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The Triassic Period- in the triassic period, all the countries are connected, the temperature is usually 17degrees and some of the dinossaurs that lived at that time were the Coelephysis and the Endennasaurus.


 * The Jurassic Period**- in the jurassic period the giant contenent pangea broke up. Also some of the dinosaurs that lived at that time were the Stegosaurus and the Brachiosaurus. The temperature is 16.5degrees usually

For my invention i would like to make a robot that can dig up a fossil safely because it has soft, but sharp claws and it can detect fossils too. questions need to answer: research how the changes in plant life affected the developementof animal life in the three periods: the triassic period, the jurassic period and the cretaceous period develop products depicting cause and effect dinosaur facts =Tyrannosaurus rex (T-REX)=
 * The Cretaceous Period- this is the time when the dinosaurs are starting to get extict. now at this time the temperature is 18degrees usually. Now most of the Landform is seperated**



Name's meaning: Tyrant Lizard King

Pronounciation: tie-RAN-o-SAWR-us rex

Physical Description: Tyrannosaurus rex had two legs and was 40 feet long. It's jaws were up to 4 feet long and it's teeth grew up to be 13 inches long. Tyrannosaurus rex had bumpy skin like a crocodile. Some scientists think T. Rex could go up to 15 MPH. The T-REX weighed 5-7 tons. It's arms were 3 feet long. T. Rex had a stride length of around 12 to 15 feet.

Young Earth Age: Alive sometime in the last 6000 years.

Old Earth Age: According to old earth scientists, T-Rex lived in the Cretacious Period, about 85-65 million years ago.

Diet: It was a carnivore (meat eating dinosaur).

Fossil locations: T-Rex fossils have been found in north west America.

Classification: tetanurans. =Stegosaurus=



Name's meaning: "roofed lizard"

Pronounciation: STEG-oh-sawr-us

Physical Description: A full grown Stegosaurus measured about about 30 feet long, about 9 feet tall, and weighed about 4-6 tons (weight estimates vary greatly for dinosaurs).

It was about the size of an elephant. Stegosaurus had plates on it's back that were not attached to it's bones. Since it's plates were not attached to it's bones, we don't know which direction they pointed. It had four legs, and it's back legs were twice as long as it's front legs. It had spikes on it's tail, which it probably used as a weapon.

Young Earth Age: Alive sometime in the last 6000 years.

Old Earth Age: According to old earth scientists, Stegasaurus lived in the late Jurrasic Period, about 150 million years ago.

Diet: It was a herbivore (plant eating dinosaur).

Fossil locations: Stegosaurus fossils have been found all over the world including Utah, Wyoming, Colorado in the United States. Around the world they have been found in India, China, Europe, and Africa.

Classification: Ornithischia =Pterodactyl=



Name's meaning: "Winged finger"

Pronounciation: ter-u-Dak-til

Physical Description: A Pterodactyl had a wingspan of anywhere between a few inches up to over 40 feet long. Pterodactyls are believed to have flown long distances using large wings and they had above average eyesight to help them catch their prey. Paleontologist classify Pterodactyls as flying reptiles and not dinosaurs.

Young Earth Age: Alive sometime in the last 6000 years.

Old Earth Age: According to old earth scientists, Pterodactyls lived in the late Mesozoic period, about 251 to 65 million years ago

Diet: It was a carnivore (meat eating creature).

Fossil locations: Pterodactyl fossils have been found in America, Europe, Africa, and Australia.

Classification: Pterosaurs =Velociraptor (Velociraptor mongoliensis)=



Name's meaning: "Speedy Thief"

Pronounciation: va-LOSS-ah-RAP-tor

Physical Description: The Velociraptor had an s-shaped neck, two arms that had claws with three fingers on each hand, and long thin legs with claws that had four toes on each foot. It's mouth had sharp, curved teeth and it had a really flat long mouth and nose,and a long stiff tail. The Velociraptor was between 5 to 6 feet long, and about 2.5 to 3 feet tall. It weighed around 15 to 40 pounds (weights of dinosaurs are very hard to estimate).

Young Earth Age: Alive sometime in the last 6000 years.

Old Earth Age: According to old earth scientists, Velociraptor lived in the Late Cretaeceous Period, about 80-85 million years ago.

Diet: It was a carnivore (meat eating dinosaur).

Fossil locations: Velociraptor fossils have been found in China, Mongolia, and Russia.

Classification: Dromaeosaurids =Dimetrodon=



Name's meaning: "two shapes of tooth"

Pronounciation: die-MET-roe-don

Physical Description: A full grown Dimetrodon measured about 6-11 feet long, and was around 3-4 feet tall. It weighed around 250 lbs. (weight estimates vary greatly for dinosaurs). The Dimetrodon is considered a reptile and not a dinosaur, but because of it's age is often mistaken for a dinosaur. The Dimetrodon had an amazing semi-circle shaped sail on its back. The sail had many long bones in it that connected to it's spine. These long bones helped support the sail. Dimetrodon had four short legs, that sprawled out from it's sides. It was probably a slow dinosaur because of it's sprawling legs.

Young Earth Age: Alive sometime in the last 6000 years.

Old Earth Age: According to old earth scientists, Dimetrodon lived in the Permian period, about 280 million years ago.

Diet: It was a carnivore (ate other animals).

Fossil locations: Dimetrodon fossils have been found in Texas, Oklahoma, Europe and Russia.

Classification: Pelycosaurs DIPLODOCUS "Double-beamed" ** || **ANATOMY** Diplodocus was a long-necked, whip-tailed giant, measuring about 90 feet (27 m) long with a 26 foot (8 m) long neck and a 45 foot (14 m) long tail, but its head was less than 2 feet long. It was among the longest land animals ever. Its nostrils were at the top of its head and it had peg-like teeth, but only in the front of the jaws. Its front legs were shorter than its back legs, and all had elephant-like, five-toed feet. One toe on each foot had a thumb claw, probably for protection. A fossilized Diplodocus skin impression reveals that it had a row of spines running down its back.
 * [[image:http://www.enchantedlearning.com/sgifs/Sauropod.GIF width="381" height="142"]] ||
 * ** DIPLODOCUS
 * Plant eater
 * Small head with spatulate or pencil-shaped teeth
 * Walked on four legs
 * Among the longest land animals!

Photo of Diplodocus gastralia and other bones courtesy of Jim Puckett, using an Olympus 3040 digital camera - taken in the Dinosaur Hall of "Prehistoric Journey" at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. || Diplodocus was more lightly built than the other giant sauropods, and may have weighed only about 10-20 tons. Its backbone had extra bones underneath it, which had bony protrusions running both forwards and backwards (anvil shaped), a "double beam", probably for support and extra mobility of its neck and tail. It may have used its whip-like tail for protection. A recent Diplodocus skin impression was found, showing a row of spines running down the back. It has been determined that Diplodocus (and the other diplodocid [|saropods], like [|Apatosaurus]) could not hold their necks over about 17 feet (5.4 m) off the ground (Parrish and Stevens,1999). Gastralia (hanging belly ribs) are thin, fragile ribs that helped support and protect the internal organs (like the lungs) in the middle area of the body. These ribs were not attached to the backbone; they were attached to the skin in the belly area.
 * [[image:http://www.enchantedlearning.com/dgifs/Diplodocusgastralia.jpg width="405" height="304"]]

**DIET AND TEETH** Diplodocus was an herbivore (it ate only plants). It must have eaten a tremendous amount of plant material each day to sustain itself. It swallowed leaves whole, without chewing them, and may have swallowed gastroliths (stones that remained in its stomach) to help digest this tough plant material. It had blunt teeth, useful for stripping foliage.

Its main food was probably conifers, which were the [|dominant plant when the large sauropods lived]. Secondary food sources may have included gingkos, seed ferns, cycads, bennettitaleans, ferns, club mosses, and horsetails.

**WHY WAS DIPLODOCUS' NECK SO LONG?** Diplodocus held its neck more-or-less horizontally (parallel to the ground). The long neck may have been used to poke into forests to get foliage that was otherwise unavailable to the huge, lumbering varieties of sauropods who could not venture into forests because of their size. Alternatively, the long neck may have enabled this sauropod to eat soft [|pteridophytes] (horsetails, club mosses, and ferns). These soft-leaved plants live in wet areas, where sauropods couldn't venture, but perhaps the sauropod could stand on firm ground and browse in wetlands.

**BEHAVIOR** Diplodocus may have travelled in herds, migrating when the local food supply was depleted. Diplodocus probably hatched from eggs, like other sauropods. Sauropod eggs have been found in a linear pattern and not in nests; presumably the eggs were laid as the animal was walking. It is thought that sauropods did not take care of their eggs. Sauropod life spans may have been on the order of 100 years. **INTELLIGENCE** It used to be thought that the sauropods (like Diplodocus, [|Brachiosaurus] and [|Apatosaurus]) and [|Stegosaurus] had a second brain. Paleontologists now think that what they thought was a second brain was just an enlargement in the spinal cord in the hip area. This enlargement was larger than the animal's tiny brain.

Diplodocus was a sauropod, whose [|intelligence] (as measured by its relative brain to body weight, or EQ) was the among the lowest of the dinosaurs.



