ISBN 1-56767-216-7
Developed in Southern California by Educational Insights. © Educational Insights, Inc., Gardena, CA (U.S.A.). All rights reserved. Learning Resources Ltd., Oldmedow Road, King’s Lynn, Norfolk, PE30 4JX, UK. Please retain this information. Made in China. www.educationalinsights.com Table of Contents
What Is in Dueling Dino Dig? ...... 2
Welcome to Tyrannosaurus’s World ...... 4
Mealtime in the Mesozoic ...... 5
Tyrannosaurus Findings ...... 10
A Dinosaur Dig ...... 12
You’ll DIG These Fossils! ...... 14
Get Ready to Dig ...... 16
Dino Drawing ...... 18
Draw Your Own ...... 18
Tyrannosaurus Fact Sheet ...... 20
Picture Gallery ...... 21
Making Your Tyrannosaurus Model ...... 22
Displaying Tyrannosaurus ...... 24 © Copyright 1997 Educational Insights Inc., Carson, CA (USA), St Albans, Herts. (UK). All rights reserved. Please retain this information. Conforms to ASTM F-963-96a, EN-71. Printed in China. EI-5176 The Age of Dinosaurs ...... 26
Where Did They Go? ...... 29 1 Paleontologist’s tools: What Is in Dueling Just like a paleontologist, you will get to dig the “fossils” from the “earth.” The digging tool Dino Dig? will help you break apart the clay, separate the fossils from Dueling Dino Dig Guide Book—Tyrannosaurus kit: the clay, and clean bits of clay from the fossils. The brush This will let you clean the dust from the fossils as you excavate. book contains an exciting story featuring Tyrannosaurus, set Fossils: in the Mesozoic era. You will also find background The fossils that you excavate will be smaller than information and history, plus instructions on how to excavate real ones, but when you put them together you’ll have a your fossils, assemble them, and pose your model with other true-to-scale skeleton of Tyrannosaurus. Dueling Dinos! Wax: Clay block: This wax will hold your fossil parts together. It will This block of clay represents a piece of earth— not harden and you can change poses or positions whenever millions of years old. Buried inside the clay, you will find you wish! The flexibility of this wax allows your dinosaur to fossil replicas of Tyrannosaurus bones. have a little bit of movement, especially in the jaw and legs. Then you can pose them alone or with models from other Guide Book Dueling Dino Dig kits. (See back cover of this guide book.) Stand: When your Tyrannosaurus model is complete, pose it on this stand. Then attach the label (included). Wax Stand
Paleontologist’s tools: Fossil Clay block 2 3 Welcome to Mealtime in the Mesozoic Tyrannosaurus’s World On a warm day in a lush swamp forest, sixty-five million years ago, a Tyrannosaurus wakes from sleep. It’s near the end of the Mesozoic era*—the age of dinosaurs. The air is Are you ready to find and study fossils, just like a still. A pteranodon spreads its huge wings and flies from a paleontologist? treetop to the water. She swoops down and catches a fish Are you ready to dig some fossils of your own? with her long, pointy beak. Are you ready to build a model of a dinosaur and pose Tyrannosaurus begins to think about eating. He watches it in action? the pteranodon glide across the sky. In the distance, a Then you are ready for Dueling Dino Dig! Troodon runs from the water. Something is dangling from Troodon’s mouth—it’s a snake! Troodon’s eyes face partly Let’s go back in time more than 65 million years to the forward, making it easy for her to find snakes, lizards, and world of dinosaurs—the time of Tyrannosaurus... small mammals to eat. Tyrannosaurus watches carefully. Suddenly, a thundering sound fills the swampland. It is not from the silent Tyrannosaurus, who hears it too. This is the sound of dinosaurs in battle!
4 5
*To find out more about the Mesozoic era and the age of dinosaurs, see page 26. The Battle
Tyrannosaurus lifts his huge head. He uses his tiny arms At the water’s edge, he sees the source of the battle cries— for balance as he raises his 7-ton body. When he stands, two Triceratops, heads lowered, long horns locked in he is more than 46 feet (14 meters) tall! Tyrannosaurus fierce conflict. smells the moist air. He listens. The thundering warfare Tyrannosaurus, the “tyrant-lizard,” watches and waits. continues. Tyrannosaurus can sense the direction of the For a few seconds, the two Triceratops are at a standoff— sounds. He turns toward the swamp. horns locked—unable to move. Suddenly, they break Slowly, carefully, Tyrannosaurus moves his giant body. loose. One Triceratops thrusts its bony horns into the neck The earth rumbles with each step. A Parksosaurus, of the other, but even its sharp point can’t tear the other’s heading for the water, feels the rumble and bolts in the tough neck frill. The second Triceratops lowers his head— opposite direction! almost to the ground. Then, with a quick move, he raises It only takes a few long steps for the huge Tyrannosaurus his top horn into the lower shoulder of the other, forcing to reach the battle sounds. He peers through the brush at the mighty dinosaur to the ground, defeated. The battle is the water hole, surrounded by flowering plants. over. The victor steps on his victim with a heavy foot, then stalks away.
