Science & Technology
15 Crazy Facts About Dinosaurs
It was millions of years ago that these creatures roamed the earth freely. It seems impossible to believe that they were actually real. If they did not get extinct, what would our world be like today, if humans and dinosaurs somehow managed to live together? Impossible? Their size alone compared to humans is striking and powerful to see in comparison.
Dinosaurs were some of the most powerful and admired creatures that ever lived. They managed to survive among each other for many years and adapted to all the changes that occurred over time. There are a multitude of different types of dinosaurs and endless discoveries that continue to happen every year around the world. It is a science to be studied and completely interesting. There is always something to learn when it comes to paleontology.
We have all seen the movie Jurassic Park and have never forgot it. It was so intriguing because it really showcased how dinosaurs were. It showed how massive they were and how powerful they were. Living in a world with these dinosaurs, the plot was exciting because depending on the kind of dinosaur, it had people running for their lives.
In today`s day and age, there are always some unbelievers who in fact dismiss the entire age of the dinosaur believing it to be a conspiracy. The fact that there are fossils and countless pieces of evidence proving that dinosaurs are real, makes them seem totally illogical and insane. Perhaps they did not want to the believe that they were real because they were scared, or just wanted to go against science or what the general public thinks.
They all possessed different features that made them each unique. Some of these features helped them to defend themselves against other dinos or survive during those conditions. To this day, there are animals that possess the same features that dinosaurs did millions of years ago. Let`s flashback into history and examine 15 crazy facts about dinosaurs…
15. T-rex
Tyrannosaurus Rex is regarded as one of the most scary dinos. It was one of the biggest meat eaters there were. It could devour meat with some of their twelve inch long teeth. To get their meat, these dinosaurs would move really, really fast, up to a pace of 32 kilometers per hour! They were up to 40 feet long and weighed about 5 tons! This dinosaur has been featured in some of the most famous movies about dinosaurs, like Jurrasic Park. They are feared because they showcase people always running for their lives from their gigantic bite and quick movements.
14. Stegosaurus
This type of dino was more gentle and a plant eater rather than a meat eater. They are unique looking with a row of plate looking bones that were in a row along their spine to their tail. These plates rose from their skin and not their actual skeleton. They were about 14 feet in height and weighed roughly 5 tons. Despite being very large, their brain was actually a lot smaller for their body and not very proportional. They are quite beautiful creatures to look at though. There is something very striking about their spikes and how they move slowly.
13. Coelophysis
This was not a very large dinosaur, it weighed about 50 pounds and was about 8 feet long. The name coelophysis actually means hollow bone because it’s bones were actually hollow. They were one of the first dinosaurs to actually have a wishbone on their skeleton. They most likely hunted at night time due to their large eyes and well developed eye sight. These were really quick creatures and a definite danger to smaller dinosaurs.
12. Triceratops
The meaning of their name means three horned face, which is what their face possessed. The horns on their nose and brow were used in order to defend themselves. They were herbivores and had to often defend themselves against meat eating dinos. They had between 400 and 800 teeth throughout their lifetime that would always regenerate, although they did not always use them all. The horns are so powerful to examine, the strength from them alone gave them a lot of power against other dinosaurs. Dinosaurs do not always have to be extremely tall to be feared or in power. Their unique protection like the horns is what made some dinosaurs survive longer throughout the times.
11. Nomingia
This meat eating dinosaur lived in Asia and lived throughout the cretaceous period. They weighed about 40 pounds and measured 5-6 feet long. The small dino resembled mostly like a bird instead of what you typically think is a dinosaur. It’s most distinguished feature was its tail that most birds have in order for their feathers to attach to their bodies allow them to steer when they fly. This dinosaur is so much like a bird, the coloring is beautiful and the fact that there are some feathers really intertwines with our birds today.
10. Oviraptor
This dinosaur’s name means the egg hunter because its skeleton was found perched on eggs that it was supposedly stealing. However, the eggs actually turned out to be its own, therefore making its egg hunting name incorrect. Oviraptor`s weight was about 75 pounds, it had no teeth and resembled an ostrich. It had 2 legs and 3 fingers on each hand which helped it grab things. These poor dinosaurs got a bad reputation because they were actually protecting their own eggs rather than apparently stealing and eating another’s.
9. Spinosaurus
This spine lizard dinosaur was actually the largest meat eater there was. It was around 50 feet in length and weighed up to 20 tons! Their spine alone grew up to 5 feet long. This dino was able to swim and spent a lot of time in rivers of North Africa. Its skull was really long and narrow and snout was studded with various sizes of sharp teeth. It is a definite blend of multiple other dinosaur features. Its feet alone can crush much smaller life forms in a instant without even using its other features.
