Clarendon Learning explores the world of dinosaurs!
Where were you when Dinosaurs roamed the earth?
I don’t think you were around when Dinosaurs were on the earth.
Your parents weren’t alive during the time of the Dinosaurs,
in fact, there weren’t any people at all when these giant creatures lived on the earth!
and that's probably a good thing.
Dinosaurs lived on the earth millions of years ago...HUNDREDS of million years ago.
Dinosaurs have captured our imagination ever since Sir Richard Owen a paleontologist
unearthed the fossilized bones of a large creature and didn’t have a name for it;
so,
he named it for the Greek word meaning "Terrible Lizard" the word is...
DINOSAUR!
And although Dinosaurs were not lizards...they WERE reptiles,
I think Dinosaur is a great name for these creatures that lived so long ago!
Since then thousands and thousands of Dinosaur fossils have been dug up
all over the world...and since then, thousands of stories have been told about Dinosaurs.
many stories come from imagination; stories like...Journey to the Center of the Earth
and The Land Before Time!
and Jurassic Park!
And of course, there are the toys! All kinds of Dino toys to spark your interest and imagination!
We must use our imagination because there are no living Dinosaurs on the earth today.
But, we DO have Dinosaur bones, and we DO have Paleontologists!
What’s a Paleontologist?
Paleontologists are scientists who dig up and study dinosaur bones called fossils.
Millions of years ago when Dinosaurs walked about, maybe they would die in deep mud
or in a swamp or maybe sand or in a river
and if the Dinosaur was covered up quickly it would be preserved down in the earth.
through the millions of years all the soft parts of the Dinosaur would dissolve away
leaving the skeleton and all the bones would be filled with minerals making the
bones as hard as stone, becoming fossils!
Dinosaur footprints can become fossils too!
Over time...a long, long time; the earth changed, swamps dried up,
jungles became deserts, and seas became mountains and there the fossils waited
and waited,
to be dug up by Paleontologists.
Fossils have been found on every continent of the world!
They have been found in backyards and in the ground at construction sites.
Maybe someday you will find a Dinosaur fossil!
Someday you may want to become a Paleontologist!
It takes a lot of work and patience to dig up Dinosaur fossils.
Paleontologists are like detectives; they can tell by looking at the earth
where to look for fossils.
Paleontologists start digging with pickaxes and shovels,
but as they get closer to the fossils they must use smaller tools like rock hammers
and chisels.
and then when they get very close they must use little dental picks and brushes
they must be very careful not to damage the fossil.
Some of the best places in the United States to find Dinosaur tracks and fossils are;
Utah
Texas
California
Montana
South Dakota
and Wyoming.
Is there a Dinosaur quarry or museum near you?
Paleontologists try to collect all the bones they find and put them
together like a puzzle and when they’re finished
they have what hopefully looks like a complete Dinosaur without the skin!
The fun part is naming the Dinosaur!
Most of the time, the Person who discovered the Dino Fossil gets to name it.
Sometimes the official names are longand difficult to pronounce,
but let’s give it a shot together!
Let me introduce you to “Sue” the Tyrannosaurus Rex or “T-Rex”;
its name means “King of the Tyrant Lizards”;
it was as long as a school bus and taller than a basketball hoop!
Can you tell that it was Carnivorous?
Carnivorous means “Meat Eater”. It takes long sharp teeth
for a Dinosaur to be a meat eater.
The largest and most complete fossil skeleton of a T-Rex ever found is now on
display at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, Illinois.
This T-Rex has a nickname, its name is Sue.
It was discovered by Paleontologist, Sue Hendrickson.
67 million years ago Sue, The T-Rex of course,
roamed the hills of South Dakota;
its head alone is over five feet long!
The T-Rex was no friend of the Triceratops.
Triceratops was about the size of an African elephant and was an Herbivore;
meaning it ate plants and vegetation which it would chew
with its rows and rows of 800 Teeth!
How do you think Triceratops got its name?
The name means three-horned face
Does the name fit?
It looks like Triceratops could use its large boney frill like a shield
and its long horns to protect itself!
What do you think?
Triceratops fossils are very popular to have in museums.
Now maybe you can see why it’s a good thing that people and
Dinosaurs didn’t live at the same time!
I’ll stick to visiting them in themuseum!
Someday, if YOU become a Paleontologist you just may find a treasure
of Dinosaur fossils and YOU can put them together and give it a name.
Not all Dinosaurs were huge.
Here is Velociraptor...it was very swift and probably had feathers.
But, it couldn’t fly. It was only about the size of a turkey with a long tail and
it had a large claw that it could use to seize its prey.
As you can see, Dinosaurs that walked on two legs, also had long tails to
help them keep their balance.
Other Dinosaurs like Ankylosaurs used their tail for protection.
Here is an ancient creature that really wasn’t a Dinosaur.
But, it WAS a winged reptile and did not have feathers and could fly!
It belongs to the family of Pterosaur.
This is what Paleontologists do!
They try to gather all the clues that are available with the knowledge they have learned,
try to piece together the history of ancient life on our planet.
How cool is that?
During the age of the Dinosaurs the continents of the earth
were mostly all linked together as one super continent scientists call Pangaea
and the Dinosaurs roamed freely upon the land,
and then something happened
something huge
something unexpected!
something happened to the earth to cause most of the life on the earth to die quickly.
What was it?
What do you think it could have been?
Well, some scientists believe that maybe a humongous meteorite or asteroid
hit the earth in the Gulf of Mexico.
That massive collision created a cloud of dust to cover the earth,
changing the climate of the earth.
Other scientists believe that it was extensive volcanic activity
that caused the change in the earths climate.
Maybe both ideas are right.
Whatever it was...most of the life on the earth became extinct
which means that it would disappear forever.
After the extinction of the Dinosaurs new and different kinds of animals
began to develop and grow.
Paleontologists believe that modern birds may be distantly related to the Dinosaurs
because their bone structure is very similar.
WOW!
The study of Dinosaurs is fascinating!
Don't you think?
Some were as tall as trees...
and some like the “Compys” were as small as cats.
There are hundreds of Dinosaur species that have been discovered
and maybe many more that have NOT been discovered
maybe they’ll be discovered by YOU!
Now might be a good time to check out the Clarendon Learning Activity pages!
There you will discover more fun facts about Dinosaurs we haven't talked about
and you’ll even have a chance to create your own Dinosaur!
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