**LOCOMOTION** Diplodocus [|moved slowly] on four column-like legs (as determined from fossilized tracks and its leg length and estimated mass).

**WHEN DIPLODOCUS LIVED** Diplodocus lived in the late [|Jurassic Period], from 155-145 million years ago. The late Jurassic was the time of the enormous sauropods, including [|Camarasaurus], [|Apatosaurus], and [|Brachiosaurus]. Also present were [|Stegosaurus], Tuojiangosaurus, [|Allosaurus], [|Supersaurus], Coelurosaur, and many others.

**FOSSILS AND NAME** The first Diplodocus fossil was found by Earl Douglass and Samuel W. Williston in 1877 and was named by paleontologist Othniel C. Marsh in 1878. Many Diplodocus fossils have been found in the Rocky Mountains of the western USA (in Colorado, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming). Diplodocus means "Double-beamed." **CLASSIFICATION** Diplodocus was a huge herbivorous dinosaur that belonged to the:
 * Kingdom Animalia (animals)
 * Phylum Chordata (having a hollow nerve chord ending in a brain)
 * Class [|Archosauria] ([|diapsids] with socket-set teeth, etc.)
 * Order [|Saurischia] - lizard-hipped dinosaurs, the ancestors of birds
 * Sauropodomorph - long-necked, long-tailed plant-eaters who walked on four legs
 * Suborder [|Sauropoda] (sauropods) - very large herbivores
 * Neosauropoda - advanced sauropods
 * Family Diplodocidae - whip-tailed, peg-toothed sauropods with high spines on the vertebrae. These included [|Amargasaurus], [|Apatosaurus], [|Supersauurs], Barosaurus, [|Seismosaurus], and others
 * Genus Diplodocus
 * Species //D. longus// (the type species: Marsh, 1878), //D. carnegiei// (Hatcher, 1901), //D. hayi// (Holland, 1924)

**DIPLODOCUS ACTIVITIES AND PRINTOUTS** Print out a K-3 level Diplodocus information sheet to color! A [|Diplodocus fact sheet] or a [|printable version]. A first-grade level Diplodocus subtraction activity print-out. **DIPLODOCUS LINKS** The first [|Diplodocus fossil] at the Carnegie Centennial Gallery of Pittsburgh, PA, USA. "Edmonton [Rock Formation] lizard" ** || * Edmontosaurus information printout.
 * ** EDMONTOSAURUS
 * K-3 level Edmontosaurus printout to color
 * [|Brief Fact Sheet] ||

**ANATOMY** Edmontosaurus was a large, plant-eating, duck-billed dinosaur from the late Cretaceous period. It had short arms, a long, pointed tail, three-toed, hoofed feet, and mitten-like hands. Its head was flat and sloping with a wide, toothless beak, cheek pouches, and hundreds of closely-packed cheek teeth that ground up its food. It was about 42 feet (13 m) long and may have weighed up to 3.5 tons. It was a biped (it walked on two legs) that could also walk on four legs, perhaps to graze low-lying plants. Edmontosaurus was a slow-moving dinosaur with few defenses, but may have had keen senses (eyesight, hearing, and smell) to help it avoid predators in its swampy habitat. Edmontosaurus had leathery skin (as determined from two mummified Edmontosaurus fossils found in Wyoming). It may have had loose skin around its nose area - some paleontologists think that it may have been able to blow up this skin like a balloon, perhaps for mating rituals or intra-species rivalry. It had a series of bumps (tubercles) running along its neck, back, and tail.


 * [[image:http://www.enchantedlearning.com/egifs/EdmPuckett.jpg width="462" height="225"]] ||


 * [[image:http://www.enchantedlearning.com/egifs/EdmtailPuckett.jpg width="244" height="153" align="right"]]These great photos were taken by Jim Puckett in the Dinosaur Hall of "Prehistoric Journey" at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Jim reports, "It was originally discovered and unearthed by Barnum Brown. It is 80% real bone and 20% reconstructed (the head is a cast, but they do have the real skull on nearby display - it js too heavy to mount with that little wire holding its head up). On its tail [close-up pictured at right] is what is thought to be a T-Rex bite mark with a small missing piece of vertebra while it was still alive because, after careful examination, it showed the bone began to regrow. There are also some bite marks around it in a concave fashion and Ken Carpenter slid a T-Rex tooth thru it and it fit perfectly. So, ergo, it was most likely a T-Rex attack on live prey, which would show that T-Rex was indeed a predator along with being a scavanger like most predators are anyway in the animal kingdom. Less effort and energy is needed to scavenge rather than chase down prey." ||



**WHEN EDMONTOSAURUS LIVED** Edmontosaurus lived in the late [|Cretaceous period], about 73 to 65 million years ago, toward the end of the [|Mesozoic Era]. It went extinct during the huge K-T mass extinction. T. rex was one of its contemporaries, and may have preyed upon Edmontosaurus. **INTELLIGENCE** Edmontosaurus was an ornithopod, whose intelligence (as measured by its relative brain to body weight, or EQ) was midway among the dinosaurs.

**HERDS AND MIGRATION** Edmontosaurus probably lived in herds (like many other hadrosaurs) since large numbers of Edmontosaurus have been found close to one another in Alberta, Canada. Edmontosaurus herds may have migrated thousands of miles seasonally, traveling from the North Slope of Alaska (which would have been dark for months at a time during winter, making plants scarce) to Alberta, Canada (which was rich in green plants during winter). Large numbers of Edmontosaurus fossils have been found at both ends of this proposed migratory route. **DIET** Edmontosaurus was an herbivore, a plant eater. Fossilized conifer needles have been found in Edmontosaurus' stomach. It ate conifer needles, twigs, seeds, and other plant material with its tough beak. It had no teeth in its beak, but had hundreds of cheek teeth used for grinding up tough plant material. **ENEMIES** The almost defenseless Edmontosaurus was preyed upon by [|Tyrannosaurus rex]. T. rex may have even followed Edmontosaurus' migration routes in search of a series of good meals. Other predators of Edmontosaurus may have included [|Albertosaurus], **LOCOMOTION** A Hadrosaur footprint. || Edmontosaurus could run on two legs or walk on four; it was a relatively slow dinosaur. [|Dinosaur speeds] are estimated using their morphology (characteristics like leg length and estimated body mass) and fossilized trackways.
 * [[image:http://www.enchantedlearning.com/hgifs/Hadrosaurfootprint.GIF width="153" height="118"]]

**DISCOVERY OF FOSSILS** Edmontosaurus was named by Lawrence M. Lambe in 1917 from a fossil found in Edmonton Rock Formation, in Alberta, [|Canada]. Many Edmontosaurus fossils have been found, in Alberta, Canada, and Alaska, Wyoming, Montana and New Jersey in the USA. Two mummified Edmontosaurus fossils were found in Wyoming, USA. The dinosaur previously called Anatosaurus is probably a juvenile example of Edmontosaurus.

**CLASSIFICATION** Edmontosaurus was a late [|Ornithischian] dinosaur, the order of bird-hipped, herbivorous dinosaurs. It was a member of the suborder Ornithopoda, and the family of [|duck-billed], herding herbivores, the [|hadrosaurs]. Other hadrosaurs include [|Maiasaura], [|Lambeosaurus], [|Parasaurolophus], [|Corythosaurus], and Saurolophus.

**EDMONTOSAURUS ACTIVITIES**
 * An Edmontosaurus information printout.
 * Print out a K-3 level Edmontosaurus information page to color!
 * [|Brief Fact Sheet] with a [|printable version]

Pentaceratops "Five-horned Face" **Pentaceratops Printout**

**ANATOMY** Pentaceratops was a rhinoceros-like dinosaur. It walked on four sturdy legs and had three horns on its face along with a large bony plate projecting from the back of its skull (a frill). One upward-pointing horn above its parrot-like beak and two longer, forward-pointing horns above its eyes probably provided protection from predators, and were possibly used in mating rivalry and rituals. It also had two enlarged, horn-like cheekbones that protruded from its face. It had a very large skull, 9.8 feet (3 m) long, with a very large, bony, scalloped, head frill. It has the largest-known skull ever found (for a land-dwelling animal).

Pentaceratops was about was up to 28 feet (8 m) long, roughly 10 feet tall (3 m), and weighed up to 8 tons. It had a short, pointed tail, a bulky body, column-like legs with hoof-like claws, and a bony, scalloped neck frill rimmed with bony points. It had a parrot-like beak, many cheek teeth, and powerful jaws. Pentaceratops hatched from eggs.

**WHEN PENTACERATOPS LIVED** Pentaceratops lived in the late [|Cretaceous period], about 75 to 65 million years ago, toward the end of the [|Mesozoic], the Age of Reptiles. It was among the last of the dinosaur species to evolve before the [|Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction] 65 million years ago. Among the contemporaries of Pentaceratops were Triceratops, [|Tyrannosaurus rex], [|Ankylosaurus] (an armored herbivore), Corythosaurus (a crested dinosaur), and Dryptosaurus (a leaping dinosaur).

