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Dinosaurs
What are they?
The word 'dinosaur' means terrible lizard, though it, to a certain extent, is wrong. Dinosaurs need not be big. Though some like the tyrannosaurus was huge ( it was upto 18 feet, and 50 metres in length and apparently, as indicated by film producers, had a huge appetite ).
Characteristics
A huge plant eater was the Brachiosaurus which was 75 to 89 tons. They had long necks, small heads and big bodies.
The above were Sauropods ( for more info on the basic classification, see the main dinosaur page. )
The Ornithischian dinosaur had armour. The Triceratops had frills on the neck and three horns.Others include the stegosaurus, with high arched bodies, and bony plates.
Most dino's had tails, but they were kept off the ground and were used for balance.
Whether they were cold blooded or warm blooded is a topic of debate. Though it is often believed that they were sluggish, it is now believed that they could also be very swift animals.
From where did they evolve and when?
Most lived till the Cretaceous Period, but then died out. Why this sudden decline? Check out our dino extinction page.
