Just as most dinosaurs are believed to be wild and mean, most are. Unlike the wild and ferocious Tyrannosaurus Rex, the Velociraptor, is a smaller, agile dinosaur. The Brontosaurus can be found with the bigger, more gentle dinosaurs. The Tyrannosaurus Rex, Velociraptor, and Brontosaurus differ greatly in their body structure, diet, and discovery.
The Tyrannosaurus Rex was a very large dinosaur. Measuring 50 feet long, the Tyrannosaurus stood over 20 feet tall. The head of the Tyrannosaurus was five feet long and filled with large teeth that were seven inches long each (Benton 125). Having a very large skull put a tremendous strain on its body, so to counterbalance its weight, the tyrannosaurus had a strong attachment of backbone to pelvis which allowed its body to pivot at its hip (Wilford 142). With its body balanced right, the Tyrannosaurus walked on two legs, and it had two very short arms.
The Tyrannosaurus was one of the most feared dinosaurs. The word Tyrannosaurus means “tyrant reptile”. Since the
Tyrannosaurus Rex was a meat-eater, its teeth were shaped in zig-zag form which allowed it to cut through meat like a steak knife (Benton 161). It mainly relied on its strength when catching prey. Because it could not swim, many of its prey would run for shelter into water. Also, the Tyrannosaurus Rex was able to take big breaths due to lots of lung capacity, but it tired easily and could not put up much of a chase when its prey ran. (Monatersky 287).
The Tyrannosaurus Rex was an exciting discovery. It was found during the Bone Wars, a period when Paleontology was very popular and competitive. It is believed to have been discovered by Robert Plot during the 1800’s (Benton 128). The Tyrannosaurus lived during the Late Cretaceous Period (Benton 124). This dinosaur was first believed to be cold-blooded, but now many scientists believe that it was warm-blooded and possibly evolved from birds.
Although very small, the Velociraptor was very agile. The Velociraptor was six feet long and four feet tall. This dinosaur was lightly built which allowed it to run fast and jump swiftly. Unlike most dinosaurs, the Velociraptor had long arms which allowed them to be more useful (Benton 126). On the foot of the Velociraptor was a three inch claw which w...
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...aves, grass, and other plants. Using its long neck, it would stretch to the top of trees and eat the leaves off the branches. The jaw muscles were very strong, and were used to strip bark off trees and to break branches (Benton 163). Its mouth was filled with 2000 teeth which were large and bowl-shaped (Wilford 84).
Many types of Brontosaurus’s have been discovered. Believed to be the first dinosaur ever discovered, a large skull and a leg were found (Wilford 86). These body parts were found in the western part of North America, and many, to this day, are still found here (“Apatasaurus” 1). Many other types of Brontosauruss have been found and are the most easily found today.
The Tyrannosaurus Rex, Velociraptor, and the Brontosaurus are different in all aspects of life including body structure, diet, and discovery. The Tyrannosaurus Rex was the meanest and most brutal of all, while the Velociraptor was smart and illusive. The Brontosaurus was a more gentle dinosaur, even though it was very large. Each one of the dinosaurs discussed were very interesting and have given a large contribution to science and its understanding.
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.
Paleontologist L.B. Tarlo said that it was very difficult to ascertain the length of Liopleurodon. This was so because no complete skeleton was found. He then predicted from the skull, the skull was approximately one-seventh of the total length of the body. When we apply this ratio to the largest skull specimen of L. ferox, the total length of the body comes out to be a little more than 10 meters. The normal size from this calculation would be around 5-7 meters in length. The weight of it was estimated to be around between 75 to 150 tons. The more recent study and the finding of the complete skull of Liopleurodon. It showed the total size of the body was actually five times more the length of the skull. Thus, reducing the expected body size of it furthermore. The maximum size that a L. ferox could reach is just up to 6.4
Majungatholus atopus roamed the plains of northwestern Madagascar about 70 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous (Perkins, 2003; Rogers et al, 2003). The discovery of 21 tooth-marked elements originating from two Majungatholus atopus individuals suggests evidence that the dinosaur supplemented its diet by feeding on its own dead or hunting them (Rogers et al, 2003). It cannot be confirmed whether they were purely scavengers, hunters, or both. Scientists are certain that the marks are not the doing of any other predator because the teeth marks are not consistent with any other known species that lived in the area. Only one other theropod that inhabited the area during the time Majungatholus atopus did, Masiakasaurus knopfleri, had teeth and bite marks too small to have caused these markings. Two large crocodile species also shared the same ecosystem but their teeth were “too blunt and too irregularly spaced to have produced the narrow grooves found on the Majungatholus bones”(Perkins, 2003). The tooth marks on at least nine Majungatholus elements attest to intertooth spacing in the perpetrators jaw and denticle drag patterns consistent enough to make a compelling case for Majungatholus feeding on other Majungatholus (Rogers et al, 2003).