**BEHAVIOR** Pentaceratops was probably a herding animal, like the other [|Ceratopsians].

Pentaceratops hatched from eggs, which may have been cared for by adults.

When threatened by predators, Pentaceratops probably charged into its enemy like the modern-day rhinoceros does. This was probably a very effective defense.

**INTELLIGENCE** Pentaceratops was a ceratopsian, whose intelligence (as measured by its relative brain to body weight, or EQ) was intermediate among the dinosaurs.

**DIET** Pentaceratops was an herbivore, a plant eater. It probably ate cycads, palms, and other prehistoric plants with its tough, toothless beak. It could also chew well with its cheek teeth (like other Ceratopsians, but unlike most other dinosaurs).

**LOCOMOTION** Pentaceratops was a quadruped; it walked on four short legs.

**DISCOVERY OF FOSSILS** Pentaceratops fossils have been found in New Mexico, USA. It was named by [|paleontologist] Henry F. Osborn in 1923. A total of 9 skulls have been found together with some skeletons.

**CLASSIFICATION** Pentaceratops belonged to the:
 * Order [|Ornithischia] dinosaur - [|bird-hipped], herbivorous dinosaurs
 * Marginocephalia
 * Suborder [|Ceratopsia] - large, horned, herding herbivores. The ceratopsians were one of the last major group of dinosaurs to evolve, and include Psittacosaurus, Leptoceratops, Pachyrhinosaurus, [|Montanoceratops], Chasmosaurus, Centrosaurus, [|Triceratops], [|Styracosaurus], [|Protoceratops], and others.
 * Family Ceratopsidae -
 * Genus Pentaceratops
 * The type species is //P. sternbergii//.

**ACTIVITIES** A Pentaceratops Printout KRONOSAURUS Kronosaurus printout

**ANATOMY** Kronosaurus was a short-necked plesiosaur, a meat-eating marine reptile 30 feet (9 m) long. It had four flippers, a huge head with strong jaws, and a short, pointed tail. The head was up to 9 feet (2.7 m) long, about 1/3 of the entire length of the body. It had rounded teeth at the back of the jaws which could crush shells and [|cephalopods] (squid and octopi). Kronosaurus was not a dinosaur, but a plesiosaur, another type of extinct reptile. Plesiosaurs may have evolved from the [|Nothosaurs] or the Pistosaurus, a mid-Triassic reptile. **WHEN KRONOSAURUS LIVED** Kronosaurus lived during the early [|Cretaceous period]. **BEHAVIOR** Kronosaurus lived in the open oceans and breathed air. Some Plesiosaurs have been found with small stones in their stomachs; these may have been used to help grind up their food, or as ballast, to help them dive. They probably laid eggs in beach sand (like modern-day sea turtles). **REPRODUCTION** Kronosaurus may have laid eggs in nests that they dug into the sand, much as modern-day sea turtles do. **DIET** Kronosaurus ate ammonites and other cephalopods. Fossilized plesiosaurs and turtles have been found in the stomach cavity of Kronosaurus. Kronosaurus had strong jaws and sharp teeth. It had rounded teeth at the back of the jaws, used to crush shells. Kronosaurus was one of the top predators in the seas of the Mesozoic Era. **LOCOMOTION** Kronosaurus swam using their four paddle-like flippers in a manner similar to that of modern turtles. They might have been able to move a little bit on land, as modern seals do.

**CLASSIFICATION** Kronosaurus was a plesiosaur, a marine reptile, not a dinosaur. It was a member of the following clades:
 * **Vertebrata**
 * **Tetrapoda**
 * [|**Diapsida**] - these include all the reptiles (except turtles) and birds. They are distinguished by having two holes in the rear upper part of their skulls and two holes behind the eyes.
 * **Sauropterygia** (which includes both plesiosaurs and [|nothosaurs]).
 * **(Order) Plesiosauria** - the pointed-tailed flippered marine-adapted reptiles which included two types, long-necked and short-necked
 * **(Superfamily) Pliosauroidea** - had large heads with very strong jaws, short necks, and resembled modern-day whales. They ate larger sea creatures. They included: Macroplata, Peloneustes, Liopleurodon, Kronosaurus, etc.
 * **Family Dolichorhynchopidae** - Kronosaurus

**LOCATION OF FOSSILS** Kronosaurus lived in the seas that covered parts of [|Australia] during the early [|Cretaceous period].

**DISCOVERY OF FOSSILS** Kronosaurus fossils have been found in Australia and Colombia, South America. It was discovered in Queensland, Australia, in 1889 by A. Crombie and was originally thought to be an [|ichthyosaur]. It was named and described by Longman in 1924. **PLESIOSAUR LINKS** [|Plesiosaur fossils] at the UCMP, Berkeley. "Great Lizard" || **Megalosaurus Printout** ||
 * **Megalosaurus**

Megalosaurus was a large, meat-eating dinosaur that lived about 181-169 million years ago. Megalosaurus was the first dinosaur fossil discovered (in England in 1676). It was also the first dinosaur given a scientific name - by William Buckland in 1824. **ANATOMY** Megalosaurus walked on two powerful legs, had a strong, short neck, and a large head with sharp, serrated teeth. It had a massive tail, a bulky body, toes also had sharp claws, and heavy bones. Its arms were short and had three-fingered hands with sharp claws. Megalosaurus was up to 30 feet long (9 m), 10 feet tall (3 m), and weighed about 1 ton.

**WHEN MEGALOSAURUS LIVED** Megalosaurus lived during the [|Jurassic period] period, about 181-169 million years ago. **DIET** Megalosaurus was a carnivore, a meat eater. It was a large, fierce predator that could kill even large sauropods. Megalosaurus may also have been a scavenger. **INTELLIGENCE** Megalosaurus was a theropod dinosaur, whose intelligence (as measured by its relative brain to body weight, or EQ) was high among the dinosaurs.



**LOCOMOTION** Megalosaurus walked on two muscular legs and was a relatively fast runner. [|Dinosaur speeds] are estimated using their morphology (characteristics like leg length and estimated body mass) and fossilized trackways. **DISCOVERY OF FOSSILS AND NAMING THE FIRST DINOSAUR GENUS AND SPECIES** Megalosaurus was the first dinosaur fossil to be scientifically described and named. Buckland found Megalosaurus' fragmentary fossils in England in 1819. Megalosaurus was named in 1824 by [|William Buckland]. In 1827, [|Gideon Mantell] (not Ferdinand Ritgen) assigned it the scientific type species name, //Megalosaurus bucklandii//, honoring Buckland. Megalosaurus trackways have also been found in limestone in southern England. **CLASSIFICATION** Megalosaurus was a [|Saurischian] ("lizard-hipped") dinosaur. It was a [|theropod], and a tetanuran.


 * the sauropelta

ANATOMY ** Sauropelta was an armored dinosaur from the early Cretaceous period. It looked a lot like its more advanced relative [|Ankylosaurus], but didn't have the bony nodes at the end of its tail or horns on its head.

It was about 25 feet (7.6 m) long and weighed over 3 tons. It had a narrow skull with massive jaws, small, leaf-shaped cheek teeth and a toothless horny beak. It had horn-covered plates embedded in its skin all over its body (except on its underbelly). Its entire top side was heavily protected from carnivores. Only its under-belly was unplated. Flipping it over was the only way to wound it.

**WHEN SAUROPELTA LIVED** Sauropelta lived during the early [|Cretaceous Period], about 116-91 million years ago.

**DIET** This huge, heavy reptile was an **herbivore** (it ate only plants). It had to eat a huge amount of low-lying plant material to sustain itself so its gut must have been very large. It probably had a fermentation compartment to aid in the digestion of the tough plant material, producing prodigious amounts of gas.

**INTELLIGENCE** Sauropelta was an ankylosaur, whose intelligence (as measured by its relative brain to body weight, or EQ) was low among the dinosaurs.



**LOCOMOTION** Ankylosaur trackways were found in 1996 near Sucre, Bolivia, South America showing that these huge creatures could run at a "decent jog," according to Christian Meyer, a Swiss paleontologist working at the site. Speed estimates are made using the distance between the footprints, the animal's leg length, the pattern of the tracks, and other factors.

**DISCOVERY OF FOSSILS** Fossils have been found in Montana, USA. Sauropelta was discovered and named by [|John H. Ostrom] and Grant E. Meyer in 1970.

**CLASSIFICATION** Sauropelta belonged to the [|Order Ornithischia], the Suborder Thyreophora (Enoplosauria), the [|Ankylosauria] (armored, four-legged dinosaurs), and was in the family Nodosauridae (a group of primitive ankylosaurs with no tail clubs; it included [|Hylaeosaurus], Edmontonia, Sauropelta, [|Acanthopholis], Silvisaurus, Nodosaurus, Panoplosaurus, etc.).

Quaesitosaurus "Abnormal or Extraordinary Lizard" ** ||
 * [[image:http://www.enchantedlearning.com/sgifs/Sauropod.GIF width="381" height="142"]] ||
 * ** Quaesitosaurus
 * Plant eater
 * Small head with peg-like teeth
 * Walked on four legs
 * Wide snout and large ear openings

**ANATOMY** Quaesitosaurus (meaning "abnormal or extraordinary lizard") was a long-necked, whip-tailed plant-eater with good hearing. Quaesitosaurus' skull was long and had a wide snout and a large ear opening. The peg-like teeth were adapted for eating soft food, perhaps aquatic plants. Quaesitosaurus may have been about 75 feet (23 m) long.

