Sauropod Dinosaurs Name Institution Date Sauropod is Greek word which means ‘footed like a lizard’. Sauropods were a large species of dinosaurs that were herbivorous in their mode of feeding. They had very unique characteristics that could easily differentiate them from other dinosaurs. Sauropods are known to be the biggest dinosaurs that have ever existed (Klein, 2011). These types of dinosaurs are among the most fascinating creatures that have ever lived. Their extinction was a great loss to humanity. Sauropod dinosaurs were extremely big size. They varied in sizes depending on their age. Young Anchisaurids were 8 feet long while the giant ones like diplodocidis, titanosauris and branchiosaurids grew up to 100 feet (Levin, 2012). With such a huge size, they required large amounts of feed to maintain themselves. Drinking large volumes of water was also important. Due to the competition that presented itself naturally in the wild, Sauropods were well adapted in all aspects so that they would maintain their survival. As plant eaters, sauropods were adapted with very long necks. Mamenchisaurus had the longest neck which was about 50 feet long, more than half of its body length (Thomas, 2011). The neck length also varied from one sauropod to another. Sauropods such as Sauroposeidon and Brachiosaurus (the Brachiosaurids) had necks that were vertically positioned like that of the giraffe. In addition, other sauropods had necks that were horizontal-like and parallel to the ground. An example of that type of sauropod is the diplodocus. Long necks were important for them to reach the leaves that were high on the trees (Levin, 2012). They could be able to poke trees in order to obtain foliage that was very unavailable becaus... ... middle of paper ... ...r of all dinosaurs (Thomas, 2011). It is believed that on the sixth day there were all sorts of dinosaurs, many different types hence proving that the prosauropod were only but a different type of dinosaurs. People also believe that the Bible refers the sauropods as the beast of the earth. The remains of these dinosaurs were found on every continent except Antarctica thus proving that they were very widespread. Sauropods had the most long lived life span when compared to other animals. Their existence expanded up to 100 million years. This was a very long time, especially for such a large animal to maintain itself (Klein, 2011). However, after many years, they began to die one by one due to the challenges that presented themselves in the wild. For example, vegetation became scarce. They began to starve and became an easier prey to predators. Eventually, this led to
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.
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).
My partner and I researched the amazing dinosaur called the velociraptor. Velociraptors are a dinosaur that has many similar features as a common turkey. For example, this dinosaurs had feathers, but not covered completely like a turkey. They are about 2 and a half feet tall with hollow bones. Like most birds, they have a wishbone and talon feet. They also had quill knobs. They couldn’t fly because they were too small, but they used them to hunt. They had long thin tall to help them balance when they were running. Their strong legs helped the run up to 40 miles per hour! Velociraptors were known as one of the top ten most dangerous dinosaurs in their time (the late cretaceous period) because of their sharp claws and sharp curved teeth. These dinosaurs were great hunters, their claw would puncture the flesh of their prey but not rip through it, yet their teeth would. Their teeth and claws helped
The Jurassic environment that Updike constructs in his short tale invites interpretation. First, the majority of the dinosaurs described were found, as one would expect, in the middle to late Jurassic period. By the Cretaceous period, the era that followed the Jurassic, these species had largely faded into obscurity, replaced by huge sauropods. Indeed, the only species in Updike's tale that falls into this class of Cretaceous sauropods are the brontosaurus and the diplodocus, both of which are held in high regard by the narrator. One can clearly infer from this evidence that, though Updike titles hi...
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.
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)
...ll. This group still remained successful during the Jurassic period and had a wide geopraphic distribution. Other reptiles evolved to not only live on land, but to fly. The earliest known birds appeared during this period; Archaeoteryx being the first to be considered the intermediate between the birds and predatory dinosaurs. It is debated on whether this ancient bird could actually fly or merely glid from tree to tree. Carnosaurus, meaning “meat-eating” is another group of dinosaurs that ruled during the Jurassic. With such large herbivorous prey animals, the correlation of these large predators make sense of why they were so common. An Allosaurus was one of the most common Carnosaurs in North America. Upon finding numerous intact skeletons in fossil beds, it has been reported that the Allosaurus was superficially similar to the later evolving Tyrannosaurus rex.
The dinosaur weighed around 77 tons. This was found to be false upon further investigation and another recalculation of the numbers the dimensions of the colossal dinosaur were shown to be more likely at 69
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.
Dinosaur Fossils in Antarctica Millions and millions of years ago, the continents lay together as one super-continent known as Pangea. As time went on and the plates underneath the Earth began to separate, the continents land moved towards the poles where glaciation occurred. Glaciation is the process in which glaciers were formed during the ice age. Glaciation causes a drop in temperature which in turn causes water to freeze and form many layers of ice (http://palaeo.gly.bris.ac.uk/Palaeofiles/Permian/intro.html, 1). Due to this layering of ice that has occurred at both poles, it has not been easy to discover new dinosaur fossils.
The dinosaur could not have lived for ever. No creatures, no plants, no tiny bacteria are
T-rex stood around 12ft tall at the hips, and was 40ft long from head to tail. And weighed around 7 tons, but some scientists today believe it could weigh more, around 9 tons. Its arms were unusually short for its
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.