earth. However, small mammals (including shrew-sized primates) were alive at the time of the dinosaurs.
What was before dinosaurs? ›Before the dinosaurs, the dominant forms of life on land and sea were the synapsids — a group also known as “proto-mammals.” Learn about some of the strangest and most ferocious synapsids and how these unusual creatures evolved into mammals like us.
How many dinosaurs do we know existed? ›Estimates vary, but in terms of extinct non-avian dinosaurs, about 300 valid genera and roughly 700 valid species have been discovered and named.
What is the newest dinosaur facts? ›
On Feb. 10, 2022 in Alberta, Canada, scientsits announced a newly identified dinosaur, known by its Latin name thanatotheristes degrootorum. The dinosaur is roughly a 79.5 million-year-old fossil and makes the new species 2.5 million years older than its closest relative.
How long did dinosaurs live? ›Dinosaurs went extinct about 65 million years ago (at the end of the Cretaceous Period), after living on Earth for about 165 million years.
What kills the T. rex? ›rex killed by parasite, not combat, scientists say. One of the world's most famous dinosaurs — Sue the T. rex at the Field Museum in Chicago — died of a parasitic infection, not in a fight with another dinosaur, researchers say.
Did T. rex have eggs? ›No one has yet positively identified tyrannosaur eggs or hatchlings, but the size of the new embryonic dinosaurs matches with large, elongated eggs that paleontologists have found before. From the size of the embryos, researchers think tyrannosaurs were curled up in eggs that measure about 17 inches long.
Did T. rex have babies? ›For the first time, scientists have found the remains of babies from the group of meat-eating dinosaurs that includes Tyrannosaurus rex. Researchers said recently that the jaw and claw bones show that the large babies looked a lot like adults and were “born ready” to hunt.