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Dinosaur Factsheet DINOSAURS www.geolsoc.org/factsheets Left: Life reconstruction of feathered dinosaurs Sinosauropteryx © Chuang Zhao and Lida Xing Middle: T. rex and Triceratops Right: Sophie the Stegosaurus © Trustees of the Natural History Museum You have probably heard of Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops but what exactly is a dinosaur? What were the different types, and are there still dinosaurs on Earth today? The dinosaurs were one of the most successful groups of vertebrates (animals with a backbone) to ever live on Earth. They evolved 245 million years ago (a long time before humans!) during a time period called the Triassic, and they went on to rule the land for over 170 million years. Lizards & Pterosaurs Birds & Snakes Crocodiles (extinct) Dinosaurs WHAT ARE DINOSAURS? Dinosaurs have a backbone and limbs that have digits (fingers and toes) which makes them tetrapods (you are a tetrapod too!). Dinosaurs are tetrapods that belong to the reptile group like turtles, crocodiles and snakes. The name ‘dinosaur’ was invented by English palaeontologist, Sir Richard Owen, in 1842. ‘Dinosaur’ translates as ‘terrible lizard’; however dinosaurs are actually more closely related to crocodiles than any of the other living reptiles. Even though different dinosaurs may look and act very differently from one another, there are certain characteristics that all dinosaurs share: Dinosaurs walk with their legs directly under their bodies whereas other reptiles walk with their legs sprawled to the sides. This allows dinosaurs to support more weight. Dinosaurs stand on their toes rather than on their whole foot. All of the dinosaurs lived on land (so flying pterosaurs and Silhouettes: Phylopic/Scott Hartman, Phylopic/Jaime Headden swimming ichthyosaurs were not dinosaurs!) Dinosaurs built nests and laid hard shelled eggs. DID YOU KNOW? WHAT HAPPENED TO The first ever dinosaur to be named was Fossil therizinosaur nest with eggs Megalosaurus which means ‘great Image: Wikimedia/Ballista lizard’. It was found in a quarry in THE DINOSAURS? All of the non-avian dinosaurs (dinosaurs that were not birds, see next page) went extinct 66 Oxfordshire and named by Reverend million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous period. At the same time lots of other plants William Buckland in 1824. Megalosaurus and animals also died out including ammonites, ichthyosaurs and pterosaurs. Scientists think was a carnivorous dinosaur from the mid that these catastrophic extinctions were caused by an asteroid impact in the Gulf of Mexico, Jurassic and probably hunted stegosaurs huge volcanic eruptions in India, gradual climate change, or a mixture of all three. and sauropods for its dinner! DINOSAURS www.geolsoc.org/factsheets ORNITHISCHIANS SAUROPODS The sauropods were herbivorous dinosaurs that walked on four legs, The ornithischians were a very diverse group of herbivorous had extremely long necks and tails, tiny skulls and huge stomachs. (plant eating) dinosaurs. The group included: The smallest sauropods were probably about 5-6m long, but giants Hadrosaurs like Argentinosaurus grew to be over 30m from head to tail! Duck-billed dinosaurs with large hollow crests Leaf-shaped on their heads - probably used like trumpets Some sauropods, like Brachiosaurus, teeth to make loud noises for communication. held their necks high like giraffes Ankylosaurs whereas others, like Diplodocus, Armoured dinosaurs with clubbed tails, used held their necks horizontally. This to ward off predators. would’ve allowed the dinosaurs to reach different types of plants. Camarasaurus Pachycephalosaurs Different tooth shapes allowed Dinosaurs with thick dome shaped skulls - sauropods to eat different foliage. Peg-shaped may have been used for fighting or to Sauropods with peg-shaped teeth teeth impress mates. could eat ferns and strip soft leaves Stegosaurs from trees, whereas sauropods with Dinosaurs with large bony plates along their leaf-shaped teeth were better at backs - probably used to appear more grinding down on tougher impressive and/or control body temperature. vegetation. Diplodocus Ceratopsians Eating plants doesn’t give you as much energy as eating meat, so Horned dinosaurs (including Triceratops) with sauropods had to eat a colossal 400kg of greenery every day to large neck frills - likely used to protect survive. To take in all of this food sauropod stomachs were enormous. against predators or to attract mates. To help with digestion, some sauropods swallowed stones, called Dinosaur silhouettes: Phylopic/Scott Hartman gastroliths, to help them grind up plants and twigs in their stomachs. THEROPODS Theropods walked on two legs (bi-pedal) and ranged in size from EVOLUTION OF BIRDS small crow-like forms up to massive 6-tonne giants like Birds are living dinosaurs! They Tyrannosaurus rex. Most of the theropods were meat-eating evolved from a group of theropods All birds are carnivores; either predators who hunted down their prey, scavengers that included T. rex and living dinosaurs! who fed on dead animals, or a bit of both. Palaeontologists know this Velociraptor. Over millions of years because most theropods share these carnivorous characteristics: this group of dinos gradually started Good eyesight and large to evolve bird-like characteristics – nostrils to seek out prey Sharp teeth for first they evolved simple feathers, Theropod dino Deinonychus is known slicing through flesh then wishbones and eventually to have had feathers Image: Wikimedia/Emily Willoughby wings and beaks! Strong jaws for crushing bone Archaeopteryx is one of the first dinosaurs to really look like a bird. Strong legs Sharp claws for It still has teeth and a bony tail like ripping apart prey a theropod dinosaur but it has Not all of the theropods were meat–eaters however; in the Cretaceous feathers, wings and a wishbone like some theropods evolved different diets. The beaked therizinosaurs a modern bird. Palaeontologists mostly ate plants and Spinosaurus, which has long jaws like a think that Archaeopteryx could crocodile, is thought to have caught fish. either fly or glide between trees. .
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