Dinosaur Information
Dinosaur, which was a type of reptile, is an extinct species now. The oldest types of dinosaurs are 230 million years old and were found from rocks in Argentina and Brazil. All dinosaurs are believed to be giants but actually they are not. Some dinosaurs were as small as dogs.
The “age of dinosaurs” or “the Mesozoic era” included Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous time periods. Approximately 700 dinosaur species have been named already and a recent study reveals that about 700 to 900 species are yet to be discovered.
Dinosaurs were of different families. The biggest of the dinosaurs were Sauropods, meaning reptile-footed dinosaurs and they were plant-eaters.
Theropods or beast-footed dinosaurs were meat eaters and they walked on two feet. Fairly larger in size, Ornithopods or bird-footed dinosaurs were habitually plant eaters and moved on two legs. Armoured dinosaurs and plated dinosaurs were two other families which had uneven, bone-covered skin and were plant eaters too. The last dinosaurs to appear were ceratopsians, which meant horned faces. They moved on all fours and had one to five horns on their heads.
There were many gigantic dinosaurs that were dangerous. While Stegosaurus slashed away its attackers using the spikes on its tails, Allosaurus swallowed small animals. Apatosaurus and Brachiosaurus were plant-eaters and were as long as four to five elephants in a row. Tyrannosaurus was the biggest meat-eater and its dagger-like teeth were as long as that of a man’s hand. About 150 million years ago, there were flying reptiles called Rhamphorhyncus. These had claws on their wings and teeth in their jaws.
The reasons behind the extinction of dinosaurs are not yet clearly known. Some scientists believe that the dinosaurs died slowly due to natural changes while others strongly believe that all the dinosaurs died suddenly after meteorites struck the earth.