6 7 Tyrannosaurus seizes the moment. With a bolt of speed, he All of a sudden the sky darkens. Dark clouds burst into bursts through the brush and attacks the wounded heavy rainfall. The water hits the earth fast and hard. The Triceratops. He uses his own body weight to pin down the water hole fills and overflows. Flood waters rush across the struggling animal. Then he sinks his teeth into its flesh. lands. Plants and animals are carried away by the sweeping Tyrannosaurus’s teeth are like knives: 7 inches (18 cm) long flow. Tyrannosaurus, trying to keep his feet planted in the and curved, with a rough, jagged edge to rip apart his prey. muddy swampland, is lifted by the rushing water. He is The Triceratops tries to defend himself but he is trapped in swept away by the newly formed river of water. He the grip of Tyrannosaurus’s tiny arms as the tyrant lizard disappears, never to be seen again... tears off another chunk of flesh. Tyrannosaurus twists and ...at least, not for 65 million years! turns his powerful neck as he rips away each morsel. Finally, Tyrannosaurus is satisfied. He moves on through the swamp grasses, leaving the Triceratops body behind.
8 9 Tyrannosaurus Findings Montana, 1902
Sixty-five million years after all dinosaurs had disappeared, paleontologists gathered at a dig site in Montana, United States of America, to study plant and animal fossils. The year was 1902. Excitement filled the air as the scientists dug deeper into the earth’s mysterious secrets. They found the bones of one of the largest, most powerful animals that ever lived (that we know of!)—Tyrannosaurus, the tyrant lizard. This is a drawing of Tyrannosaurus’s front arm from the humerus, or shoulder The fossilized bones were in excellent condition. This is why bone, to the finger claws. scientists believed he or she may have died in a flash flood. Scavenger or Hunter? When the flood was over, Tyrannosaurus was left buried in tiny particles of earth, sand, and mud. Over the years, this Was the great meat-eating Tyrannosaurus a terrifying sediment hardened into rock. The rock lay unnoticed for hunter or a cunning scavenger? Scientists disagree about the millions of years, until this day. evidence. Some believe Tyrannosaurus was the most vicious meat-eating creature of the Cretaceous period—a powerful From this and other digs that followed, paleontologists have threat to any living animal who may have been in the way. found many Tyrannosaurus fossils, including a 7-inch (18 cm) Its long, sharp teeth could have gripped the flesh of any prey tooth. The curved tooth has a serrated, or saw-like edge. it wanted. Other scientists say Tyrannosaurus’s enormous They learned that Tyrannosaurus had three toes on its feet size and weight would have prevented it from moving fast and two claws on its two tiny hands. They determined that enough to catch any live prey. They believe the great Tyrannosaurus probably walked with its huge, heavy tail dinosaur relied on the weak, sick, or dead for its meals. raised to balance the weight of its large head, not lowered to the ground as was earlier believed. Like some other animal One thing scientists do agree on about the Tyrannosaurus— species, the female Tyrannosaurus may have been larger it was one of the last species of dinosaur to disappear from than the male. By the 1990s, scientists had found two almost the face of the earth. complete skeletons of this remarkable dinosaur. 10 11 5 A Dinosaur Dig The fossil is uncovered with a brush. It is protected with wrappings of plaster-soaked cloth or sprayed with a resin to Dinosaur digs require very hard work. It can take months, make it stronger. even years, and a lot of work to find a fossil and remove it 6 When the plaster hardens, it is safe to remove the fossil from the earth. It’s worth it, though, for the excitement of from the ground. Sometimes a whole rock is excavated to discovery and new scientific knowledge! protect a fragile fossil. Let’s take a look at what happens at many fossil digs: 7 1 After it is removed from the ground, each fossil is care- Fossil hunters search rock layers of the Mesozoic era fully placed in a padded crate. The crates are loaded onto for fossils. trucks and shipped to the museum laboratory. 2 8 They use tools, such as picks and hammers, bulldozers, At the laboratory, the fossils are carefully removed from and other heavy machinery, to get to the fossils. their protective plaster or from the solid rock in which they were moved. 9 Researchers use magnifying glasses, microscopes, dental drills, dental picks, and even needles to free the fossil. 10 It may take years, but the fossils are finally reconstructed as a whole or part of a skeleton for display in a museum.
