Ethan_Trinh

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//**Dinosaurs lived millions of years ago.They have been extinct long ago.The only thing that represents them is fosills.Thats right fosills.**//

** The Name ‘Dinosaur’ comes from the Greek //dinos// (meaning ‘terribly great) and //saur// //(//lizard). The name dinosaur was given because of their enormous size and their reptilian appearance. **
 * The Name Dinosaur **

Palaeontologists now have evidence that dinosaurs lived on all of the continents. At the beginning of the age of dinosaurs (during the Triassic Period, about 230 million years ago) the continents we now know were arranged together as a single super continent called Pangea. During the 165 million years of dinosaur existence this super continent slowly broke apart. Its pieces then spread across the globe into a nearly modern arrangement by a process called plate tectonics. Volcanoes, earthquakes, mountain building, and sea-floor spreading are all part of plate tectonics, and this process is still changing our modern Earth.
 * Where did dinosaurs live? **



Why did some dinosaurs grow so big?
Palaeontologists don't know for certain, but perhaps a large body size protected them from most predators, helped to regulate internal body temperature, or let them reach new sources of food (some probably browsed treetops, as giraffes do today). No modern animals except whales are even close in size to the largest dinosaurs; therefore, palaeontologists think that the dinosaurs' world was much different from the world today and that climate and food supplies must have been favorable for reaching great size.

How fast could dinosaurs walk or run?
Estimates of dinosaur speeds vary because several different methods are used to calculate them. One recent estimate suggests that an average person might have been able to to outrun an adult //Tyrannosaurus// (although you probably would not volunteer to try). The two basic approaches for estimating dinosaur speed are comparing to recorded speeds of modern animals of similar body size and build, and measuring distances between fossil footprints in a trackway and using these distances to calculate estimated speed. Walking-speed estimates for medium-sized bipedal (two-legged) dinosaurs vary from 4 kph to 6 kph, and peak running-speed estimates vary from 37 kph to 88 kph. The highest figure (88.6 kph) is the same as the peak speed of the currently fastest land animals, such as the North American pronghorn "antelope" (//Antilocapra americana//), and very probably is too high.


 * [[image:http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dinosaurs/speed.gif width="480" height="144" caption="Chart showing speedsof modern-day animals and dinosaurs"]] ||


 * Speed comparison of some ancient and modern animals ||

Did dinosaurs communicate?
Dinosaurs probably communicated both vocally and visually. The chambered headcrests on some dinosaurs such as //Corythosaurus// and //Parasaurolophus// might haved been used to amplify grunts or bellows. Defensive posturing, courtship behavior, and territory fights probably involved both vocal and visual displays. An angry //Triceratops// bull shaking his head at you, even silently, would have made himself very clearly understood!

Why did the dinosaurs die out?
There are dozens of theories to explain a probable cause or causes. Throughout the Mesozoic Era, individual dinosaur species were evolving and becoming extinct for various reasons. The unusually massive extinction at the end of the Cretaceous exterminated the last of the dinosaurs, the flying reptiles, and the large swimming reptiles, as well as many other marine animals. There is now widespread evidence that a meteorite impact was at least the partial cause for this extinction. Impact craters are visible on most planets in our solar system. A spectacular example of this was witnessed in 1994, when Jupiter was struck by a series of cometary fragments. Some of these impact blasts were larger than the Earth's diameter. Other factors such as extensive release of volcanic gases, climatic cooling (with related changes in ocean currents and weather patterns), sea-level change, low reproduction rates, poison gases from a comet, or changes in the Earth's orbit or magnetic field may have contributed to this extinction event.

When did the dinosaurs first appear on Earth?
The oldest dinosaur types are known from rocks in Argentina and Brazil and are about 230 million years old. The most primitive of these types, //Eoraptor//, was a small meat-eating dinosaur. Because //Eoraptor//'s skeleton shows some advanced skeletal features, older dinosaurs may yet be found.

When did dinosaurs become extinct?
Dinosaurs went extinct about 65 million years ago (at the end of the Cretaceous Period), after living on Earth for about 165 million years. If all of Earth time from the very beginning of the dinosaurs to today were compressed into 365 days (1 calendar year), the dinosaurs appeared January 1 and became extinct the third week of September. (Using this same time scale, the Earth would have formed approximately 18.5 years earlier.) By comparison, people (//Homo sapiens//) have been on earth only since December 31 (New Year's eve). The dinosaurs' long period of dominance certainly makes them unqualified successes in the history of life on Earth.