**DIET AND TEETH** Quaesitosaurus was an herbivore (it ate only plants) that had peg-like teeth. It must have eaten a tremendous amount of plant material each day to sustain itself. It swallowed leaves whole, without chewing them, and may have had gastroliths (stomach stones) in its stomach to help digest tough plant material. The blunt teeth were useful for stripping foliage. It may have eaten conifers, gingkos, seed ferns, cycads, bennettitaleans, ferns, club mosses, and horsetails.

**WHEN QUAESITOSAURUS LIVED** Quaesitosaurus lived during the late [|Cretaceous Period], roughly 85-80 million years ago. **NAME** Quaesitosaurus (meaning "abnormal or extraordinary lizard") was named by Kurzanov and Bannikov in 1983. **FOSSILS AND HABITAT** Quaesitosaurus is known only from a partial skull found in the southeastern Gobi desert, Mongolia. This environment was semi-arid during the [|Mesozoic Era]. **WHY WAS THE NECK SO LONG?** Many sauropods, like Quaesitosaurus, held their neck more or less horizontally (parallel to the ground). The long neck may have been used to poke into forests to get foliage that was otherwise unavailable to the huge, lumbering varieties of sauropods who could not venture into forests because of their size. Alternatively, the long neck may have enabled this sauropod to eat soft [|pteridophytes] (horsetails, club mosses, and ferns). These soft-leaved plants live in wet areas, where sauropods couldn't venture, but perhaps the sauropod could stand on firm ground and browse in nearby wetlands.

**BEHAVIOR** Quaesitosaurus may have travelled in herds and may have migrated when they depleted their local food supply. Quaesitosaurus may have hatched from eggs, like other sauropods. Sauropod eggs have been found in a linear pattern and not in nests; presumably the eggs were laid as the animal was walking. It is thought that sauropods did not take care of their eggs. Sauropod life spans may have been on the order of 100 years.

**INTELLIGENCE** It used to be thought that the sauropods (like Quaesitosaurus, [|Diplodocus], [|Brachiosaurus] and [|Apatosaurus]) and the stegosaurid [|Stegosaurus] had a second brain. Paleontologists now think that what they thought was a second brain was just an enlargement in the spinal cord in the hip area. This enlargement was larger than the animal's tiny brain.

Quaesitosaurus was a sauropod, whose intelligence (as measured by its relative brain to body weight, or EQ) was the among the lowest of the dinosaurs.



**LOCOMOTION** Quaesitosaurus [|moved slowly] on four legs (as determined from fossilized tracks and its leg length and estimated mass).

**CLASSIFICATION** Quaesitosaurus was a huge herbivorous dinosaur, a [|saurischian] ("lizard-hipped" dinosaurs, the ancestors of birds), a sauropodomorph (long-necked, long-tailed plant-eaters who walked on four legs), a [|sauropod] (very large herbivores), and a member of the family Diplodocidae (peg-toothed sauropods, which included [|Diplodocus], [|Apatosaurus], [|Amargasaurus], Seismosaurus, [|Supersaurus], and others). The type species is //Q. orientalis//. Quaesitosaurus may be the same dinosaur as [|Nemegtosaurus]. Quaesitosaurus is also known as Qaesitosaurus, Questiosaurus, Questosaurus **ACTIVITY** A Quaesitosaurus printout THE TRICERATOPS although nowadays more is known about any other horned dinosaur, when fossils of its bony horns were discovered in the 1880s they were thought to come from a bison. conmplete skulls were soon found, howecer and these showed that triceratops was bigger and quite different from a bison!



**THE JURASSIC PERIOD**


 * THE BEGINNING OF THE JURASSIC**

At the beginning of the [|Jurassic], the Earth's continents were still jammed together, forming the supercontinent [|Pangaea], but they were beginning to [|drift apart]. There had been a minor extinction at the end of the Triassic period, which gave rise to an abundance of dinosaurs in the Jurassic. The climate was hot and dry and at the beginning of the Jurassic, strongly seasonal.

The dinosaurs dominated the near-tropical Earth during the Jurassic, and many new groups appeared. The gigantic [|sauropod dinosaurs], like the [|Diplodocus] and [|Apatosaurus], diversified. Carnivorous theropods, like [|Allosaurus] and [|Compsognathus], were abundant. Bird-like dinosaurs also flourished. About 140 million years ago, during the late Jurassic period, the flowering plants (angiosperms) evolved, and would soon change the face of the Earth.

There was a minor mass extinction toward the end of the early Jurassic period (roughly 190-183 million years ago) in which more than 80% of marine bivalve species (like many clams) and many other shallow-water species died out. The cause of this extinction is unknown, but there is some speculation (by sedimentologist Stephen P. Hesselbo et al.) that it was triggered by the release of huge methane deposits from within the Earth (these deposits formed beneath the seabed as surface algae dies and sinks to the sea floor).

**OTHER ANIMALS AND PLANTS IN THE JURASSIC** Early [|mammals] were developing and diversifying in the Jurassic. Some Jurassic period mammals included Morganucodontids (like Morganucodon and Megazostrodon), Haramiyids (like Haramiya), Docodonts (like Docodon), multiberculates, symmetrodonts, pantotheres, and a recently-found, mouse-sized Middle Jurassic mammal (a tribosphenidan) from Madagascar. Also, [|Archaeopteryx], the first, primitive, [|dinosaur-like bird] appeared about 150 million years ago, toward the end of the Jurassic. There were also [|pterosaurs], flying reptiles which were the largest vertebrates ever known to fly.

In the Jurassic [|seas], there were abundant coral reefs, fish, [|ichthyosaurs] (fishlike reptiles), [|plesiosaurs], giant marine crocodiles, ammonites, squid , sharks and the first [|rays].

Plant lines from the Triassic continued. There were many tufted, palm-like [|cycads], seed ferns, gingkos, and conifers in the subtropical forests.

**THE MIDDLE JURASSIC**
 * In the Middle Jurassic, the supercontinent Pangaea started to drift apart. A north-south rift formed in mid-Jurassic, and by the late Jurassic, the [|separation of the continents] of Laurasia and Gondwana was almost complete. || **PANGAEA**

||

**GEOLOGY AND CLIMATE DURING THE JURASSIC** The [|Jurassic period] is named for rock strata found in the Jura Mountains, which are located between France and Switzerland.

There was no polar ice during the Jurassic, so the sea levels were higher than they are now. The climate was warm. Early in the Jurassic, the continents were jammed together into a supercontinent (Pangaea), making much of the inland area dry and desert-like. Towards the middle of the Jurassic, when Pangaea becgan to break up, there were vast flooded areas, temperate and subtropical forests, and coral reefs. The extensive water moderated the strong seasonality so that by the end of the Jurassic there was less seasonality than we have now.

**THE END OF THE JURASSIC** Many giant sauropods (like [|Mamenchisaurus], pictured at the right) lived during the late Jurassic period. Conifers dominated the landscape. There was a minor mass extinction toward the end of the Jurassic period. During this extinction, most of the stegosaurid and enormous sauropod dinosaurs died out, as did many genera of ammonoids, marine reptiles, and bivalves. No one knows what caused this extinction.

Jurassic animal printouts
 * Printout**:

"Arm Lizard" ** || **Brachiosaurus Printout Simple Brachiosaurus Printout Brachiosaurus Skeleton Printout [|Brachiosaurus Questions and Answers] [|Brachiosaurus Fact Sheet]** ||
 * ** Brachiosaurus

**ANATOMY** Brachiosaurus was one of the tallest and largest dinosaurs yet found. It had a long neck, small head, and relatively short, thick tail. Brachiosaurus walked on four legs and, like the other Brachiosaurids and unlike most dinosaurs, its front legs were longer than its hind legs. These unusual front legs together with its very long neck gave Brachiosaurus a giraffe-like stance and great height, up to 40-50 feet (12-16 m) tall. Brachiosaurus was about 85 feet (26 m) long, and weighed about 33-88 tons (30-80 tonnes). It had a claw on the first toe of each front foot and claws on the first three toes of each rear foot (each foot had five toes with fleshy pads).

Like other Brachiosaurids, it had chisel-like teeth, its nostrils were on the top of its head, and it had large nasal openings indicating that it may have had a good sense of smell. Brachiosaurus had 26 teeth on its top jaw and 26 on the bottom for a total of 52 teeth towards the front of the mouth.



**DIET** Brachiosaurus was an herbivore, a plant eater. It probably ate the tops of tall trees with its large spatulate (chisel-shaped) teeth. It swallowed its food whole, without chewing it, digesting the plant material in its gut.





