adaptation The process of changing to fit an environment.

ammonite Ancient coiled shellfish; related to modern sea creatures such as squid and octopus.

amphibian Cold-blooded animal that lives part of its life on land and part in water.

ankylosaurs Group of bird-hipped dinosaurs that featured a body covering of thick armour.

archosaur Dominant reptile group that the dinosaurs descended from.

bonehead Common name for the pachycephalosaurs, a group of duck-billed dinosaurs with very thick skulls.

carnivore Meat-eater.

Cenozoic Era Earth's "recent years"; period of time from 65 million years ago to present day.

ceratopsian Group of horned dinosaurs; included Triceratops, Monoclonius, and others.

climate The year-round weather conditions of a region.

cold-blooded Endotherm; unable to produce own body heat.

coniferous Cone-bearing trees.

continent Any of the earth's main bodies of land: Europe, Asia, Africa, America, Antarctica, or Australia.

creodonts "Flesh-tooth"; the most successful meat-eating mammals until 40 million years ago.

Cretaceous Period The period of history between 136 and 65 million years ago.

cycad Seed-bearing plant similar to a palm tree

diapsid Ancient Group of reptiles that two skull holes; group of reptiles from which the archosaurs came.

drought long, dry period.

duckbill Common name for the hadrosaurs, a group of dinosaurs with jaws shaped like ducks' bills.

ectotherm Cold-blooded animal; must get its heat from the surroundings.

endotherm Warm-blooded animal; able to produce its own body heat.

environment The conditions that surround us.

evolution The slow process by which a species changes.

fossil Plant or animal remains hardened in rock.

Gondwanaland Ancient northern continent that formed when Pangaea, the single land mass, split in two.

hadrosaur Group of dinosaurs known as the duckbills because their jaws resembled ducks' bills.

herbivore Plant-eater

hibernate To be inactive for a long period of time, usually during winter.

hominid Member of the branch of the animal family that includes humans.

erectus "Upright Man"; hominid group that appeared about 700 000 years ago.

babilis "Handy Man"; hominid group that appeared about two m i 1 1 ion years ago.

sapiens "Wise Man"; modern humans.

ichthyosaur Ancient ocean reptile that lived between the Triassic and Cretaceous Periods; resembled a dolphin.

iridium Rare, white-yellow metallic element used as a hardening substance; found in large amounts in a layer of earth that dates back to the end of the Age of Dinosaurs.

Jurassic Period The period in history between 195 and 136 million years ago.

Laurasia Ancient southern continent that formed when Pangaea, the single land mass, split in two.

mammal Warm-blooded animal; feeds its young with milk.

Mesozoic Era Earth's middle years; period in history between 225 and 65 million years ago.

migration The process of moving from one region to another.

ornithischian The bird-hipped suborder of dinosaurs.

palaeontologists Scientists who study fossils of forms of life that existed long ago.

Pangaea The ancient single continent that existed when all of earth land was joined together.

plesiosaur Large ocean reptile of earth's middle years; resembled a large turtle with a snake,-like neck.

pterosaur Order of flying reptiles of the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods.

prosauropod/sauropod Large, plant-eating lizard-hipped group of dinosaurs.

reptile cold-blooded, egg-laying animal with a backbone.

sabre-toothed Type of cat which had long, sabre-like upper fangs.

saurischian The lizard-hipped sub-order of dinosaurs.

stegosaurs Group of bird-hipped dinosaurs that featured a row of triangular plates down their spines.

stromatolites Cone-shaped structures left on the ocean floor when spirals of blue-green algae trapped bits of sand.

synapsid Mammal-like reptiles that died out with the rise of the dinosaurs.

thecodont Group of crocodile-like reptiles that evolved from the archosaurs and led to the dinosaurs.

trilobite Ancient sea-crawler whose body was divided into three main sections.

Triassic Period Period in history between 225 and 195 million years ago.

warm-blooded Ectotherm; able to produce own body heat.