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Dinosaurs were reptiles (some possibly
warm-blooded) and most hatched from eggs. No dinosaurs could fly
and none lived in the water. |
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The largest dinosaurs
were over 100 feet long and up to 50 feet tall (like Argentinosaurus,
Seismosaurus, Ultrasauros, Brachiosaurus, and Supersaurus). The
smallest dinosaurs, like Compsognathus, were about the size of a
chicken. Most dinosaurs were in-between.
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Dinosaurs lived many millions of
years ago (from 240 million years - 65 million years) during the
Triassic, Jurassic,
and Cretaceous
Periods. |
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It is very difficult
to figure out how the dinosaurs sounded, how they behaved, how they
mated, or what color they were. Paleontologists study dinosaur fossils
to help understand dinosaurs. |
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Triceratops (three horns) |
| Dinosaurs are named for special
head features (Triceratops), special feet or hand features (hadrosaurs
- duck-billed), guessed behaviors (Velociraptor - speedy robber),
for the person who unearthed the dinosaur (Lambeosaurus), or place
where the dinosaur was found (Albertasaurus - Alberta, Canada). |
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Scientists at Sandia
Lab in New Mexico, by using an air compressor and a computer,
have been able to reproduce the sound made by the Parasaurolophus.
Listen (601Kb)
to it here!. |
Parasaurolophus |
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Dinosaurs disappeared
from Earth 65 million years ago when a mass extinction occurred.
Many theories exist as to the cause of this mass extinction including
global climate changes created by a giant meteor, a loss of biodiversity,
and massive volcanic eruptions. |