What did dinosaurs eat?
Some dinosaurs ate lizards, turtles, eggs, or early mammals. Some hunted other dinosaurs or scavenged dead animals. Most, however, ate plants (but not grass, which hadn't evolved yet). Rocks that contains dinosaur bones also contain fossil pollen and spores that indicate hundreds to thousands of types of plants existed during the Mesozoic Era. Many of these plants had edible leaves, including evergreen conifers (pine trees, redwoods, and their relatives), ferns, mosses, horsetail rushes, cycads, ginkos, and in the latter part of the dinosaur age flowering (fruiting) plants. Although the exact time of origin for flowering plants is still uncertain, the last of the dinosaurs certainly had fruit available to eat.

Are all fossil animals dinosaurs?
No. Dinosaurs are a group of ancient reptiles that had a set of particular skeletal features. The hips, hind legs, and ankles were specialized and allowed the legs to move directly under the body, rather than extending out from the side of the body as in modern lizards. This arrangement enabled dinosaurs to bring their knees and ankles directly below their hips and provided the necessary attachments for very strong leg muscles. Dinosaur skeletons were well designed for supporting a large body, for standing erect (upright), and for running. The front legs were adapted for grasping prey, for supporting weight, or for walking and running. The skulls of dinosaurs were designed for maximum strength, for minimum weight, and (in some cases) for grasping, holding, or tearing at prey. These skeletal features separated dinosaurs from other ancient reptiles such as //Dimetrodon//, the plesiosaurs, and pterosaurs. Fossil mammals, like mammoths and "saber-toothed tigers" (e.g., //Smilodon//), are also often incorrectly called dinosaurs.
 * [[image:http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dinosaurs/not-dinos.gif width="231" height="144" align="center" caption="Drawing showing ancient animals that were not dinosaurs"]] ||
 * These ancient animals are **NOT** dinosaurs! ||

How are dinosaurs named?
Dinosaurs generally are named after a characteristic body feature, after the place where they were found, or after a person involved in the discovery. Usually the name consists of two Greek or Latin words (or combinations); in order, these are the genus (plural, genera) and the species name. For example, the Greek and Latin combination (binomen) //Tyrannosaurus rex// means "king of the tyrant lizards." Biologists name modern animals exactly the same way. Some examples include humans (//Homo sapiens//), domestic dogs (//Canis familiaris//), golden eagles (//Aquila chrysaetos//), box turtles (//Terrapene carolina//), and rattlesnakes (//Crotalus horridus//).

Did all the dinosaurs live together, and at the same time?
Dinosaur communities were separated by both time and geography. The "age of dinosaurs" (the Mesozoic Era) included three consecutive geologic time periods (the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous Periods). Different dinosaur species lived during each of these three periods. For example, the Jurassic dinosaur //Stegosaurus// already had been extinct for approximately 80 million years before the appearance of the Cretaceous dinosaur //Tyrannosaurus//. In fact, the time separating //Stegosaurus// and //Tyrannosaurus// is greater than the time separating //Tyrannosaurus// and you. At the beginning of dinosaur history (the Triassic Period), there was one supercontinent on Earth (Pangea). Many dinosaur types were widespread across it. However, as Pangea broke apart, dinosaurs became scattered across the globe on separate continents, and new types of dinosaurs evolved separately in each geographic area.

How many types of dinosaurs are known?
Approximately 700 species have been named. However, a recent scientific review suggests that only about half of these are based on fairly complete specimens that can be shown to be unique and separate species. These species are placed in about 300 valid dinosaur genera (//Stegosaurus//, //Diplodocus//, etc.), although about 540 have been named. Recent estimates suggest that about 700 to 900 //more// dinosaur genera may remain to be discovered. Most dinosaur genera presently contain only one species (for example, //Deinonychus//) but some have more (for example, //Iguanodon//). Even if all of the roughly 700 published species are valid, their number is still less than one-tenth the number of currently known living bird species, less than one-fifth the number of currently known mammal species, and less than one-third the number of currently known spider species.

Were dinosaurs social animals?
Some dinosaurs were social creatures. Recently discovered evidence indicates that they travelled together and that some may even have migrated (because dinosaur fossils have been found above the Arctic Circle, where food supply would have been seasonal). Grouped hadrosaur nest sites have been found with badly crushed eggshells and skeletons of baby dinosaurs (with slightly worn teeth) still in the nests, suggesting that some babies stayed in their nests after hatching and probably were fed by parents.
 * [[image:http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dinosaurs/group.gif width="285" height="95" align="center" caption="Drawing of dinosaur herd"]] ||
 * Group behavior in the Triassic early dinosaur //Coelophysis// ||

What colors were dinosaurs?
Direct fossil evidence for dinosaur skin color is unknown. Paleontologists think that some dinosaurs likely had protective coloration, such as pale undersides to reduce shadows, irregular color patterns ("camouflage") to make them less visible in vegetation, and so on. Those dinosaurs that had enough armor, such as the stegosaurs and ceratopsians, may not have needed protective coloration but may have been brightly colored as a warning to predators or as a display for finding a mate. Most dinosaurs probably were as brightly colored as modern lizards, snakes, or birds.

