McLaughlin 1
Antonio McLaughlin
Ms.Dalesio
English LA 12200
13 January 2017
The Survival and Extinction of Spinosaurus The Spinosaurus was one of the biggest carnivores living during the Cretaceous Period. In fact the Spinosaurus was bigger than even the Giganotosaurus ,which in turn was bigger than the Tyrannosaurus. The Spinosaurus was around fifty two to fifty nine feet long and weighed seven to nine tons(Castro,Live Science). The name Spinosaurus means spiny lizard and was given this name due to the seven foot tall spines that grew on it’s back. The spines on the Spino’s back were connected by a layer of skin that scientists believe was used for cooling itself off.
The Spinosaurus lived in North Africa and normally hunted in swamps and
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Because the sail is attached to the spine, if the spino ever gets rolled or damages its sail the spino will die. The bones that were recovered by scientists showed that the spino was in a fight with a large carnivore and the dinosaur bit down and broke part of the spino’s sail. The spino did not die instantly but the wound was the cause of its death. In times of drought the spino would go to land and hunt small to large prey. This is where the fighting over a carcass happens, scientists suggest that this was one of the reasons that the spinosaurus went …show more content…
The spino would lose a big part of its normal diet of large fish, and hunt other dinos
McLaughlin 4 and smaller prey to avoid injury. Sometimes the spino would even find a dead animal and start to eat it. Later on other dinos would catch the scent of the carcass and track it down only to find a large predator (the spino) eating it. If hungry enough a fight would break out between the two predators over the carcass. This leads to injuries which could lead to infection and death. The Spinosaurus was too specialized for swamps and other water based environments. When the water dried up, the spino even with it’s varietal appetite, could not survive long without its correct ecosystem.
The spino could not have simply died like all of the other dios of its era by a big meteore. The spino died out before the rest of the other dinos as paleontologists believe was the result of an extreme drought. Scientists came to this conclusion due to some of the spino’s bones being found in the egyptian desert. The body of the spino was more suited to the conditions of the wetlands. Without these conditions most of it’s body became unnecessary in the new environment it was forced into. The long snout that was used to detect fish in water was not good at smelling the scent of other dinos as well as the other dinos. The bones of the spino were a lot lighter than others as well. This would have caused
Pachycephalosaurians, thick-skulled dinosaurs such as the Stegoceras and the Pachycephalosaurus. (1) Ceratopsians and Pachycephalosaurs are closely related in their characteristics. Ceratopsians processed a saddle-shaped boney frill that extended from the skull to the neck and typically had horns over the nose and eyes. The most popular was the triceratops, which could reach over 26 feet and weigh in excess of twelve metric tons. Their frills served two major functions.
Reptiles have a low metabolic rate: they consume energy, and therefore oxygen, slowly. According to Robinson (1975), Plesiosauroids were enduring swimmers with lower flipper aspect ratios and drag-causing long necks. Massare (1988) made the same conclusion, since the hydrodynamic properties of the Plesiosauroids indicate the species moved no faster than 2.3 metres every second. Therefore, the species was confronted by a conundrum: it sought to dive hundreds of metres to hunt its prey yet was constrained, by virtue of its body shape, to travel at slow speed. Invariably, the animal would have been required to forgo oxygen for periods of more than a minute, while keeping the presence of mind to hunt.
...ories of why dinosaurs went extinct abound, and as there is no theory yet to be truly confirmed as the “right one”, my theory of dinosaur cannibalism is also purely anecdotal. The discovery of the cannibalistic Majungatholus atopus in Madagascar is an important scientific find because it confirms a long-standing theory of cannibalism among certain carnivorous dinosaurs. Behavioral patterns of extinct animals are difficult to establish; however, these bones give authentication to previous unfounded beliefs about the ancient feeding practices of some dinosaurs.
The idea of cloning dinosaurs and other prehistoric life became popularized by the 1992 film Jurassic Park (based on Michael Crichton’s 1990 novel). Though it may have sparked new interest into the field of paleontology, it did so with deceiving inaccuracies. However, the technical fallacies of the actual dinosaurs are somewhat forgivable as it added to the film’s dramatic appeal. Velociraptor, as depicted in the film, was about the size of a grown man. In reality, velociraptor came to about the kneecap. Furthermore, velociraptor would more likely have been covered in feathers rather than the lizard-like skin portrayed in the movie. One scene shows velociraptor fogging the window of a door. This is an endothermic or warm blooded trait as it implies the dromaeosaurid’s body temperature is above the temperature of his environment. There is also no evidence of dilophosaurus bearing a neck frill, and brachiosaurus did not have the ability to chew his food in a circular motion (iguanodon was the first dinosaur to develop this technique by acquiring back molars to allow for equine or bovine-like chewing). Fortunately, tyrannosaurus remained very close to his biological authenticity, with the only paleobiological errors stemming from a lack in computer animation such as rudimentary ball and joint programs. However, the erroneous nature of the deoxyribonucle...
The article Tyrannosaurus Rex was a Slowpoke by John Roach relieves us of our fears when it states that, “the Cretaceous landscape was filled with large, lumbering creatures that any human with a fast car or bike or maybe even a quick sprint could outpace” (Roach). He tells us that T-Rex, “did not have the leg strength to run very fast, if at all, according to a computer model developed by two experts in the mechanical movements of living creatures,” and, “bring the discipline of biomechanics to the long and at times contentious debate over just how fast the largest of the largest creatures ever to roam Earth could run.”
