Fossils provide us with much knowledge of dinosaurs thanks to palaeontologists – scientists who study dinosaurs – who have unlocked various secrets about these amazing animals from how they looked and died out to why they went extinct.
One of the more interesting dinosaur facts is that Stegosaurus may have used their backplates not for armor purposes but as cooling mechanisms instead.
They lived 245 million years ago
Dinosaurs ruled the planet from 245 million years ago until 66 million years ago, roaming across every continent in every environment on Earth. Scientists continue to learn more about these incredible reptiles – how they looked, lived and fed on different foods; researchers have even discovered some smaller than chicken while others could weigh over 100 tons and had brains the size of limes!
Fossils of dinosaur species have been discovered on all seven continents and in various conditions, and amber fossils provide us with insight into how they interacted. Scientists have also devised techniques for telling whether a dinosaur was carnivorous or herbivorous by its fossil teeth and claw marks; scientists believe carnivorous dinosaurs were more intelligent than plant eaters (Stegosaurus had a small brain, while T-rex had an enormous one); Velociraptor and troodontids were most intelligent while troodontids also had speed: such as imitating ornithomimids (ostrich-mimicking ornithomimids).
Hadrosaurus was one of the earliest dinosaur skeletons ever displayed in a museum, discovered in 1858 by William Parker Foulke and housed at Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. It’s name may derive from Greek for ‘terrible lizard”. Richard Owen first coined this term for dinosaur era in 1842.
There are over 700 known species of dinosaurs; all except for avian dinosaurs (birds) became extinct about 66 million years ago; modern birds are descendants of non-avian dinosaurs, so they still consider to be dinosaurs.
They were omnivores
Though we may think of dinosaurs as meat eaters, 65% were herbivores. Triceratops, Brachiosaurus, and Stegosaurus were known to eat grass, leaves, seeds, flowers, trees and shrubs, while others fed on lizards, turtles, early mammals as well as dead bodies before eventually going after living herbivores and carnivores like Tyrannosaurus rex – but most dinosaurs lived only for around 70 million years!
Herbivorous dinosaurs fed on soft, spongy moss, spindly pine trees and Ginkgo biloba trees that still exist today; all were rich sources of nutrition for these herbivores to consume and their long, pointed teeth could easily digest whatever they consumed.
Other dinosaurs such as Deinocheirus and Oviraptor were designed with dentition more suitable for crushing or tearing than cutting and slicing, such as two holes behind its eye sockets that allowed its large, powerful jaw muscles to attach directly to its skull; this allowed it to open its mouth wider and clamp down harder than other dinosaurs.
Carnivorous dinosaurs had sharp teeth and strong jaws to bite into less-than-prime cuts of meat and break bones to access nutrient-rich bone marrow inside. Some species, like Baryonyx and Suchomimus, even swam rivers for fish; other cannibalistic dinosaurs such as Coelophysis even consumed their own species as cannibals!
Some herbivorous dinosaurs developed into carnivores over time and some early dinosaurs went on to become birds. Both birds and dinosaurs share feathers and beaks but unlike dinosaurs do not produce fur or give birth live young. Scientists continue to debate how closely related these two groups are and where they belong in the family tree.
They walked on two legs
Paleontologists have utilized fossils to understand how dinosaurs looked and lived, what their diet consisted of, and their behavior. We still don’t know some things about dinosaurs – for instance their color might have varied depending on where they lived – with some scientists thinking dull hues could have provided protection from predators while others believing brightly-hued specimens could have attracted potential mates.
Fossils of dinosaur feet provide some of the most fascinating discoveries. Equipped with long toes with sharp claws, and specifically designed to run on land, dinosaur feet were adapted for running efficiently on land. Furthermore, two holes behind their eye socket allowed large jaw muscles to attach directly to their skull for stronger bite. Fossils also show that some dinosaurs had reserves of teeth they could move into place when needed.
Some people mistakenly believe that all dinosaurs walked bipedally, however this is far from accurate. Tyrannosaurus rex walked bipedally while other types of dinosaurs used four legs (quadrupedally). One way of telling which path a dinosaur took can be determined by comparing its circumference of humerus bone with that of its femur bone; four-legged dinosaurs typically had thicker arm bones than those who preferred walking on two.
An intriguing fact about dinosaurs is that not all species became extinct simultaneously. Indeed, some dinosaurs still exist today although they do not resemble the prehistoric beasts we think of when thinking of dinosaurs. An intriguing specimen among them was Archaeopteryx which walked on four legs and had feathers as its primary trait.
They were covered in feathers
Paleontologists have long acknowledged the fact that dinosaurs were covered in feathers, yet only recently did they understand how these feathers evolved into flight. By studying molecular evidence, scientists learned how key proteins changed over time allowing dinosaurs to take flight. Furthermore, they identified which dinosaur wings could hold air, as well as which dinosaurs used their feathers as flight tools.
The first evidence of feathered dinosaurs dates back to the 1990s. These fossils came from Saurischia dinosaurs such as Velociraptors and Tyrannosaurus rex; as well as sauropods (large land animals ever known). Since then, more evidence of dinosaurs possessing feathers has emerged.
Though much has been speculated on regarding the type of feathers dinosaurs had, knowing for certain is difficult due to feathers’ fragility; many will deteriorate once trapped within rock. Furthermore, fossils often occur within sedimentary rocks, making it hard to discern animal structures within.
Though dinosaurs were legendary monsters, most were easy to outwit. Even the largest had brains the size of a lime in bodies up to 29 feet 6 inches long; furthermore they were slow and could not bend over trees like modern birds can.
Alongside their feathers, many dinosaurs wore bony plates known as osteoderms that were covered with scales to provide added protection from predators. Others like Apatosaurus had tough, rubbery hides that more effectively soaked up water than osteoderms did.
They had big brains
Paleontologists have long disproved the notion that dinosaurs were mindless creatures. By studying fossils from these giant reptiles, palaeontologists are slowly disproving this misconception and unveiling how intelligent these enormous reptiles were.
Land-dwelling dinosaurs often had large brains for their body size. They used this intelligence to discern what food sources were available and how best to access it; sauropods such as Brachiosaurus and Diplodocus used their long necks and long tails as support when standing up, with long necks reaching leaves high up trees; their tails also provided support when standing on their hind legs.
Sauropods had large brains for their size compared to other dinosaurs of similar species. They needed to find ways to keep up with prey and predators as well as plan how they could return down after climbing into trees again.
Carnivores like the T-rex had relatively larger brains. They could use their large eyes and sharp senses to track fast-moving prey with ease. Some experts speculate that some of the smartest dinosaurs may have been small carnivorous theropods like Velociraptor and Troodontid – these creatures had brains similar to modern birds – who may have hunted quickly moving prey with ease.
Scientists have used well-preserved dinosaur skulls to gain an in-depth look at their brains, specifically scanning inside of each skull for images of what the inside looked like. Researchers found that, contrary to what I had been taught as a kid, their brains were smaller relative to body size but protected by strong skulls, making cracking much less likely.