3 Once a fossil is found, the area is cleared and marked. Some of the rock and dirt is carefully removed from the fossil. TYRANNOSAURUS 4 Photographs and drawings are made of the fossil while it is still in the ground. The fossil is numbered and labeled 12 on a map of the site. 13 Now, are you ready to begin your own dinosaur dig? You’ll DIG These Fossils! Buried inside the Dueling Dino Dig clay block, you will find 8 Tyrannosaurus “fossils.” Of course, these bones aren’t the true size of Tyrannosaurus. This dinosaur weighed about 7 tons and was about 39 feet (12 meters) lower jaw bone long! You will, however, discover bones that will let you skull assemble a true-to-scale model of Tyrannosaurus. This is what you will find:
2 hind legs
2 rib cages with connected front legs and hip bones
2 spines that connect into 1 long spine
14 15 Get Ready to Dig Before You Begin 2 Set up a place to work. The area you choose must remain Gently start to scrape away the edge of the clay with undisturbed while you complete your excavation. Spread your excavation tool. Scraping the clay is the most effective out plenty of newspaper. Digging creates a lot of dust. Work way to uncover fossils without breaking them. on a floor or table counter that can easily be cleaned off when you’re finished. SAFETY NOTE: Be careful to keep the sharp end of the tool pointed away from your eyes, body, and other hand. Work slowly and carefully. YOU’LL NEED: Remember, the fossils could be buried anywhere inside the clay.
• clay block 3 • digging tool When you see a fossil showing through the clay, be careful not to scratch it with your tool. Carefully dig out the • brush clay from around the fossil. When you’ve uncovered its top and sides, start to dig out the clay underneath it. Never try to pull a fossil from the clay before you’ve dug completely around it. The fossils might break if not removed gently. 4 Use the excavation tool to remove any big clumps of clay from the fossil. Then use the brush to dust off the remaining clay. Use a damp cloth or carefully rinse the fossil in a bowl of water to clean off leftover dirt. Do not NOTE: You won’t need the wax until you begin to assemble your model. wash clay down the drain—it might cause a clog! Be careful to keep the wax separate from the clay. The clay dust 5 will harm the wax. Follow these steps until you have unearthed all 8 of the fossils. Remember, good paleontology work is slow and Follow These Steps methodical. 6 Record each fossil find by coloring that part of the Before beginning, read all the directions carefully. 1 Tyrannosaurus skeleton on pages 18 and 19. When you are Carefully examine the surface of the clay block. Look ready to assemble Tyrannosaurus, turn to page 22 for for bumps or dents that might show where one of your directions. 16 fossils is buried. 17 Dino Drawing Each time you find a different Tyrannosaurus fossil, color it on this skeleton. You may want to use a different color for each fossil.
When the skeleton is complete, you are ready to make your Tyrannosaurus model! (See page 22 for instructions.)
Draw Your Own Look at the drawing of Tyrannosaurus’s footprint. The Tyrannosaurus’s footprint fossil measured 34 inches (86 cm)—that’s almost three feet long for one footprint! It may look like a simple fossil, but it tells us many things. For example, scientists can tell by this footprint and others like it that Tyrannosaurus walked about the same speed we do, 2-3 miles (4-5 km) per hour. Footprints like these convince paleontologists that Tyrannosaurus was a loner. It was more likely to travel, hunt, and live alone or in pairs than in packs or herds like some other dinosaurs. 18 Paleontologists make a detailed drawing of each fossil 19 they find. Use the box to draw one of the fossils you excavated. Tyrannosaurus Fact Picture Gallery Sheet Use this page to draw Tyrannosaurus’s environment. Be sure to include the details you have learned about Use what you read about Tyrannosaurus in this guide plants, trees, and other animals that lived with book to complete the fact sheet. Tyrannosaurus. (You can read more about the age of dinosaurs on pages 26-29.)