**WHEN BRACHIOSAURUS LIVED** Brachiosaurus lived in the middle to late [|Jurassic period], about 156-145 million years ago, near the middle of the [|Mesozoic Era], the Age of Reptiles. Some dating estimates have Brachiosaurus surviving until 140 million years ago, during the dawn of the [|Cretaceous period]. Among the contemporaries of Brachiosaurus were other giant Sauropods including [|Camarasaurus], [|Supersaurus], [|Ultrasauros], and Haplocanthosaurus. **HABITAT** Brachiosaurus was a terrestrial animal. It was assumed for many years that giant sauropods spent most of their time in water, letting the water support their weighty bodies while breathing through their lofty nostrils. Now it is believed that they were fully terrestrial, just as Elmer S. Riggs, who first described Brachiosaurus, argued in a 1904 article. He believed, as most modern scientists do, that Brachiosaurus' feet and limbs were not broad enough to support the heavy animal in mud, that its back was flexible enough to support it on land, and that its chest was narrow and deep, which is insufficient for breathing underwater, and inconsistent with modern-day water-dwelling large animals (like hippos). **POSSIBLE PREDATORS** A healthy, adult [|Brachiosaurus] probably had no predators. The largest-known meat-eaters from that time (the [|late Jurassic period]) and place ([|North America] and [|Africa]) were [|Allosaurus], [|Ceratosaurus], and Torvosaurus. These theropods were less than half the size of Brachiosaurus, and probably had much easier prey to hunt (like smaller sauropods and ornithischians like stegosaurs). **BLOOD PRESSURE PROBLEMS** Brachiosaurus and some of the other large sauropods (the huge long-necked plant-eaters) needed to have large, powerful hearts and very high blood pressure in order to pump blood up the long neck to the head and brain. The heads (and brains) of Brachiosaurus was held high (many meters) above its heart. This presents a problem in blood-flow engineering. In order to pump enough oxygenated blood to the head to operate Brachiosaurus' brain (even its tiny sauropod brain) would require a large, powerful heart, tremendously high blood pressure, and wide, muscular blood vessels with many valves (to prevent the back-flow of blood). Brachiosaurus' blood pressure was probably over 400 mm Mercury, three or four times as high as ours.

**BEHAVIOR** **INTELLIGENCE** It used to be thought that the sauropods (like Brachiosaurus and [|Apatosaurus]) and Stegosaurus had a second brain. Paleontologists now think that what they thought was a second brain was just an enlargement in the spinal cord in the hip area. This enlargement was larger than the animal's tiny brain.
 * **Herds:** Brachiosaurus probably travelled in herds and may have migrated when they depleted their local food supply.
 * **Eggs:** Brachiosaurus may have hatched from eggs, like other sauropods. Sauropod eggs have been found in a linear pattern and not in nests; presumably the eggs were laid as the animal was walking. It is thought that sauropods did not take care of their eggs.
 * **Life Span:** Sauropod life spans may have been in the order of 100 years.
 * **Defense:** Brachiosaurus' best defense was size. In addition, its long tail could whip away most attackers. Also, they had leathery skin, although this wasn't much of a defense against long, sharp theropod teeth. They also had clawed feet that were more pronounced in the young.

Brachiosaurus was a sauropod, whose intelligence (as measured by its relative brain to body weight, or EQ) was the among the lowest of the dinosaurs.



**LOCOMOTION** Brachiosaurus was quadrupedal, walking on four legs. Unlike most other dinosaurs, the front legs were longer than the hind legs.

**DISCOVERY OF FOSSILS** Brachiosaurus was first found in the Grand River Valley, in western Colorado, USA, in 1900. This incomplete skeleton was described by paleontologist Elmer S. Riggs, who named Brachiosaurus in 1903. In 1909, Werner Janensch found many Brachiosaurus fossils in Tanzania, Africa. Many Brachiosaurus fossils have been found, in North America and Africa.

**CLASSIFICATION** Brachiosaurus belonged to the:
 * Kingdom Animalia (animals)
 * Phylum Chordata (having a hollow nerve chord ending in a brain)
 * Class [|Archosauria] ([|diapsids] with socket-set teeth, etc.)
 * Order [|Saurischia] - lizard-hipped dinosaurs, the ancestors of birds
 * Sauropodomorph - long-necked, long-tailed plant-eaters who walked on four legs
 * Suborder [|Sauropoda] - very large herbivores
 * Neosauropoda - advanced sauropods
 * Family Brachiosaurid - nasal crests on the top of the head and for most, the front legs were longer than their rear legs, giving them a giraffe-like stance
 * Subfamily Brachiosaurinae - the largest land animals which included Brachiosaurus, [|Ultrasauros], Seismosaurus, and others
 * Genus Brachiosaurus -
 * Species - the type species is //B. altithorax// (Riggs, 1903). Other species include: //B. atalaiensis// (de Lapparent & Zbyszewski, 1957), //B. brancai// (Janensch, 1914)

**BRACHIOSAURUS ACTIVITIES AND LINKS** > "Fish-lizards" > Ichthyosaurus Printout Ichthyosaurs were reptiles that were strong swimmers fully adapted to life in the seas. They were better adapted than any other reptiles, although they still needed to go to the surface periodically to breathe air. **ANATOMY** > Ichthyosaurs were stream-lined marine reptiles that ranged in size from 7-30 feet long (4.5-9 m). They had sharp teeth in long jaws, and big eyes. They had four crescent-shaped fins, a stabilizing dorsal fin, and a fish-like tail with two lobes. They breathed air with lungs through nostrils which were close to the eyes near the top of the snout. > > They gave birth to live young; fossils have been found with baby Ichthyosaurs in the abdomen. > > **WHEN ICHTHYOSAURS LIVED** > Ichthyosaurs lived during the [|Mesozoic Era], the Age of Reptiles. They appeared during the Triassic, reached their peak during the Jurassic, and disappeared during the Cretaceous, about 95 million years ago, millions of years before the K-T extinction at 65 mya (and before the extinction of the dinosaurs). **BEHAVIOR** > Ichthyosaurs lived in the oceans, probably near the surface (they had large eyes, which would be unnecessary is they spent a lot of time diving into the dark depths of the oceans. They did not move about on land. **REPRODUCTION** > Ichthyosaurs were viviparous; they gave birth in the water to live young (instead of laying eggs, as other reptiles do). This is known because the fossilized bones of baby Ichthysaurs have been found inside the bones of adults. > > **DIET** > Ichthyosaurs were carnivores; they ate fish, octopus, and other swimming animals. They had strong jaws and sharp teeth. > > **LOCOMOTION** > Ichthyosaurs were fast and strong swimmers; they stabilized themselves in the water with their four, strong, crescent-shaped fins. Primitive Ichthyosaurs swam in a fish-like fashion, moving the tail from side to side to propel themselves through the water. Ichthyosaurs could not move about on land. > > **CLASSIFICATION** > Ichthyosaurs are reptiles, but not dinosaurs. They are: > **DISCOVERY OF FOSSILS** > Ichthyosaur fossils have been found in North and South America and Europe. > > **MISCELLANEOUS** > The Ichthyosaur is the state fossil of Nevada, USA. > > **ICHTHYOSAUR LINKS** > Ichthyosaurus - Coloring and information information sheet. > > [|Ichthyosaurs] from the UCMP, Berkeley. > > [|Ichthyosaurs] at the Royal Tyrrell Museum. > > The [|Field Museum of Natural History] Ichthyosaurus.
 * Brachiosaurus Printout
 * Brachiosaurus Skeleton Printout
 * Print out a K-3 level Brachiosaurus information page to color!
 * [[image:http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/puppets/twofinger/brachiodone.GIF width="200" height="148" align="right" link="http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/puppets/twofinger/"]]Make a [|paper Brachiosaurus finger puppet].
 * 10 questions about **Brachiosaurus**
 * A first-grade level Brachiosaurus addition activity print-out.
 * A Brachiosaurus math/coloring activity - For second graders. Do 1-digit addition problems to color a Brachiosaurus scene.
 * A quiz about Brachiosaurus - Unscramble the answers and see how much you know about this tall dinosaur! For grades 2-3.
 * A Brachiosaurus Activity print-out for beginning readers (advanced first graders to second graders). Students read and follow the directions to complete a Brachiosaurus scene.
 * An on-line quiz about Brachiosaurus - answer the questions and you will unscramble the picture of Brachiosaurus! For grades 2-4.
 * [|Brachiosaurus Fact Sheet] or a [|printable version]
 * ICHTHYOSAURS
 * **Kingdom Animalia** (animals)
 * **Phylum Chordata**
 * **Subphylum Vertebrata** (vertebrates)
 * **Superclass Tetrapods** (four limbs)
 * **Class Reptilia** (reptiles)
 * [|**Subclass Diapsids**] - these include all the reptiles (except turtles) and birds. They are distinguished by having two holes in the rear upper part of their skulls and two holes behind the eyes.
 * [|**Order Ichthyosauria or Ichthyopterygia**] - which includes 5 families of the marine-adapted reptiles:
 * **Family Shastasauridae**
 * **Genus Cymbospondylus** - 33 feet (10 m) long with one fin on the back and no fins on the tail, it had four paddle-shaped flippers - it had sharp teeth in long jaws- lived during the [|mid-Triassic period] in what is now North and South America.
 * **Genus Shonisaurus** - about 49 feet (15 m) long and a huge body (whale-like) four fin-like flippers, a dorsal fin, a fish-like tail, and teeth only in the front of the jaws - lived during the late Triassic period in North America.
 * **Family Mixosauridae**
 * **Genus Mixosaurus** - 3.25 feet (1 m) long with no fins (on either the body or tail), it had four paddle-shaped flippers - lived during the mid-Triassic period in North and South America.
 * **Family Ichthyosauridae**
 * **Genus Ophthalmosaurus** - 11.5 feet (3.5 m) long with a bulky body and huge eyes - the bone-lined eye sockets are 4 inches (10 cm) across - from the late Jurassic period in England, France, Argentina, and western North America.
 * **Genus [|Ichthyosaurus]** - [[image:http://www.enchantedlearning.com/igifs/Ichthyosaurus.GIF width="121" height="43" align="right" link="http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/dinotemplates/Ichthyosauruscolor.shtml"]]a dolphin-like reptile about 6 feet (1.8 m) long that could perhaps swim at 25 mph (40 kph). From England, Germany, Greenland, and Alberta, Canada during the early Jurassic to the early Cretaceous periods.
 * **Family Stenopterigiidae**
 * **Genus Stenopterygius** - 10 feet (3 m) long and dolphin-like, it had large eyes - from the early-mid Jurassic period in England and Germany.
 * **Genus Platypterygius** (meaning "flat wing") - 23 feet (7 m) long and dolphin-like, it had large eyes - from the early Cretaceous period in Queensland, Australia.
 * **Family Leptopterygiidae**
 * **Genus Temnodontosaurus (aka Leptopterygius)** - 30 feet (9 m) long with narrow flippers and a torpedo-shaped body - from the early Jurassic period in England and Germany.
 * **Genus Eurhinosaurus** - Unlike other Ichthyosaurs, it had an elongated upper jaw, perhaps used for obtaining food by poking into the sea bed. It was about 6.5 feet (2 m) long). From Germany during the early Jurassic period.

