Dinosaurs have always been a source of fascination and mystery for many people. It’s no wonder that scientists have spent so much time studying them and learning about their habits. We’re exploring the top 10 facts about these amazing creatures. From their size and diet, to their extinction and discoveries, we’ll look at some of the most interesting facts about dinosaurs. Let’s get started!
1. Dinosaurs were around millions of years ago!
Dinosaurs were around millions of years ago.
It is believed that they were on Earth for a whole 165 million years.
They became extinct around 66 million years ago.
2. Dinosaurs were around in the Mesozoic Era or “The Age of Dinosaurs”.
Dinosaurs lived in the Mesozoic Era, however it is often known as “The Age of Dinosaurs”.
During this era, there were 3 different periods.
They were called the triassic, jurassic and creaceous periods.
In these periods, different dinosaurs existed.
Did you know that the Stegosaurus was already extinct by the time the Tyrannosaurus existed?
In fact, it was extinct around 80 million years before!
3. There were more than 700 species.
There were lots of different species of dinosaurs.
In fact, there were more than 700 different ones.
Some were big, some were small..
They roamed the land and flew in the skies.
Some were carnivores and others were herbivores!
4. Dinosaurs lived on all continents.
Dinosaur fossils have been found on all continents on Earth, including Antarctica!
We know that dinosaurs lived on all continents because of this.
The people who look for dinosaur fossils are called palaeontologists.
5. The word dinosaur came from an English palaeontologist.
The word dinosaur came from an English palaeontologist called Richard Owen.
‘Dino’ comes from the Greek word ‘deinos’ which means terrible.
‘Saurus’ comes from the Greek word ‘sauros’ which means lizard.
Richard Owen came up with this name in 1842 after he had seen lots of dinosaur fossils being uncovered.
He realised that they all linked in some way and came up with the name dinosaur.
6. One of the biggest dinosaurs was the Argentinosaurus.
Dinosaurs were huge and all ranged in different sizes.
There were very tall ones, very small ones and very heavy ones!
It is believed that the Argentinosaurus weighed up to 100 tonnes which is the same as around 15 elephants!
The Argentinosaurus’ poo was the equivalent of 26 pints. Yuck!
It was also around 8 metres tall and 37 metres long.
7. Tyrannosaurus Rex was the most ferocious dinosaur.
It is believed that the Tyrannosaurus Rex was one of the most ferocious dinosaurs there was.
The Tyrannosaurus Rex had the strongest bite of any animal on Earth, ever!
The dinosaur was given the name “king of the tyrant lizards” and was about the size of a school bus.
8. The longest dinosaur name is Micropachycephalosaurus.
That is definitely a mouthful!
The Micropachycephalosaurus was found in China and is the longest dinosaur name there is.
It’s probably the hardest one to say as well!
It was a herbivore which means it was a vegetarian.
This dinosaur would have lived around 84-71 million years ago.
9. Birds descend from dinosaurs.
Did you know that birds are like the cousins of dinosaurs?
Long ago there were big, fierce dinosaurs walking around. Some of these dinosaurs, called theropods, eventually transformed into birds!
These theropod dinosaurs developed special features like feathers and beaks. These changes helped them become the birds we know today, from tiny hummingbirds to giant ostriches.
So, when you see a bird soaring in the sky or singing in your garden, just remember that it’s related to those amazing dinosaurs.
10. An astroid hit and they became extinct.
Dinosaurs became extinct around 66 million years ago.
An astroid hit Earth which made lots of dust and dirt rise into the air.
This blocked the sun and made Earth very cold.
One of the main theories is that because the climate changed, the dinosaurs could not survive and became extinct.
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