Were dinosaurs smart? What was the biggest dinosaur? How did they turn into fossils? How did they go extinct? All are questions that not all people know. Dinosaurs were once the rulers of the planet. They were the only things on earth at the time. They were the top, middle, and bottom of the food chain. This paper will help you discover the answers to those questions.
The most intelligent dinosaur was the velociraptor. It had a large space for it's brain. The velociraptor was only about 3 feet tall and 5 feet long. This dinosaur only weighed about 25 pounds. The velociraptor walked on two legs, therefore, it was known as a bipedal dinosaur. (DinosaurDaysTM, 1)
The velociraptor was also one of the fastest dinosaurs. Velociraptor's meaning is “speedy thief”. It ran as fast as 40 mph. The
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velociraptor's stiff tail helped with balance and helped when making sharp turns when they swung it. It had a very strong jaw with about 80 very sharp, curved teeth. The velociraptor hunted in groups and ate mostly plant eating dinosaurs. They lived by freshwater streams where it was hot and dry. (DinosaurDaysTM, 1) The biggest dinosaur known is an Aardonyx, which means “Earth Claw”. The Aardonyx is a kind of a sauropod dinosaur. They lived in the early Jurassic Period around 195 million years ago near South Africa. Aardonyx's were herbivores that were biped which meant that it's forearm bones interlocked. The fossil of the Aardonyx was the largest fossil ever found. (Matthew Bonnan, 1) The extinction of non-avian dinosaurs was about 66 million years ago. There are three main theories about how dinosaurs went extinct. These theories are that an asteroid hit the earth, there were multiple large volcano eruptions, and the climate changed. It is also thought that all three theories could have contributed to the extinction of dinosaurs. Therefore, we may never know what actually caused dinosaur extinction. (Stephen L. Brusatte, 1) The most well-known and believed theory of the dinosaur extinction is the asteroid impact theory.
The asteroid was approximately 6 miles across and it caused a lot of changes that affected the dinosaurs. Some of these were temperature changes, acid rain, air borne debris, regional wildfires, and months or even years of darkness. The resulting plume of the debris from the asteroid impact could have caused the sun to become temporarily blocked. Therefore, this could have caused the plants to die, causing the herbivores that ate them to die, resulting in the carnivores also dying. (J. David Archibald, 1034)
Volcanic activity and climate changes are also probable theories. Large volcano eruptions would have caused massive areas to be covered in ash and lava disrupting the food and water supply. Volcanic activity could have also caused long term habitat changes resulting from the lava that flowed over the area. (J. David Archibald, 1030) Climate changes also could have contributed to extinction. The temperature could have gotten too hot or too cold, and the land could have gotten to wet or too dry for them to live. (J. David Archibald,
1029) Fossils are useful in geology. With the use of dinosaur fossils, geologists can figure out when the dinosaurs lived. Dinosaur fossils are very unique in particular times and places. Fossils are very fragile because of how old they are. They are also very hard to find. (Harvard, 1) Fossils are the mineral skeleton of an organism. The bones, shells, or impression of a dinosaur is the mineral skeleton. In order for the dinosaur to become a fossil, it must be buried before it is destroyed. Trace fossils of the dinosaur moving are also common. Trace fossils can be tracks, tooth marks, eggs, or nests. (Harvard, 1) When the dinosaur dies, scavengers usually tear apart the carcass. The skin, muscles, and organs of the dinosaur decay rapidly. The bones remain intact due to the protection of the sediments. If the dinosaur carcass was in the water, the water would dissolve some of the chemicals in the bones. Being in the water would also add minerals to the sediment that would help hold it all together. (Leslie o’ Flahavan, 2) Were dinosaurs smart? What was the biggest dinosaur? How did they turn into fossils? How did they go extinct? I've found the answers to all of these questions. I have learned that the velociraptor was the most intelligent and the fastest of all the dinosaurs, and Aardonyx was the largest of the dinosaurs. There are three main theories for dinosaur extinction, but we may never know the actual cause. Fossils took many years to form, and could form from bones or trace matter. Finally, I have learned that birds are direct descendants of dinosaurs, so not all dinosaurs are extinct.
