Facts

1. Dinosaurs lived for about 135 million years, from the Jurassic period to the Cretaceous period.
2. The word Dinosaur means ‘terrible lizard’!
3. The group of animals which Dinosaurs belong to is called ‘Dinosauria’ which was formally recognised in 1842 by palaeontologist Sir Richard Owen.
4. While scientists can never be 100% sure they believe one of the largest dinosaurs ever to have lived was the ‘Argentinosaurus’, which weighed up to 100000 kilograms! Another huge Dinosaur was the Brachiosaurus at 80 tonnes!
5. One of the smallest dinosaurs was the ‘Anchiornis’ which had an estimated weight of 110grams.
6. Like current animals there are both meat eating and plant eating animals known as Carnivores, and Herbivores respectively.
7. Early finds of Dinosaur bones where original thought to be Dragon bones by the Chinese back during the Western Jin Dynasty (265-316).
8. The study of Dinosaurs is called - Palaeontology, and is studied by - palaeontologists.
9. Some Dinosaurs walked on two legs (bipeds), and some on four (quadrupeds).
10. One of the most famous films featuring Dinosaurs was ‘Jurassic Park’!
11. Remains of Dinosaurs are called fossils, and are dug up out of the ground.
12. Based on fossils over 1000 distinct Dinosaurs have been classified.
13. Some Dinosaurs developed bony armour, and also spines, such as the group called stegosaurs.
14. The period of time the Dinosaurs lived in, is generally called the Mesozoic Era.
15. Modern day birds have actually developed from Dinosaurs!
16. The very first Dinosaur to be officially named was the Megalosaurus, in 1824.
17. It is believed that what killed off the Dinosaurs was a massive asteroid impact throwing up debris into the atmosphere, which blocked out the sun.
18. It is thought that the fastest Dinosaur was the Coelophysis, which they think could reach 30 mph for short distances.
19. It is believed the cleverest Dinosaur was the Troodon!
20. Creatures which lived in the sea at the same time, are not called Dinosaurs even though living at the same time.
21. Dinosaurs laid eggs, like birds and lizards do now!
22. The longest dinosaur it is believed was the Seismosaurus, at 40 metres long!
23. The Dinosaur with the longest name has to be - Micropachycephalosaurus - which translates as ‘tiny thick-headed lizard’.
24. Some Dinosaurs had more than 1000 teeth!
25. It is generally thought that the fiercest dinosaur is ‘Tyrannosaurus Rex’!
26. The largest Dinosaur bone in the world comes from an Argentinosaurus whose back bone was 5 feet high, by 4 feet wide.
27. The Dinosaur with the longest neck was Mamenchisaurus, which was 33 feet long.
28. The biggest meat eater was Giganotosaurus, its skull was six feet long.
29. The most Dinosaur eggs found in a preserved nest was 24.
30. It is thought that some Dinosaurs could climb trees, and some could swim, but they could not fly!
31. The Dinosaurs with the shortest names are Mei and Kol, both which are feathered Dinosaurs from China.
32. A Maiasaura fossil was taken into space in 1985 on a space shuttle mission.
33. The Brachiosaurus was so large it is thought it might have had two hearts so they were able to pump blood up their long necks.
34. The Triceratops actually means ‘Three horned face’.
35. Originally it was thought the largest carnivore was the Tyrannosaurus, but now it is thought to be the Giganotosaurus.
36. The Tyrannosaurus Rex, it is believed had a lifespan of 25-28 years.
37. The Diplodocus was an herbivore, and it is believed to have weighed around 18 tonne, that’s a lot of plants per day to eat!
38. Scientists now believe that birds descended from the Theropod Dinosaur (which means beast-footed)
39. The Supersaurus was discovered in 1972, and its name means ’super lizard’.
40. The Pterodactyl was not actually a Dinosaur, despite popular belief, but was in fact a flying reptile.
41. The Apatosaurus had nostrils on top of its head, allowing it to breath while its mouth/head was underwater.
42. It is thought that the T-Rex could eat up to 500 pounds (that’s 230 kilograms) of meat in just one bite!
43. The Corythosaurus was a crested ‘duck-billed’ dinosaur. Its name means ‘Helmet Lizard’.
44. The Diplodocus is believed to be the longest of the land animals but not the heaviest. Most of its length was in its tail!
45. While most people presume that Dinosaurs had leathery or scaly skin, many in fact had feathers, even though they could not fly!
46. The tooth of a T-Rex including its root, could be up to ten inches long!
47. The Achelousaurus was a quadrupedel herbivore, which means it walked on all four of its legs.
48. The Afrovenator is a Dinosaur whose name means ‘African Hunter’.
49. The Iguanodon was one of the very first Dinosaurs to be discovered, but was THE first Dinosaur to be actually named!
50. The Tyrannosaurus Rex was believed to weigh around 7 tonnes!