Achelousaurus the Achelosaurus is named after Achelous, the shape changing greek and roman river god classification ornithischia, cerayopsia length 20 feet (6.1 metres) time late cretaceous 80 million years ago place montana, U.S diet plants details achelosaurus carried its stocky body on four sturdy legs. it had a knob of bone on its neck and two lond spikes at the back of its bony neck frill it lacked the large horns of other horned dinosaurs. only a single, partial skeleton of this dinosaur has been found lufengosaurus named after lu fend basin region of southern china classification ornithischia length 20 feet (6.1 metres) early jurassic 200 million years ago place china diet plants lufengosaurus was a large early plant eater. it appears to be closely related prosauropod plateosaurus. its skullwas small with large eyes and a jaw containing serrated teeth. like most prosauropods, this dinosaurs neck was long, its tail was massive, and its legs were thick and sturdy. the thumb and back toe os lufengosaurus were especially powerful

OVIRAPTOR "Egg Robber"

**ANATOMY** Oviraptor was a small, bird-like, omnivorous dinosaur. It was about 6 to 8 feet long (1.8 to 2.5 m), weighing about 55 to 76 pounds (25 to 35 kg). It was lightly built, fast-moving, long-legged, and bipedal (it walked on two legs). It had a curved, flexible, s-shaped neck, a long tail, short, strong arms, and curved claws on its three-fingered hands and three-toed feet. The claws on its large hands were about 3 inches (8 cm) long. Its fingers were long and grasping. Its strangely-shaped, parrot-like head had a short, toothless beak and extremely powerful jaws, built for crushing action. Oviraptors had a small, stumpy, horn-like crest on its snout, probably used for a mating display; differences in these crests may represent different oviraptor species or the difference between the male, female, and juvenile of the species. **WHEN OVIRAPTOR LIVED** Oviraptor lived during the late [|Cretaceous period], about 88-70 million years ago. This was a time of high tectonic activity. **BEHAVIOR, INTELLIGENCE** Oviraptor was a relatively large-brained dinosaur that cared for its eggs. **DIET** Oviraptor was probably an omnivore, which is unusual for dinosaurs. It probably ate meat, eggs, seeds, insects, plants, etc. with its beak and powerful jaws. Oviraptor (meaning "egg stealer") was thought to eat mostly eggs. In 1924, an Oviraptor fossil was found on top of some eggs (which contained no fossilized embryos), and people assumed that it had been eating the eggs. Recently, however, in Mongolia, paleontologists found some eggs containing fossilized embryos that were identified as embryonic Oviraptors. These eggs were very similar to those eggs found in 1924 that originally implicated the Oviraptor as a thief. If would seem that the Oviraptor fossil in 1924 was probably a parent of the eggs in the nest, and not an egg stealer but a nurturer. **LOCOMOTION** Oviraptor walked on two long, slender, bird-like legs. It must have been a fast runner, considering its long legs and light weight. It could perhaps perhaps run about as quickly as an ostrich, which can run up to 43 mph (70 kph).

**DISCOVERY OF FOSSILS** Oviraptor was first found in the Gobi desert (in Mongolia) in1924 and was described and named by Henry F. Osborn. Fossilized Oviraptor skeletons and eggs have been found in southern Mongolia. **CLASSIFICATION** Oviraptor belonged to the:
 * Kingdom Animalia (animals)
 * Phylum Chordata (having a hollow nerve chord ending in a brain)
 * Class [|Archosauria] ([|diapsids] with socket-set teeth, etc.)
 * Order [|Saurischia] - lizard-hipped dinosaurs
 * Suborder [|Theropoda] - bipedal carnivores
 * Infraorder [|Coelurosauria] - lightly-built fast-running predators with hollow bones and large brains
 * Superfamily Maniraptoriformes - advanced coelurosaurs with a fused wrist bone
 * Family Oviraptoridae - small, bird-like predators with oddly-shaped, beaked, short heads, which included Oviraptor, Conchoraptor, and Ingenia.
 * Genus Oviraptor
 * species philoceratops (type species)

**OVIRAPTOR ACTIVITIES**
 * Print out a K-3 level Oviraptor information page to color!
 * An Oviraptor information printout

__**news news news news news news news news news news news news news news news news news news news news**__ > January 20, 1999 || > The oldest-known duck-billed dinosaur ([|hadrosaurid]) was found near Flower Mound, in North Central Texas, USA. This fossil, named //Protohadros byrdi//, dates from the about 95.5 million years ago, much earlier than any other duck-bills. ZIGONGOSAURUS "Lizard from Zigong, China"
 * || Oldest-Known Duck-Billed Dinosaur Found in Texas

Zigongosaurus was a huge, long-necked, long-tailed, plant-eating dinosaur that lived roughly 150 million years ago. **ANATOMY** Zigongosaurus was a large quadrupedal (walked on four legs) herbivore. It was a about 35 feet (10.7 m) long and may have weighed about 20 tons. It had a long neck, a long tail, a small head with spoon-shaped teeth, and thick, elephant-like legs.

**WHEN ZIGONGOSAURUS LIVED** Zigongosaurus lived during the late [|Jurassic period].

**DIET** Zigongosaurus was an herbivore, a plant eater. It stripped foliage with spoon-shaped teeth.

**INTELLIGENCE** It used to be thought that the sauropods (like Zigongosaurus, [|Brachiosaurus] and [|Apatosaurus]) and Stegosaurus had a second brain. Paleontologists now think that what they thought was a second brain was just an enlargement in the spinal cord in the hip area. This enlargement was larger than the animal's tiny brain.

Zigongosaurus was a sauropodomorpha, whose intelligence (as measured by its relative brain to body weight, or EQ) was the lowest among the dinosaurs.

**BEHAVIOR** Zigongosaurus may have travelled in herds and migrated when they depleted their local food supply. Zigongosaurus may have hatched from eggs, like other sauropods. Sauropod eggs have been found in a linear pattern and not in nests; presumably the eggs were laid as the animal was walking. It is thought that sauropods did not take care of their eggs. Sauropods life spans may have been in the order of 100 years.

**LOCOMOTION** Zigongosaurus walked on four massive, elephant-like legs and was relatively slow. [|Dinosaur speeds] are estimated using their morphology (characteristics like leg length and estimated body mass) and fossilized trackways.

**DISCOVERY OF FOSSILS** An almost complete Zigongosaurus skeleton was found in Zigong, China. Zigongosaurus was named by Hou, Chao, and Chu in 1976.

**CLASSIFICATION** Zigongosaurus was a [|Saurischian] dinosaur, the order of lizard-hipped dinosaurs. It was a sauropodomorpha (quadrupedal herbivores), a [|sauropod], and belonged to the family Euhelopodidae ("good marsh feet," that had spoon-shaped teeth). The type species is //Z. fuxiensis//.

