10 interesting facts about dinosaurs – extinct giants that inhabited our planet

Dinosaurs are extinct reptiles that existed on Earth almost 65 million years ago. The term was first announced in 1842. He was voiced by a biologist from England named Richard. This is how he described the first fossils, which were striking in their large size.

This word is translated from Greek as “terrible and terrible“. It is worth noting that the scientist gave just such a term to show the greatness and size of these amazing reptiles.

Giant bones have been found since ancient times. The first fossils were found in 1796 in England. But even now, people are constantly conducting various studies and finding more and more evidence that such amazing creatures lived on our planet many years ago.

In this article, we will look at 10 interesting facts about dinosaurs.

10 The largest is a seismosaurus

Seismosaurus is considered the largest dinosaur that lived on Earth.. During the research, his ribs were found, as well as a femur and several vertebrae. The description was first compiled in 1991.

A partial dinosaur skeleton has been found in New Mexico. Initially, one of the scientists estimated its length at 50 meters and its weight at about 110 tons. But if we consider the modern reconstruction, then it is only 33 meters.

The forelimbs were slightly shorter than the hind limbs. They helped him to hold his huge body. The tail had a rather unusual shape, he could easily control it. The long neck, according to assumptions, served to ensure that the dinosaur could penetrate the forests and get its own foliage. Since, due to its large size, it was not possible to go there.

Seisamozar lived in the steppes or swamps. Juveniles tried to stay in small herds, but adults could well be alone. But even now, many facts remain debatable.

9. The heaviest is the titanosaurus

The heaviest dinosaur is currently recognized as a titanosaur. This is one of the herbivorous animals that lived in Asia, Africa, as well as Europe and even South America.

It reached a length of about 40 m. They learned about him in 1871, when they found his massive femur. Scientists for a long time could not understand what kind of lizard it refers to. But a little later, a few more vertebrae were found, with the help of which they were able to come to the conclusion that a new biological species of dinosaur had been discovered.

In 1877, one of the scientists decided to call this type of dinosaur – titanosaurus. It was the first reptile found in the entire Southern Hemisphere. Such a discovery almost immediately made a big sensation, since even earlier science did not know about their existence.

8. The smallest is compsognathus

Compsognathus is considered to be the smallest dinosaur.. For the first time, his remains were found on the territory of Germany, as well as Bavaria. Differed from other sense organs and rather fast legs. It is worth noting that he had 68 sharp, but slightly curved teeth.

Fossils were first found in 1850. In length, it reached only 60 centimeters, but some large individuals – 140. Its weight is rather small – about 2,5 kilograms.

Scientists have established that this particular species was bipedal, but had rather long hind legs and a tail. It is worth noting that very often the compsognathus fell into many famous novels and films.

7. Closest relative is the crocodile

Not many people know that a close relative of dinosaurs is a crocodile.. They also belong to the group of reptiles. They first appeared in the Cretaceous period. Currently, at least 15 species of crocodiles are known. They have a rather large lizard-like body, as well as a flattened muzzle. They are excellent swimmers and can move quite quickly on land.

You can meet in the tropical lowlands. They are now also known to attack humans and are considered dangerous to humans.

6. There were over 1 species of dinosaurs on Earth.

Scientists have found that more than 1 species of dinosaurs previously existed on Earth. They were clearly divided into 2 orders – ornithischians and lizards. They also differed in their size, height and weight.

It has been suggested that the first humans lived alongside dinosaurs. Since there are many drawings that were found during excavations. Specialists also found footprints of dinosaurs. Their casts were donated to museums.

Dinosaurs existed over 65 million years ago. Why they died out, no one can say for sure. Many assume that due to the fall of a series of asteroids to Earth, and such hypotheses are also considered that changes in vegetation occurred, which led to the extinction of, for example, herbivorous dinosaur species.

5. Birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs

Not many people know that birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs.. For the first time such a theory was studied by the scientist Thomas in the 19th century. In principle, until the 70s of the last century, it was the main one.

Scientists have proven that the first bird lived on the border of the Jurassic and Cretaceous. It was then that this led many to the idea that the ancestors of birds are much younger than previously thought. Also, several scientists have found many similarities in the structure of the paws, tail, and neck.

4. Dinosaur bones were mistaken for dragon bones in ancient China

In ancient China, people mistook dinosaur bones for dragon bones for a very long time.. They are widely used by them in medicine. Used the bones as a powder to get rid of injury and weakness in the bones. They also cooked broths from them, as they have a lot of calcium.

3. The brain of a dinosaur is comparable to a walnut

Currently, many dinosaurs are known, which were noted for their unusual size, weight and lifestyle. The lifestyle of herbivorous dinosaurs was very simple. Their existence is entirely aimed at simply finding food for themselves. But even for such a passive image, a developed brain is needed.

And to capture other animals, an even more developed one is needed. But it is worth noting that even if the length of the dinosaur was about 9 meters, and its height was about 4, then the brain had a mass of only 70 grams. That is, this brain size was much smaller than that of a normal dog. That is the conclusion scientists have come to.

2. Tyrannosaurus rex teeth were 15 centimeters long

Tyrannosaurus Rex was considered one of the most dangerous predators. In length, it reached about 12 meters, and weighed about 8 tons. They appeared on Earth in the Cretaceous period. The title means “king of lizard tyrants”. It is worth noting that the lizard had huge teeth that were 15 centimeters long.

1. Herbivorous dinosaurs ate about a ton of plants a day

There were quite a few herbivorous dinosaurs. Some of them weighed about 50 tons, which is why they need to eat quite a lot. Scientists have found that such species had to eat more than a ton of plants a day, and some even more.

Those who were rather large in size ate the tops of trees, and, for example, diplodocus mainly ate pasture, eating only ferns and simple horsetails.

Scientists have long tried to figure out how food travels in the gastric tract of herbivorous dinosaurs, they tried to evaluate their nutritional value. As a result, they came to the conclusion that ferns were not inferior in nutritional value, for example, to angiosperms.

According to rough estimates, for example, a dinosaur with a weight of about 30 tons needs about 110 kg of foliage per day. But it is worth noting that carbon dioxide, which was contained in the atmosphere, also played a big role here. It was he who influenced the nutritional value of all plants.