Tyrannosaurus Height:
Weight:
Its Name Means:
When It Lived:
Diet:
Special Notes:
20 21 Making Your Attach each rib cage part Tyrannosaurus Model with connected front leg and hip to the spine. When you have excavated all 8 2 Tyrannosaurus fossils, you can build your Dueling Dino model. Some reminders about putting your model together: Connect the • Prepare a clean work space. spine parts. 1 • Clean and dry all fossil parts. 3 • The wax holds the fossil parts together. Attach both Press a tiny hind legs to the piece of wax onto 5 hip bones. a contact point or nub. Then push the nub into the hole. Attach the head Experiment with the wax, to the body. adding more as you need it. • Experiment to find the best 2 pose for your model. Remember, the wax will not harden, so you can change poses or positions. 4 Attach the lower jaw to the head. Keep your model away from direct sunlight or heat. They 3 6 can cause the wax to melt. Pose your Tyrannosaurus on its stand. Use wax to keep it in place. Attach the label to the stand. 22 23 Displaying To create a diorama, you can use a shoe box or a long piece of cardboard that you can bend into a three-sided display. Tyrannosaurus If you have a shoe box, cut out one of the long sides. The other long side will be the background with the volcanoes When your Tyrannosaurus model is complete, you will and mountains. The bottom of the shoe box will be the want to put it on display. Here are some ideas and hints: ground. Illustrate the three sides and place your model Do you have a shelf for models or special things? It would inside. Here are some things you might want to draw on the be the perfect place for your Tyrannosaurus model. background: You may want to create a Cretaceous diorama to place Mountains, volcanoes, pine trees, flowering plants, behind your model, complete with volcanoes erupting streams, other dinosaurs, birds, and insects. and pterosaurs swooping down from the sky. A diorama You can combine Tyrannosaurus with dinosaurs from other is a miniature scene. You have probably seen dioramas in Dueling Dino Digs to create a whole scene from the Mesozoic museums. era. There are four Dueling Dino Digs kits: Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops, Stegosaurus, and Velociraptor. Below is a duel between Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops.
24 25 Europe Asia North America
The Age of Dinosaurs ScientistsEquator believe a group of bonyAfrica fishes were ancestors of early reptiles. They lived on the earth aboutIndia 370 million Dinosaurs lived on the earth millions of years ago, during South years ago. By about 245America million years ago, there were the Mesozoic era. The Mesozoic era lasted from about 248 several kinds of reptiles roaming on the single land mass. million years ago to about 65 million years ago. Not all of The rhynchosaurs were ancestors of mammals.Australia These plant-
the dinosaurs lived on the earth at the same time during the eaters had strong hind feet andAntarctica curved beaks. Archosaurs, Mesozoic era. The time is divided into three periods. They meat-eaters that looked similar to crocodiles, later evolved are the Triassic, from about 248 million years ago to 208 mil- to pterosaurs (flying reptiles) and dinosaurs. lion years ago; the Jurassic, from around 208 million years ago to 145 million years ago; and the Cretaceous, which Jurassic lasted from about 145 million years ago until the dinosaurs all mysteriously disappeared, about 65 million years ago.
Triassic LAURASIA
Tethys Equator Sea Europe Asia G O N North D America W AN AL AN Equator Africa D India South America Australia By about 208-213 million years ago, the single land mass had changed. Now the earth had two large land masses. Antarctica Laurasia was in the north, and Gondwanaland was in the south. Plant life changed, and so did animal life. The lush During the Triassic period, the earth looked different than it vegetation became the food source for many dinosaurs. looks today. All of the land was connected as one continent. Giant meat-eaters, such asP Allosaurus, evolved during the Panthalassa A Tethys This land mass is called Pangaea, a word that means “all Jurassic period.Ocean This is the timeN whenSea dinosaurs of many earth.” sizes,Equator shapes, and ways of survivingG shared the earth’s air, 26 A 27 land, and food sources. E Panthalassa LAURASIA Ocean A
Tethys Equator Sea G O N D W A NA LA ND
P Panthalassa A Tethys Ocean N Sea Equator G A
E Panthalassa Ocean A Cretaceous—The Tyrannosaurus’s World Where Did They Go?
Europe Asia Despite all of our developments in science and technology, North no one really knows the reason for the extinction of the America dinosaurs There are many theories. Some are: Equator Africa • A comet or asteroid caused huge masses of dust to block India out the sun. Lack of sun caused plants to die. Then the South America plant-eating dinosaurs died, and finally, the meat-eaters died. Australia
Antarctica • Massive volcanic eruptions shot dust containing poisons into the air. The poisons caused fewer and fewer eggs to The black outline shows the world today compared to the shaded hatch, until finally no more eggs were laid or new Cretaceous period. dinosaurs hatched.
During the Cretaceous period, the land masses continued • Changes in the climate caused genes to change so that to shift and break apart. Mountain ranges thrust up and animals gave birth to only one gender. This would cause shallow seas formed. Flowering plants began to appear LAURASI a species to die out. along with many of the trees we know todayA—oaks, walnuts, maples, and magnolias. Tethys • A huge plague or disease wiped out a species or its food Equator Sea source. Many of the hadrosaurs,G such as Maiasaura, whose fossils O N have been found in western NorthD America, lived and W died during the Cretaceous period.A Some snakes, birds, • The newly developing flowers poisoned the dinosaurs. NA LA moths, and a few other animals that we recognizeND today first appeared during this time. But many other species, No one knows what really made the dinosaurs including all of the dinosaurs, mysteriously vanished from disappear. What do YOU think? the earth during this time—about 65 million years ago.
28 29
P Panthalassa A Tethys Ocean N Sea Equator G A
E Panthalassa Ocean A