Zigongosaurus may be the same genus as [|//Mamenchisaurus fuxiensis//] or [|Omeisaurus]

"Bird mimic" Ornithomimus printout || ANATOMY Ornithomimus was an ostrich-like dinosaur with a toothless, horny beak, a small head, large eyes, a relatively large brain, a long neck, long tail, long legs, and hollow bones. It was about 15-20 feet long (4.5-6 m) and 6-8 feet (1.8-2.4 m) tall. About half of its length was its neck and tail. It had short arms with three clawed fingers on each hand, and long legs with three clawed toes on each foot. A long tail acted as a counterbalance and as a stabilizer during fast turns. Its bones were hollow.
 * || ORNITHOMIMUS

WHEN ORNITHOMIMUS LIVED Ornithomimus lived in the late [|Cretaceous period], about 76-65 million years ago. Among the contemporaries of Ornithomimus in North America were Albertosaurus, Parasaurolophus, Euoplocephalus, Kritosaurus, and Nanotyrannus.

DIET Ornithomimus was an omnivore, eating both plant and animal matter, including insects, small reptiles and mammals, eggs, fruit, and leaves.

LOCOMOTION Ornithomimus walked on two long, slender legs. It was a fast, agile dinosaur, probably running about as quickly as an ostrich, which can run up to 43 mph (70 kph).

INTELLIGENCE Ornithomimus was a theropod and among the smartest of the dinosaurs.

DISCOVERY OF FOSSILS The first Ornithomimus fossil was found near Denver, Colorado, USA in 1889, and was named by paleontologist Othniel C. Marsh in 1890. Ornithomimus fossils have been found in North America and Mongolia.

ORNITHOMIMUS ACTIVITY Ornithomimus printout

CLASSIFICATION Ornithomimus belonged to the:
 * Kingdom Animalia (animals)
 * Phylum Chordata (having a hollow nerve chord ending in a brain)
 * Class [|Archosauria] ([|diapsids] with socket-set teeth, etc.)
 * Order [|Saurischia] - lizard-hipped dinosaurs
 * Suborder [|Theropoda] - bipedal carnivores
 * Infraorder [|Coelurosauria] - lightly-built fast-running predators with hollow bones and large brains
 * Superfamily Maniraptoriformes - advanced coelurosaurs with a fused wrist bone
 * Family Ornithomimosauria - ostrich mimics, the fastest dinosaurs. Had large eyes.
 * Genus Ornithomimus
 * species velox (the type species)

"Bird mimic" Ornithomimus printout || **ANATOMY** Ornithomimus was an ostrich-like dinosaur with a toothless, horny beak, a small head, large eyes, a relatively large brain, a long neck, long tail, long legs, and hollow bones. It was about 15-20 feet long (4.5-6 m) and 6-8 feet (1.8-2.4 m) tall. About half of its length was its neck and tail. It had short arms with three clawed fingers on each hand, and long legs with three clawed toes on each foot. A long tail acted as a counterbalance and as a stabilizer during fast turns. Its bones were hollow.

**WHEN ORNITHOMIMUS LIVED** Ornithomimus lived in the late [|Cretaceous period], about 76-65 million years ago. Among the contemporaries of Ornithomimus in North America were Albertosaurus, Parasaurolophus, Euoplocephalus, Kritosaurus, and Nanotyrannus.

**DIET** Ornithomimus was an omnivore, eating both plant and animal matter, including insects, small reptiles and mammals, eggs, fruit, and leaves.

**LOCOMOTION** Ornithomimus walked on two long, slender legs. It was a fast, agile dinosaur, probably running about as quickly as an ostrich, which can run up to 43 mph (70 kph).

**INTELLIGENCE** Ornithomimus was a theropod and among the smartest of the dinosaurs.

**DISCOVERY OF FOSSILS** The first Ornithomimus fossil was found near Denver, Colorado, USA in 1889, and was named by paleontologist Othniel C. Marsh in 1890. Ornithomimus fossils have been found in North America and Mongolia.

**ORNITHOMIMUS ACTIVITY** Ornithomimus printout

**CLASSIFICATION** Ornithomimus belonged to the:


 * Kingdom Animalia (animals)
 * Phylum Chordata (having a hollow nerve chord ending in a brain)
 * Class [|Archosauria] ([|diapsids] with socket-set teeth, etc.)
 * Order [|Saurischia] - lizard-hipped dinosaurs
 * Suborder [|Theropoda] - bipedal carnivores
 * Infraorder [|Coelurosauria] - lightly-built fast-running predators with hollow bones and large brains
 * Superfamily Maniraptoriformes - advanced coelurosaurs with a fused wrist bone
 * Family Ornithomimosauria - ostrich mimics, the fastest dinosaurs. Had large eyes.
 * Genus Ornithomimus
 * species velox (the type species)

"Small Hunter" ** ||
 * ** MICROVENATOR

**ANATOMY** Microvenator (meaning "small hunter") was a small, fast-moving, lightly-built dinosaur that walked on two long legs. It was about 4 ft. (1.2 m) long and weighed roughly 6.5 to 14 pounds (3 to 6.4 kg). This turkey-sized predator had short arms, large eyes, a long neck, a small head, and a long snout tat may have had a toothless beak. Each hand had three long fingers, each equipped with a claw. Each foot had three, clawed, bird-like toes.

**WHEN MICROVENATOR LIVED** Microvenator lived in the early [|Cretaceous period], about 119 million to 113 million years ago. This was a time when the Earth was warmer than it is now and the sea levels were much higher (since there was no polar ice).

**BEHAVIOR, INTELLIGENCE** Microvenator was a relatively large-brained dinosaur that was among the most intelligent of the dinosaurs.

**DIET** Microvenator was a meat-eater. This small, quick-moving predator probably ate small reptiles, small mammals, and insects.

**LOCOMOTION** Microvenator walked on two long, slender, bird-like legs. It must have been a fast runner, considering its long legs and light weight.

**DISCOVERY OF FOSSILS** Microvenator was named by [|paleontologist] John H. [|Ostrom] in 1970. It is known from a partial skeleton (which may be a juvenile) found in Montana, USA.

**CLASSIFICATION** Microvenator belonged to the:


 * Kingdom Animalia (animals)
 * Phylum Chordata (having a hollow nerve chord ending in a brain)
 * Class [|Archosauria] ([|diapsids] with socket-set teeth, etc.)
 * Order [|Saurischia] - lizard-hipped dinosaurs
 * Suborder [|Theropoda] - bipedal carnivores
 * Infraorder [|Coelurosauria] - lightly-built fast-running predators with hollow bones and large brains
 * Superfamily Maniraptoriformes - advanced coelurosaurs with a fused wrist bone
 * Family Maniraptora
 * Genus Microvenator
 * species celer (type species)

Dinosaur Timeline Earth history is divided into chunks of time, most importantly aeons, eras and periods. Dinosaurs and other prehistoric reptiles were the dominant animals for about 185 million years during the Mesozoic era, which was a section of the Phanerozoic aeon. More simply, the Mesozoic era lasted from 250 million years ago to 65 million years ago, and contained three periods called the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous. The first reptiles appeared during the ** Palaeozoic Era ** (570 million to 245 million years ago), just before the Each of these eras is divided up into sections called **periods**. Palaeozaic era (say ** pall-ay-oh-zoh-ick ** )
 * Mesozoic Era ** (245 million to 65 million years ago).

Right: //Fossil trilobites// || ||
 * 1.
 * Cambrian period ** : (570 million years ago) || The first fishes, corals, trilobites and shellfish appeared.
 * 2.
 * Ordovician period**: (505 million years ago) || The first nautiloids appeared. Corals and trilobites were common. || [[image:http://www.kidcyber.com.au/IMAGES/fossilnautiloid.jpg align="left"]]

// A fossil nautiloid // ||
 * 3.
 * Silurian period**: (438 million years ago) || The first land plants and giant sea scorpions called //Eurypterids// appeared. || [[image:http://www.kidcyber.com.au/IMAGES/dinoseascorp.jpg align="bottom"]] ||
 * 4.
 * Devonian period**: (408 million years ago) || The first amphibians, insects and spiders appeared. || [[image:http://www.kidcyber.com.au/IMAGES/fossilplant.gif align="left"]]

// Fossil of a plant called Archaeopteris from the Devonian period // ||
 * 5. **Carboniforous period**: (360 million years ago) || // The first reptiles appeared // . Great swamp forests covered the land. || [[image:http://www.kidcyber.com.au/IMAGES/carboniferous.jpg align="center"]] ||
 * 6.
 * Permian period:** (286 million years ago) || The first sailback reptiles such as //Dimetrodon// (right) appeared. || [[image:http://www.kidcyber.com.au/IMAGES/dinodimetrodon.jpg align="center"]] ||

Mesozaic era ( // say mezo-zay-ick // )

Dinosaurs included diplodocus, stegasaurus, brachiosaurus. || ||
 * 1. **Triassic period**: 245 million years ago || The first dinosaurs such as Coelophosis and Euskelosaurus, and mammals, turtles, crocodiles and frogs appeared. || [[image:http://www.kidcyber.com.au/IMAGES/dinocoelophysis.jpg align="bottom"]] ||
 * 2. **Jurassic period**: (208 million years ago) || The first birds appeared (e.g. Archaeopteryx).
 * 3. **Cretaceous period**: (144 million years ago) || Dinosaurs during this time included muttaburrasaurus, quetsalcoatlus, ankylosaurus. The dinosaurs died out towards the end of this period.The first snakes and modern mammals appeared. || [[image:http://www.kidcyber.com.au/IMAGES/dinomuttaburra.jpg align="bottom"]] ||

All through this time the earth was changing. In the Triassic period, all the continents were joined together in one huge landmass. Climate was hot and dry but with rain seasons. The first tree ferns and coniferous trees were starting to appear.