Now here is some background information on the dinosaur that is causing this stir because of its heart. The dinosaur is a Thescelosaurus, which means wonderful lizard. The average length of the Thescelosaurus is three to four meters, nine to twelve feet, long with an average weight of three-hundred kilograms, or about six hundred and sixty two pounds. They lived from the Campanian age to Maastrichtian age which are the later stages of the Cretaceous period. Another distinguishing physical feature of Willo is the bird-hips that the dinosaur has instead of the lizard hip. They have primarily been found in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Colorado, Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming. As far as their remains are concerned there is one complete skeleton, eight partial skeletons, elements, and teeth (Dinosauricon).
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 ...
Dinosaurs held their own, according to studies, for at least 150 million years. After becoming extinct and finding fossilized remains dinosaurs have become a way in which we not only measure the changes that have occurred as the planet evolved, but also how we express ourselves today.
you have placed plants and animals from the Cretaceous period in a park named Jurassic.
They ruled the world before the time of the dinosaurs, from the Cambrian Period to the
Until recently, scientists believed the chances of finding a fossilized dinosaur heart were extremely slim. The heart belonged to a 66 million year old dinosaur found in Harding County in Northwestern South Dakota. The dinosaur, found in 1993, weighed over 650 pounds and was 13 feet long. The dinosaur was in fairly good condition with the exception of the left side of the skeleton. The small, plant-eating Thescelosaurus, nicknamed ‘Willo’ has been acquired by the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. Thescelosaurus was an ornithischian, or "bird-hipped," dinosaur that lived in the latter stage of the Cretaceous period. This was approximately 1 million years before the end of the dinosaur era. Native to North America, its range extended from the northern United States up into Canada. Since using the 3-D software to reveal Willo's heart, scientists have also used it to create 3-D images of the fossil's skull, and of remains from other dinosaurs in the museum's collection. (Fisher, Paul)
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.
The Web. 29 May 2014. http://www.axolotl.org/feeding.htm>. Clare, John. The. Metamorphosed Axolotls & Tiger Salamanders.
The American alligators have many physical characteristics. Their size ranges from six to twelve feet. A full grown male can weigh up to one thousand and two hundred pounds. The American alligator has a long round snout with nostrils at the end. An alligator has two eyes towards the top of its head. Also alligators have a long thin body that has four legs and a long tail (EDIS, 2009)
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.
Reptiles are vertebrate, or backboned animals constituting the class Reptilia and are characterized by a combination of features, none of which alone could separate all reptiles from all other animals.The characteristics of reptiles are numerous, therefore can not be explained in great detail in this report. In no special order, the characteristics of reptiles are: cold-bloodedness; the presence of lungs; direct development, without larval forms as in amphibians; a dry skin with scales but not feathers or hair; an amniote egg; internal fertilization; a three or four-chambered heart; two aortic arches (blood vessels) carrying blood from the heart to the body, unlike mammals and birds that only have one; a metanephric kidney; twelve pairs of cranial nerves; and skeletal features such as limbs with usually five clawed fingers or toes, at least two spinal bones associated with the pelvis, a single ball-and-socket connection at the head-neck joint instead of two, as in advanced amphibians and mammals, and an incomplete or complete partition along the roof of the mouth, separating the food and air passageways so that breathing can continue while food is being chewed. These and other traditional defining characteristics of reptiles have been subjected to considerable modification in recent times. The extinct flying reptiles, called pterosaurs or pterodactyls, are now thought to have been warm-blooded and covered with hair. Also, the dinosaurs are also now considered by many authorities to have been warm-blooded. The earliest known bird, archaeopteryx, is now regarded by many to have been a small dinosaur, despite its covering of feathers The extinct ancestors of the mammals, the therapsids, or mammallike reptiles, are also believed to have been warm-blooded and haired.
Cartilaginous and bony fishes were abundant. Large fishes and marine reptiles were common; the largest bony fish ever to live existed at this time called the Leedsichthys, coming in at a mindboggling size. Estimates of the size of this fish range from 20 to 27 meters and mass from 20 to 50 tons (Owen). This species is the largest bony fish ever to have ever existed and swam in what is now near England. Jurassic pliosaurs are some of the largest carnivorous reptiles ever discovered, even rivaling Tyrannosaurus which lived during the Cretaceous Period, although the pliosaurs was not a dinosaur but distant cousins of modern turtles ranging from 4 to 15 meters. The ichthyosaurs were at their height, sharing the oceans with the plesiosaurs, huge marine reptiles covering the globe.