Lets learn about dinosaurs - Random facts for kids

Can you imagine what it must have been like to live in the time of dinosaurs?  I guess you would have been really scared at times when you had to go somewhere and one of them crosses your path.

We are going to start a new series where we learn about the different dinosaurs, but for now first a few random facts.

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Richard Owen, a British paleontologist used this word from the old Greek language which meant 'terrible lizard'.  It was meant to describe the size of the animal, not how scary it was.

Dinosaurs ruled the Earth for over 160 million years, from the Triassic period around 230 million years ago through the Jurassic period and until the end of the Cretaceous period around 65 million years ago. 

This era from 250 million years ago to 65 million years ago is known as the Mesozoic Era, but is often refer to as the Dinosaur age, because it is during this time that Dinosaurs ruled the earth but also became extinct.

There are a few theories on why the dinosaurs became extinct, but it is believed that a massive asteroid hit Earth or there were so many volcanic eruptions, that the dinosaurs could not get enough oxygen and died and all the dust blocked the sunlight which had an influence on plants and animals and changed the ecosystems.

In 1824 the first dinosaur was given its name and that was the Megalosaurus.  A person that studies dinosaurs are called a paleontologist. 

The largest dinosaurs looked very scary, but they were actually plant eaters and would not have bothered to eat you, but you would have to be careful not to be stepped on.  These were the Brachiosaurus and Apatosaurus.

The plant eating dinosaurs had to protect themselves from the meat eaters and many of them had 'weapons' on their bodies or very thick skin.  Some could run very fast to get away.

Examples of this include the spikes on the tail of the Stegosaurus and the three horns attached to the front of the Triceratops’s head shield. 

The Pterodactyls which were flying reptiles, were not dinosaurs, they just lived in the same era.  The Plesiosaurs were reptiles that lived in the water and they were also not dinosaurs.

Homework

1. Make sure you find pictures of the dinosaurs mentioned in this reading piece.
2. Get ready for some facts to come your way on one type of dinosaur for the next few days.
3. For fun you can watch the story on the dinosaur and then read it by yourself.

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