...silophodon, a small, agile bipedal herbivore. The Ceratopsians appeared at beginning of cretaceous period from the family Ornithopoda. Pachycephalosaurs contained a ten inch thick skull, which was actually fairly fragile, and their first line of self defense would be to run away. Ceratopsians, which mean horned face, are large beasts with horns that can defend themselves pretty well. Both were very similar, but contained distinct differences.
“Sex, Drugs, Disasters, and the Extinction of Dinosaurs” is written by Stephen Jay Gould, professor of geology and zoology at Harvard. This essay is one of more than a hundred articles on evolution, zoology, and paleontology published by Gould in national magazines and journals. It tells about scientific proposals for the extinction of dinosaurs – a confusing but an exciting problem that humanity tries to solve. By analyzing and describing each of the claims for the reptiles’ demise – sex, drugs, and disasters – Gould differentiates bad science from good science and explains what makes some theories silly speculations, while the other, a testable hypothesis.
The biggest mass extinction of the past 600 million years (My), the end-Permian event (251 My ago), witnessed the loss of as much as 95% of all species on Earth. Key questions for biologists concern what combination of environmental changes could possibly have had such a devastating effect, the scale and pattern of species loss, and the nature of the recovery. New studies on dating the event, contemporary volcanic activity, and the anatomy of the environmental crisis have changed our perspectives dramatically in the past five years. Evidence on causation is equivocal, with support for either an asteroid impact or mass volcanism, but the latter seems most probable.
9 Brett-Surman, M K, et al. Top 10 Misconceptions about Dinosaurs. [online] Available at http://www.nmnh.si.edu/paleo/faq.html
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
They ruled the world before the time of the dinosaurs, from the Cambrian Period to the
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.
slow extinction, or did it happen all of the sudden? These questions bring rise to many
...pdated 1995, accessed 3 Sept. 2000), Dino Buzz – What killed The Dinosaurs ? – Current Arguments,
Almost 23% of all families, 48% of all genera (20% of marine families and 55% of marine genera) and 70% to 75% of all species went extinct (Beaz). Although the cause of this mass extinction is debatable, many speculate that global warming was the killer. Because Pangea was breaking up into Laurasia and Gondwanaland, there was widespread volcanic activity caused by the rifting, increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide. The massive release of this greenhouse gas increased global air temperatures and resulted in acidified oceans along with rising sea levels. If this is the case, the life in the ocean would have died at a significant rate. Many families of brachiopods, gastropods, bivalves, and marine reptiles became extinct (Rafferty). An important trace fossil known as the phylloceratid ammonoid was able to survive, and they gave rise to the explosive radiation of cephalopods later in the Jurassic Period, as well as evolved into many different forms during the later Cretaceous (End Triassic Extinction). This extinction event ranks fourth in severity of the five major extinction events over geologic history
Norell, Mark, Lowell Dingus, and Eugene S. Gaffney. "Why Did Nonavian Dinosaurs Become Extinct?" Discovering Dinosaurs: Evolution, Extinction, and the Lessons of Prehistory. Berkeley: U of California, 1995. N. pag. Print.
Over 65 million years ago, dinosaurs roamed and ruled the Earth. They were the top predators and where in an abundance of species. Today, scientist unearth their fossils and put them together to create an image of a lifetime. Even though no one was around when they were alive, we have an idea of what they looked like. If you have ever seen a dinosaur, you would probably think that they all were big giants that ate everything in sight! Although that is true, dinosaurs did eat almost everything, they weren’t all that big. Some of the dinosaurs that were recently discovered, were only the size of a domesticated chicken!
The term "dinosaur" refers to just those reptiles descended from the last common ancestor. Current scientific consensus is that this group excludes the pterosaurs, as well as the various groups of extinct marine reptiles. Like the dinosaurs, and unlike these other reptiles, pterosaurs are more closely related to birds than to crocodiles or any other living reptile (Naish). Classification of pterosaurs has been subtle since they do not have as many cladistic characteristic as someone might think. The three main characteristics being size, the presence of teeth, and skull/crests. With this in mind, the discovery of any new characteristic or trait can dramatically shift the foundation of their ancestry and