Dinosaurs were first believed to be cold-blooded because they were thought to be related closely to reptiles which are cold-blooded creatures. Cold-blooded animals don’t actually have “cold” blood, instead they rely on the temperature from their environment to regulate their own body temperature. They do this by taking advantage of external heat by basking in the sun, and by lying in the shade to cool down. A more correct term is “ectothermic” which means “heat from outside.” On the other hand, a warm-blooded animal creates heat internally by chemical reactions inside their body. They are able to regulate their body temperature internally instead of relying on their environment. Author of the article, “Dinosaurs: Warm or Cold Blooded?” Beverly Eschberger explains, “endothermic animals have a continually high requirement for food to fuel the heat generation. Providing they can find food their constantly-optimum body temperature means that they can stay active even when it is very cold” (par 3). Even though it was believed that dinosaurs were closely related to cold-blooded reptiles, most dinosaurs had similar behaviors of a bird which is a warm blooded animal. Believing dinosaurs were warm blooded would help explain the reason why dinosaurs were so dominant and plentiful for such a long period of time. There are many other factors that play a vital role in ...
The Permian Triassic extinction was an event of cataclysmic disaster and almost the extinction of all species on planet earth. The Permian Triassic extinction is said to have occurred millions of years ago, geologist have estimated that its occurrences happened about 248 million to 286 million years ago. This rare occurrence of events proceeded the Triassic geologic periods and the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras. This mass disaster was the largest dissipation of living life on planet earth; it is believed to be even superior to other crises such as the Ordovician and Devonian events and the conclusion of the cretaceous era that came upon the dinosaurs.
Dinosaurs are an extinct group of animals that thrived for 165 million years starting 230 million years ago in the Late Triassic period of the Mesozoic Era. Despite being extinct for the past 65 million years and not being able to study them in their true form, scientists have been able to estimate many different behaviors of dinosaurs. This paper will show that the close study and examination of different types of body and trace fossils, along with animal models, can be provided as evidence to estimate different types of behaviors in dinosaurs. The different types of behaviors examined below will fall into the categories of: mating; reproduction and nesting; social lives; locomotion; feeding; and fighting. To begin, a great deal of information gathered from fossils and compared to living animal models have been used to estimate mating behaviors.
We use dinosaurs to represent the changes in nature that have occurred throughout time. Studies found that although the “oldest rock did not show evidence of life, the progression of plant and animal life that changed in recognizable intervals, from ancient life, age of reptiles to the age of mammals” (Dino Nature Metaphor, slide 6), measured the age of the earth. When we think of dinosaurs in relation to nature, we think of that very powerful force that controls the cycle of life. Nature was able to yield such magnificent ferocious creatures that walked the earth and then take them back when they served nature’s purpose. Dinosaurs fit perfectly in nature’s constant
There has been a debate about what happened to the dinosaurs since they were discovered. There are many thoughts of what happened to the dinosaurs, the two main theories behind the extinction are scientific and religious. Proof for both theories do exist and debates between scientists are still going on to which one really happened. It is a mystery as much for Evolutionists as it is for Creationists about the extinction of the dinosaurs. The fossil record of dinosaurs was poorly know for a long period of time. During this time period was when the dinosaurs were thought to have gone extinct. The scientific reason for their extinction was that there was a giant asteroid that caused chain reaction and wiped out the dinosaurs. Some scientists say the dinosaur’s extinction came quickly. Evolutionists say the dinosaurs went extinct 65 million years ago. Creationists say that the dinosaurs weren’t able to survive the Earth after the flood. Both of the theories have supporting evidence and that is why there is an ongoing debate over what really happened to the dinosaurs. (WGBH Educational Foundation and Clear Blue Sky Productions, Inc. et al., 2001)
The debate of whether dinosaurs were cold blooded or warm blooded has been ongoing since the beginning of the century. At the turn of the century scientists believed that dinosaurs had long limbs and were fairly slim, supporting the idea of a cold blooded reptile. Recently, however, the bone structure, number or predators to prey, and limb position have suggested a warm blooded species. In addition, the recent discovery of a fossilized dinosaur heart has supported the idea that dinosaurs were a warm blooded species. In this essay, I am going to give supporting evidence of dinosaurs being both warm and cold blooded. I will provide background information on the dinosaur that was discovered and what information it provides scientists.
The Triceratops were very interesting dinosaurs. They were very smart and strategic. They moved in herds and used mating calls. They were very complex. They had an interesting body shape that gave them an advantage towards their predators. They were known for their horns and parrot-like beaks. They were herbivores that lived in North America. Triceratopses were very interesting.
would allow it to scavenge for its own food, so no special feedings would be
Among the species that perished were the dinosaurs, pterosaurs, belemnoids, many species of plants, except ferns and seed-producing plants, ammonoids, marine reptiles and rudist bivalves. Severely affected organisms included planktic foraminifera, calcareous nannnoplankton, diatoms, dinoflagellates, brachiopods, mollusca, echinoids and fish. Mammals, birds, turtles, crocodiles, lizards, snakes and amphibians fared much better and were mostly unaffected by the End-Cretaceous mass extinction (“The End-cretaceous (K-T) Extinction”, accessed 2000...
The dinosaur could not have lived for ever. No creatures, no plants, no tiny bacteria are