8. Brachiosaurus
These were large herbivores that lived during the late Jurassic period. They were about 80 feet long and weighed around 80 tons. They were similar to mammals because they were believed to be warm blooded. It could not stand up on it`s back legs because its front legs were a lot longer. These dinos always seem so relaxed and harmless when portrayed in film. They are gentle giants and are absolutely enormous. This dinosaur actually lived in the North American region. It was able to walk on all four legs and had a huge appetite. It was believed that these dinosaurs ate up to 880 pounds of plants every single day! The first fossils of this amazing creature were actually only found in 1900 in the Colorado River. At the time, the fossils dubbed this dinosaur “the largest known dinosaur”.
7. Diplodocus
These are the longest known dinosaurs that were actually up to 88 feet in length and weighed roughly 12 tons. Their neck could reach up to 20 feet long. They helped balance themselves with their back legs and massive tail. Along their spine and tail held spikes that were a major asset to them for defense at the time. Although their body was huge, their head was very small holding a very small brain inside. They ate trees, bushes and ferns. The neck and tail of this dinosaur actually contained almost 100 vertebrae. The neck consisted of 15 vertebrae and the tail 80 much more flexible vertebrae designed for movement. The tail was used in order to hold predators at bay and not just help balance out it`s whole body weight.
6. Majungasaurus
This dinosaur inhabited North Africa and has been known to indulge in cannibalism. It is still unsure if they hunted their own kind or simply feasted on the remains of an already dead Majungasaurus. It stood on two feet and had small arms similar to a T-Rex. Despite being very tiny with extremely small claws, this dinosaur knew how to survive and thrive. It was one of the last dinosaurs around and most likely got extinct during the mass extinction.
5. Albertosaurus
This was the world`s fastest tyrannosaur that presumably hunted in pacts. They grew really quickly and gained most of its weight in its teenage years adding over 200 pounds in weight per year. This is one similar thing that dinosaurs have with human teenagers, they both grow like crazy during their teenage years. They would target young prey or the aging or weak. Fossils of hatchlings or juvenile albertosaurus’ are very rare because of the less solid bones they possessed when young or were eaten if already dead.
4. Baryonyx
This was the first fish eating dinosaur to be discovered and its name means heavy claw. It was roughly 9 feet tall and weighed 2 tons. It had a jaw similar to a crocodile and had over 95 razor sharp teeth. They would sweep their claws around in the river in order to catch their fish, this is very similar to the way grizzly bears catch their fish today. This is a very successful way to catch fish, millions of years ago and even today. Some things never change! This creature was discovered late in the year 1983. This discovery happened long after the time when all of the fossils were being discovered around the same time. Its claw was the first thing seen and the discoverers were very lucky because this claw was attached to an almost full skeleton of this dinosaur.
3. Rajasaurus
This dinosaur lived in India over 65 million years ago. It was around ten feet tall and weight 3-4 tons. Its name means regal lizard and it was a meat eater with very tiny arms. It lived 65 to 70 million years ago during the cretaceous period. India tries to educate people about this dinosaur a lot through cultural incorporation. In india, there was a ride created: Rajasaurus River Adventure inspired by Universal Parks’ Jurassic Park The Ride. This creature was a carnivore and would target small sauropods that it was able to catch and eat. It would also target herbivores who were very weak and young as that was easy prey for it. Not only would it consume that, it would sometimes eat the carcass of an already dead dinosaur.
2. Avimimus
Around 70 million years ago the Avimimus lived in Mongolia and was an omnivorous dinosaur. It was quite small but had a very large brain for its body. It was similar to a bird, it could run but chances are that it was too weak to be able to gain flight. It was very skilled on it`s feet and had 3 claws improving it`s mobile abilities. Its colors were very bright and beautiful and it was very similar to birds of today. Researchers believe that this dinosaur was actually covered in feathers and that the bones in the creature’s hands were fused together in the same way that regular birds’ are today.
1. Kentrosaurus
This name has the meaning of spiky lizard. It was 5 meters long in length and was a plant eater. It would walk on four legs and had a very small head in comparison to its body size. It had small bone plates down its spine and tail from outside its skin that were designed to help protect it. There were two large spikes also coming out of each shoulder. It weighed in between 1 and 1.5 tons. It was a very slow moving dinosaur, but that is relative considering it was so large. The size of its brain was actually about the same size as a walnut. The creature actually had no teeth around it`s beak area but did have some teeth around its cheek which allowed it to process its food. This dinosaur was heavily protected by natural armor. It had many plates that exuded from it`s body and on top of these plates held spikes for its protection. If the dinosaur wanted to, it could actually stand on its back legs for a brief period in order to help it have access to some more food if needed. When doing so, it allowed the dinosaur to eat higher up foods like conifers and gingkos.