Tag dinosaur

What are the similarities and differences between the Chicken and the Tyrannosaurus Rex?

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What are the similarities and differences between the Chicken and the Tyrannosaurus Rex?

At first, scientists thought that dinosaurs were related to reptiles, but with research from bone and fossil material, they have formed a different view. In 2003, when scientists Jack Horner and Mary Schweitzer discovered unfossilised material inside the femur bone of a Tyrannosaurus Rex in Montana, America, they, and other zoologists and palaeontologists all over the world, documented that the Chicken and the Ostrich are living animals distantly related to the extinct theropod dinosaur Tyrannosaurus Rex (T-Rex). They said the next closest match is the Alligator.

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Did a Crocodile eat a Dinosaur?

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Did a crocodile eat a dinosaur? 

Yes, a crocodile ate a dinosaur. Paleontologists at the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum found a crocodile fossil and in its stomach (in its gut) was the remains of a dinosaur. This is very rare because it is the first evidence of a dinosaur predation in Australia – which means that a dinosaur was eaten. The dinosaur was the prey, not the predator. The crocodile was the predator.

Paleontologists are scientists who study fossil animals and plants. Fossils are life forms that existed thousands and millions of years ago.

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Dinosaur Series: Tyrannosaurus

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The Tyrannosaurus (Tyrannosaurus rex) is a large, bipedal, carnivorous theropod dinosaur in the Tyrannosauridae family. Its name means king of tyrants. It is commonly known as Tyrannosaurus Rex or T-Rex. 

It lived about 68-66 million years ago in the Upper Cretaceous period.

The Tyrannosaurus had a large head and long, heavy tail. It had powerful hind (back) legs and very small front legs. It is bipedal, which means that is walks on two legs. Its back legs had two clawed digits. Its teeth were long, curved, and crenelated (notched).

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Dinosaur Series: Stegosaurus

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The Stegosaurus (Stegosaurus stenops) is a large, four-legged, herbivorous armoured dinosaur in the Stegosauridae family. Its name means roof lizard. 

It lived about 155-150 million years ago in the Late Jurassic period.

The Stegosaurus is easily recognizable. It had a small head, short neck, and rounded back. It had large knife-shaped, upright plaques along its back and spikes on its tail. It walked on four legs, with its front legs shorter than its hind (back) legs. It had small, triangular, flat teeth.  

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Dinosaur Series: Rhamphorhynchus

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The Rhamphorhynchus (Rhamphorhynchus muensteri) is a pterosaur in the Rhamphorhynchidae family of long-tailed pterosaurs in the Jurassic period. Rhamphorhynchus means beak snout. It is a cousin of the dinosaurs, and it is believed to be among the first flying vertebrates.

It had a long tail that ended with a soft tail vane. It had needle-like teeth that were angled forward. It also had a curved, sharp, beak-like tip that lacked teeth. From a study of its teeth and stomach contents, palaeontologists think that its diet was mainly fish and cuttlefish.

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Dinosaur Series: Giraffatitan

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The Giraffatitan (Giraffatitan brancai) is a large, four-legged sauropod dinosaur in the Brachiosauridae family. Its name means titanic giraffe. It was found in the country that is now Tanzania in Africa.

It lived about 150 million years ago in the Late Jurassic period.

The Giraffatitan walked on four legs, with its front legs longer than its hind (back) legs. The first toe on its front feet, and the first three toes on its hind feet, were clawed. It had a long neck, like a giraffe’s neck. Its tail was also long. It had spatulate, or chisel-shaped, teeth.  

It was a herbivore, because it ate plants.

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Dinosaur Series: Epidexipteryx

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The Epidexipteryx (Epidexipteryx hui) is a small pterosaur, a cousin of the dinosaur, in the Scansorioptergidae family. 

Palaeontologists found a partial skeleton, which was from the Middle Jurassic or Upper Jurassic period.

It had four long tail feathers with central, unbranched rachis (spines) and vanes. Modern birds have branched vanes. It also had simpler body feathers than modern-day birds. It had teeth, but only in the front of the jaw, with long front teeth angled forward.

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Dinosaur Series: Cryolophosaurus

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The Cryolophosaurus (Cryolophosaurus ellioti) is a large well-built theropod dinosaur in the Cryolophosaurus genus. Cryolophosaurus means frozen crested lizard beause it was found in Antarctica (South Pole).

It lived about 180 million years ago in the Early Jurassic period.

The Cryolophosaurus had a high, narrow skull. It had a bony crest just above the eyes. It had long, heavy hind (back) legs and short forelimbs (front limbs), like arms. It had two large clawed digits, and a smaller digit, on each limb. It had a long, thick tail, and a coat of feathers. 

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