Dinosaurs

Contents page What are dinosaurs? …………………………….. 1 Dinosaur diet ………………………………………….2 Flying dinosaurs………………………………………3 Tyrannosaurus Rex………………………………….4 Extinction………………………………………………..5 Finding Fossils …………………………………………6 Glossary………………………………………………….7

What are dinosaurs? Dinosaurs were a kind of animal that lived about 160 million years ago. Their name means terrible lizard. Not all dinosaurs lived at the same time, but the most famous dinosaurs lived in the Jurassic or Cretaceous periods. These included stegosaurus, triceratops, diplodocus and, of course, tyrannosaurus rex. The very first dinosaur bone is thought to have been discovered as far back as 1676 but nobody knew what it was at the time. In 1822, large teeth were discovered and scientists thought that they were from a very large iguana. However, in 1841, a British scientist called Richard Owen realised that they were from a completely different type of animal that didn’t exist any more and he came up with the name dinosaur, which means ‘terrible lizard.’ Although scientist have been investigating dinosaurs for over 200 years, we still don’t know everything about them. We used to think that dinosaurs were very dull colours, like brown, dark green and grey but now scientists think that they might have been bright colours and that some even had feathers.

Dinosaur Diet We always think that dinosaurs were all meat eaters and that they went around eating each other up all the time. The truth is, that most dinosaurs were plant eaters which we call herbivores and they lived in quiet, peaceful groups. They would only fight if they were attacked by the few meat eaters that existed. A meat eater was called a carnivore. Plant eaters usually plants and leaves. The smallest dinosaurs were often the most vicious and the biggest meat eater. herbivores carnivores Diplodocus Brachiosaur Triceratops Stegosaurus Hadrosaur Iguanodon Velociraptor Tyrannosaurus rex Compsognathus Megalosaurus

Flying Dinosaurs Many dinosaurs were able to fly and some of these even had feathers. Did you know? Scientist believe that most birds came from dinosaurs and that they had more in common with birds than reptiles. So, maybe dinosaurs are not extinct after all! Protoavis – a flying dinosaur feathery wings Some flying dinos were called teranodon and pteradactyl. They were not really ‘dinosaurs’ but were called ptersaurs. feathery tail

Tyrannosaurus Rex Tyrannosaurus Rex is probably the most famous dinosaur and was a vicious meat eater. It ate other large dinosaurs like triceratops and its name means terrible lizard. It had sharp, cone-shaped teeth for tearing into its prey. T-rex was bipedal which means that it walked on two legs. Amazing fact Tyrannosaurus Rex had arms that were only 1 metre long! It used its strong tail to swat its prey. 2 fingers 3 toes height 6 metres length 12 metres weight 7 tons ton = 1 small car

Extinction Dinosaurs became extinct about 160 million years ago. They had roamed the Earth for about 185 million years, making them the most successful animals ever for survival. Nobody is very sure how dinosaurs died out but some scientists believe that a giant meteor crashed into the Earth and killed them. Two dinosaur skeletons were found in the middle of a fight which suggests that they were killed very quickly. Other ideas include an great ice age that made the Earth too cold for dinosaurs to survive or a terrible disease that dinosaurs caught and died from. Interesting fact The meteor would have made so much dust that it would have blocked out the sun and all plants and animals would have died.

Finding Fossils What is a fossil? A fossil is part of an animal or plant that has been saved in rock for many years. Why are fossils useful? Fossils help scientists to find out about what life was like in the past before people were alive. This is how we know about dinosaurs, plants and other creatures from so long ago. British fossils Mary Anning grew up in Dorset in South West England. People still find fossils there now, mainly on the rocky beaches near Lyme Regis. One of these beaches is now called Fossil Beach. Mary Anning Mary Anning was a very famous fossil hunter. She was not a scientist but taught herself about rocks because she was interested. In1811, she found a fossil of an ichthyosaur. Find out more about Mary Anning on the bbc website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/ schools/primaryhistory/f amouspeople/mary_anning/

Glossary Carnivore – an animal or plant that eats meat. Disease – an illness that can be passed on to other animals or creatures. Exist – to be alive. Extinct – not alive any more Herbivores – animals that only eat plants. Ichthyosaur – large reptile that lived in the sea. Iguana – a large type of lizard. Meteor – parts of rocky material off a star, often called a shooting star. Prey – a creature that is hunted by another animal for food Pterosaur – a kind of prehistoric creature that could fly. Reptiles – animals that are cold-blooded and lay eggs, like snakes and lizards. Skeleton – the bones of an animal that support and protect the body.