In the Jurassic period the climate changed as the huge continent was breaking up. There were now forests of cycads, conifers and gingko, all plants that still exist today.

In the Cretaceous period the continents had separated and each had its own flora and fauna. However, Australia and Antarctica were still joined together. There were now flowering plants such as magnolias and waterlilies.

Click here for a timeline with information about each era http://www.prehistory.com/colorchr.htm
 * [|Click here] **to read a kidcyber page, 'Gondwanaland' about the drifting apart of the continents
 * Following the Mesozoic era was the Cenozoic (//say sen-oh-zoh-ick//) era (65 million to 0 million years ago), during which many different species of animals appeared. This era ended with the Great Ice Age and the appearance of the first humans. **

The Dinosaurs Weren't Alone
Dinosaurs may have ruled the earth, but they were never alone on it. A colorful cast of characters, including pump-headed insects, gigantic amphibian reptiles and tiny woodland mammals, coexisted with dinosaurs throughout the Mesozoic age. Supporting this ancient ecosystem was an equally fascinating array of plants. "If we want to understand the environment dinosaurs came from and why they succeeded, we have to use all the information available to us," says Kevin Padian, professor of Integrative Biology at the University of California at Berkeley. Richard Stucky of the Denver Museum of Natural History agrees. "We want to know what dinosaurs were like, how they interacted with one another and what kinds of communities they lived in. Studying the environment can give us important clues." But finding and piecing together these clues is tricky.

It is the rare living thing that become a fossil in death. The vast majority of organisms, whether they be plants, animals or insects, simply decompose. But sometimes, if conditions are just right, an organism can be preserved for millions of years. Find out how some ancient organisms beat the clock—and what role they may have played in the lives of the dinosaurs.

The first step towards fossilization for vertebrates, or animals with backbones, is rapid burial in sediment. One scenario might be a drowned animal that washes downstream and lodges into a riverbank, where it quickly becomes covered in sand or mud. The animal's soft parts, namely its flesh and organs, rot away, while sediments surround and protect the animal's hard parts—its bones and teeth. Over time, mineral-rich water percolates through the bone's tiny pores and, gradually, the bones absorb these minerals and turn to stone. But this is only the beginning. For a fossil to survive through time, the surrounding rock must withstand the forces of erosion and tectonic activity as well.

The fossil record reveals that dinosaurs first appeared in the Triassic period, between 250 to 213 million years ago. It also reveals that the first turtle, the first salamander, and the first frog appeared in the Triassic, as did the first crocodilian reptile, the phytosaur. On land, mammals also made their debut during this period, in the form of small insect-and-seed eating critters that scurried around the forest underbrush. Knowing the vertebrate players is important, according to Kevin Padian, professor of Integrative Biology at the University of California at Berkeley, because it gives insight into how dinosaurs may have gotten their first toehold in their climb to supremacy. "It's pretty clear that the first dinosaurs weren't directly competing with other animals for food. Phytosaurs were in the water eating mainly fish and there were reptilian herbivores on land, like some of the aetosaurs. But early dinosaurs were small bipedal carnivores—meaning they had their hands free and ate meat. So they did very well."

Figuring out the relationship between plants and dinosaurs can be revealing, but is difficult to do. The problem is not for a lack of specimens. Plant fossils easily outnumber bone fossils and they come in many more forms. The billions and billions of tons of coal in the world are ancient plant remains, as are compressed leaves, leaf imprints, pollen grains and pieces of fossilized wood. The difficulty is that bone fossils and plant fossils are rarely found at the same site. "It has to do with the chemical conditions that favor preservation of bones as opposed to those that favor the preservation of plant matter," explains Scott Wing, Curator in the Department of Paleobiology at the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History. "Plant matter is preserved best in an acidic environment, like in a peat bog. Whereas bones, having a lot of calcium in them, are essentially demineralized by acidic conditions. If you drop a bone in a bog, it gets rubbery, loses its calcium and it's difficult for it to be preserved. Conversely, if you take a piece of plant and drop it in a nice alkaline soil where a bone would likely be preserved, the plant is going to be degraded, not only by the chemical conditions, but also by all organisms that live in the soil."

Despite this wrinkle, plant groups of the Mesozoic are well known. The major players were; conifers, a tree similar to today's Norfolk Island Pines; cycads, a palm-like tree with leathery leaves and great big cones that still grow in some tropical areas; bennettitales, a wholly extinct group of plants that had leaves like cycads, but were more closely related to flowering plants; and ferns, which were more varied and abundant than they are today. Flowering plants, or angiosperms, first appeared near the end of the Mesozoic, around 144 million years ago, and quickly took hold, constituting nine-tenths of all known plant species by the end of the period. Grass, so common today, was completely non-existent.

If plant fossils and dinosaur fossils tend to avoid one another, how //do// paleontologist answer questions like, "What did herbivorous dinosaurs eat?" "You use some manner of correlation," explains Peter Dodson, Professor of Anatomy in Geology, at the University of Pennsylvania. "Some of the large, important fossil deposits of the American and Canadian west are geographically quite widespread. So you find bones and skeletons in one place and maybe a few miles away you find rich plant deposits. You build up a picture from all the material that's available from different geographical localities." Richard Stucky, Curator of Paleontology at the Denver Museum of Natural History, agrees. "Oftentimes you get sites with specimens above and below the time period you're looking at and you can extrapolate that a particular critter or plant lived through the period you're interested in."

Another source of information on dinosaur diets, albeit a rare one, are coprolites, or fossilized dung. "Coprolites give information about what one particular individual was eating, but you don't usually know what genus or even what species was producing the coprolite unless you find it inside a dinosaur skeleton," explains Scott Wing. "In general, it's a pretty speculative endeavor. You've got your plant fossils and you've got your dinosaur fossils—and they're often not from the same places or even from the same times. We can track changes in plants through time and we can track changes in dinosaurs through time, but we don't have any very good way of establishing cause and effect. So the real answer to 'What did dinosaurs eat?' is that, most of the time, we don't know."

Insects are perhaps the least understood organisms of the Mesozoic. Conrad Labandiera, a research scientist specializing in fossil insects at the National Museum of Natural History, explains that this is due, in part, to their sheer number. "Estimates of modern insect species range from about 5 million to 30 million. For vertebrates, including fish, it's about 80 or 90 thousand. One of the consequences of there being so many more insects living today is that their proportional know-ability in the past is less. The other issue is that there are so few people studying them." Aside from a colleague in Canada and a small cadre of scientists in Russia, Labandeira is alone in his work.

Ideal conditions for preserving insects are different from those that preserve plants or bones. An insect's exoskeleton is made out of a substance called chitin. "You know when you step on a cockroach or beetle? That snap is chitin," explains Labandiera. "And chitin is best preserved when it's entombed in very fine-grained sediments." Typically, insects destined for fossilization were ones that got washed into a stagnant body of water like a lake or pond, where they quickly became buried. Mummification in tree resin or amber, popularized in Steven Spielberg's film "Jurassic Park," is a less common method of preservation and only appears in the fossil record after 125 million years ago. "I don't know why that is," says Labandiera. "One possibility is that wood boring insects really didn't savage trees until then, but it's really a mystery."

The story of ancient insects really begins in the period preceding dinosaurs—in the Paleozoic Age, between 590 to 248 million years ago. Insects with piercing and sucking mouth parts, primitive grasshopper-like bugs and giant dragon flies flourished, as did the primitive ancestors of modern insects. But an episode at the end of the Paleozoic Age called the Permian Extinction wiped out most of these insects, not to mention a number of other life forms. The insects that survived into the Mesozoic Age are basically the insects that we know today. "If you were plopped down into the Cretaceous by a time machine, and you had a basic entomology textbook with the keys to the families, you probably wouldn't have much trouble finding your way around," states Labandeira. "There'd be a few things you'd have trouble with—a few extinct groups like the Kalligrafmatidae that had butterfly-like wings—or the flea-sized Saurophthirius which had small antennae and a pump on top if its head that inflated like a balloon to create negative suction to pull up, we think, blood." Labandeira is quick to point out that these creatures may still exist today somewhere in the tropics, but because of our poor knowledge of insects, they may have gone undetected.

Despite their relatively small size, there is evidence that insects played a very big role in the lives of dinosaurs. Insects may have competed directly with herbivorous dinosaurs for food. "That's certainly been an important question in modern ecosystems," says Labandeira. "In grasslands, vertebrates probably outperform insects in terms of consumption of plant material—but in all other ecosystems, it looks like it's the other way around." Insects may have played a role in recycling dinosaur waste. A researcher named Karen Chin recently looked at cross-sections of dinosaur coprolites and found structures within that indicated the presence of scarab beetles that were probably feeding on the dung. Insect also may have been responsible for transporting diseases like malaria and dysentery, but Labandeira admits this possibility is purely speculative.

the pelosaurus pelosaurus was a large animal, related to Brachiosaurus