DINOSUARS A-Z!!!!

           The Albertasaurus, despite the size of it, is a relative of the T-Rex.  It would use its powerful jaws to deliver a fatal bone-crushing bite to the neck of its victim. Just like the T-rex, its larger cousin, it has two tiny forearms used to hold its prey while ripping it apart. The Albertasaurus has a mouth full of large serrated teeth.

 

 

    Baryonx was possibly the only known fishing dinosaur. Its nostrils were set back from the tip of its crocodile-like snout, probably so that it could stick its nose in the water and still breathe. It had twice as many teeth as most dinosaurs-probably perfect to catch fish.

    Baryonx means "heavy claw". This dino gets its name from its two massive front claws each more than a foot long.

 

   It's sleek body was built for speed as it hunted in it's pack of dinosaurs. The Coelophysis has razor edged teeth and it's legs are nearly hollow which reduces weight and allows more speed. In 1947 a large amount of coelophysis' were found in New Mexico.

    Dilophosaurus was one of the 1st terrible carnivores, found in Arizona. It was mainly like other meat eaters. It was fast and ran on 2 feet, and had sharp teeth. But some parts of it were strange.

It had 2 crests on its head from eyes to snout. Some scientists think they were used to make their heads appear larger and frighten other dinosaurs. Also, their teeth were slender and their jaws weren't too strong.  Because of this, scientists believe they either slashed their prey repeatedly or were scavengers.

    Edmontosaurus was one of the largest of the duckbilled hadrosaurs in the forests of western North America. It was 43 ft. long and had a bill much like a duck's. While its bill was quite toothless,Its inner jaw contained tons of teeth. These teeth were perfect for grinding up plants and tough vegetation. When they wore down, new teeth would grow in their place suprisingly fast. Edmontosaurus probably had more than 1,000 teeth in its mouth all the time. Its jaw was similar to that of Iguanadon. Both dinosaurs could move their jaws from side to side, making it easier to grind the tough plants that they ate.

    One of the strangest things about this dinosaur was its huge nostrils. Paleontologists believe that these nostrils could have been covered with flaps of loose skin. This skin could have been inflatable, allowing the Edmontosaurus to make loud, bellowing noises. These inflatable nostrils could also have been brightly colored and used during mating season, or as a way for Edmontosaurus' to recognize each other.

    This dino's name means "Fabre's Lizard."It had strong limbs to run well.It had strong teeth too. Holes in the jaw suggested old teeth were replaced with new ones.

 

    Kakaru means "rainbow serpent" and was named that because of a leg bone shaped like an opal.  It resembled a small bird, though, and did not look like a snake. It was a meat eater.

    The Nodosaur family lived throughout the end of the Jurassic period and throughout the Cretaceous period. These dinosaurs were plant eaters with nodes covering their skin and spikes coming off their sides. They had narrow heads, leaf-shaped teeth and a strong, hard beak. If a meat eater  came along, they probably protected themselves by crouching on the ground.

    Oviraptor means, "egg thief". It had a short head and strong, toothless jaws shaped like a beak. It also had a crest on its nose.

Parasarolophus        33 ft/4 tons

Quetzalcoatlus 50 Feet/190 Pounds

   Until recently, the giant-winged pteradon was thought to have been the largest of the flying   reptiles known as "pterosaurs." But in 1972 the remains of an even more enormous pterosaur was discovered in Texas. Quetzalcoatlus, or "feathered serpent" -- named after an Aztec god -- was the largest and heaviest flying reptile by far. The remains indicate that this giant pterosaur would have weighed nearly 190 pounds and had a wingspan of close to 50 feet!

    This reptile probably lived far inland, away from water. Like other pterosaurs, Quetzalcoatlus' wings were made of skin stretched along the lengths of greatly elongated fourth fingers of each claw. Scientists think Quetzalcoatlus had excellent vision and behaved like a modern vulture. Using the latest aircraft technology, Paul MacCready created a mechanical Quetzalcoatlus. This pterosaur was filled with electromechanical and electronic devices to control its flight. The new Quetzalcoatlus was patterned after the earlier version. Though controlled from the ground, the robot also had sophisticated internal electronics to steady it while in flight.

 

Rhabdodon 13 Ft/320 lbs.

    Rhabdodon was a plant-eater. It was a member of either the Hypsilophodon or Iguanodon families. Rhabdodon was an ornithopod, a group of small bipedal herbivores, which include Lesothosaurus, Hypsilophodon and Dryosaurus.

 

Stegoceras        6 ft/120 lbs.

    The Stegoceras was built almost entirely for ramming dinosaurs with its head. It had a dome-shaped head and was a pachycephalosaur. Its massively dense skull was probably used to butt heads with other males in its group.

 

Troodon        8ft/210 lbs.

    This dinosaur was the smartest of all. Its name means, "wounding tooth" because it was known   for a single tooth. Later it was found that it had different kinds of teeth.  It's head was like birds, eyes faced forward. Its thumbs worked like ours.

 

Ultrasaurus" 98 Ft/130 Tons

    In 1979, James Jensen made an amazing, yet frustrating, discovery. He unearthed one of the largest dinosaur legs ever known to man. Unfortunately, that was all he found. Belonging to the same family as Brachiosaurus and Apatosaurus, this giant plant-eater could have measured up to 98 feet in length and weighed an enormous 130 tons, making it the largest land animal ever! Its front leg alone is about a third larger than that of Brachiosaurus. Some day we may find the rest of "Ultrasaurus."

 

Velociraptor        6 Feet/213 Pounds     Velociraptor means "speedy plunderer," and this dinosaur was obviously built to be fast.This dinosaur was lightweight with long back legs for running, a stiff tail for balance, needle-sharp teeth and a fairly large brain. Like Deinonychus, the middle toe of each hind foot had a large claw that was used for slashing its prey. Some scientists think this fearsome dinosaur hunted in packs, maybe killing dinosaurs much larger than themselves by grabbing them with their front claws and slashing their bellies with their back. A human being could have been torn apart in 3seconds by a pack of Velociraptors.

 

Wannanosaurus        2 ft

    Wannanosaurus was a tiny dinosaur. It was a very primitive Pachycephalosaur. The homalocephalids had thick, but flat-topped skulls. It was an herbivore that walked on two strong legs. Wannanosaurus may have been a herding dinosaur that lived in small groups in coastal and upland regions. Running was probably the first line of self-defense. Wannanosaurus' thick skull may have been used for ramming rivals during mating and dominance combat, for attracting mates, and as a last-ditch self-defense against predators.

 

Xiaosaurus        5 ft.

    Xiaosaurus was a small dinosaur. It was a fast runner. It was small and lizard-like. It walked on two long legs, had four-toed feet, five-fingered hands, and a small head with large eyes. It had leaf-shaped cheek teeth.

Yunnanosaurus 18-25 Feet/3 Tons

    Yunnanosaurus, named for Yunnan (where it was found), is very interesting because its teeth are like those of a different dinosaur. This dinosaur had four legs, a long neck, and ate plants. But while Yunnanosaurus was a prosauropod, its teeth were those of a sauropod, such as Brachiosaurus. Not only were its 60 (or more) teeth shaped like those of a sauropod, but they even wore down like those of a sauropod.

 

Zigongosaurus        35 ft/20 tons

    Zigongosaurus was a large quadrupedal herbivore. It had a long neck, a long tail, a small head with spoon-shaped teeth, and thick, elephant-like legs.