  






**• Provocative Question **


 * DID DINOSAURS REALLY EXIST? **

Yes, dinosaurs did really exist. Scientist have found fossils and foot prints in the sand that have been preserved over a period of time. They were covered by different kinds of sand, dirt, and dust. This is how fossils become fossilised.

Today we are able to visit different museums around the world, to gain an in-depth knowledge for ourselves. We are able to see different dinosaur’s fossils begin displayed right in front of our very own eyes.A variety of fossils are not dinosaurs, some are bugs or even parts of the alligator. The alligator has been a preditor of small dinos.

Some museums around the world include:


 * The New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science in New Mexico
 * The Dinosaur Depot Museum in Colorado
 * The Dinosaurland Fossil Museum in United Kingdom

http://www.nmnaturalhistory.org/sci_main.html http://www.dinosaurdepot.com/ http://www.dinosaurland.co.uk/

• **Skills of Search **


 * CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING PERIODS TRIASSIC – JURASSIC – CRETACEOUS. **


 * TRASSIC: ** A period of time when all the continents were joined together to form the SuperContinent.

At first there were no dinosaurs but there were many amphibians and some reptiles and dicynodonts (like Lystrosaurus). One of the earliest true mammals was the three-foot-long (one-meter-long) Eozostrodon. The shrewlike creature laid eggs but fed its young mother's milk. Among the first dinosaurs was the two-footed carnivore Coelophysis, which grew up to 9 feet (2.7 meters) tall, weighed up to a hundred pounds (45 kilograms), and probably fed on small reptiles and amphibians. Triassic had the smallest number of dinosaurs. In this period most dinosaurs were thin and feed on small reptiles.

Supercontinent Breaks Up: this period ended with a sonic boom caused by a meteoroid accompanied by a large number of volcanic eruptions. The giant supercontinent of Pangaea began breaking up toward the end of the Triassic Period. The process started with Europe's separation from Africa, leaving a widening breach filled by the so-called Tethys Ocean. This seaway gradually extended right through Pangaea, pushing South America away from Central and North America, which in turn began drifting apart from Europe, leaving the North Atlantic Ocean in its wake. The South Atlantic formed later when Africa and South America went their separate ways. These new seas acted as biological barriers, allowing different continents to develop their own distinct plants and animals.

** JURASSIC: ** Dinosaurs, birds, Crumbling landmasses, sharks, and blood-red plankton and forests of ferns began to take form.

The temperature was warm, moist with tropical breezes. This was the Jurassic period.

At the start of the period, the breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea continued and accelerated. Laurasia, the northern half, broke up into North America and Eurasia. Gondwana, the southern half, began to break up by the mid-Jurassic. The eastern portion—Antarctica, Madagascar, India, and Australia—split from the western half—Africa and South America. New oceans flooded the spaces in between. Mountains rose on the seafloor, pushing sea levels higher and onto the continents

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 * • Study Creative Process **


 * CREATE A DATA BANK UNDER HEADINGS PICTURE BOOKS/ FICTION/ NON FICTION **

Fiction**
 * PICTURE BOOKS:

Amazing Facts about Australian Dinosaurs __by Scott Hocknull and Dr Alex Cook, QLD Museum__ Discovering Dinos __Published in Australia by Funtastic Publishing__ Harry and the Dinosaurs Go Wild __by Ian Whybrow and Adrian Reynolds__ Dinosaur Roar __by Paul & Henrietta Stickland__

Dinosaurs a first board book from The Children’s Dinosaur Encylopedia Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs by Illustrator-Byron Barton The World Encyclopaedia of Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures
 * Non Fiction**

Non Fiction**
 * Movies:

Prehistoric Park is a six-episode docu-fiction television mini-series that premiered on Animal Planet on October 29, 2006.


 * Fiction**

Ice Age 1 Ice Age 2 Ice Age 3 Jurassic Park 1 Jurassic Park 2

**• Creative Reading Skills **

**CHOOSE 2 NON-FICTION BOOKS ABOUT DINOSAUR CHARACTER AND COMPLETE DE BONO 6 HAT RETRIVAL CHART.**

[|The De Bono 6 Hats]



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