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Old Questions
Questions from November 1998
Q: How big were the t-rex teeth?
from Tony M., Grand Rapids, MI, USA; November 30, 1998
A: See the Top Ten Dino Questions.
Q: HOW DO THEY KNOW HOW MANY HORNS THE TRICERATOPS HAD?
from Blair B., Puyallup, WA, USA; November 30, 1998
A: The horns were underlaid with bones which fossilized.
Q: How long,tall,and wide was the tallest,longest,and widest Diplodocus? I need to know how big the Diplodocus is could you give me a picture of their size against a human?
from ??; November 30, 1998
A: See the information sheet on Diplodocus for its length.
Q: What dinosaurs lived in the South East U.S.?
from Kayle S., Santa Fe, NM, USA; November 30, 1998
A: See this page on dinosaurs in North America.
Q: IS IT TRUE THAT TYRANNOSAURUS IS THE TALLEST MEAT EATER
from Justin F., Puyallup, Washington, USA; November 30, 1998
A: No, Giganotosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus were slightly taller. Click here for more about this question.
Q: How many toes did the Brachiosaurus have on each foot?
from Rocko K., Harlem, New York, USA; November 30, 1998
A: Brachiosaurus (like all sauropods) had 5 toes on each of its four feet.
Q: I am doing a report on a Megalosaurus for my 2nd grade class. Can you tell me what the climate was like and the type of vegetation that was there when the megalosuarus was alive. Also, what other animals lived at the same time as the megalosuarus?
from Mike H., Los Alamitos, CA, USA; November 29, 1998
A: To answer these questions, first go to the page on Megalosaurus. Then, read what period of the Mesozoic it lived in (and on which continent). Go to the page about that period and find out about the climate, vegetation, and what other dinosaurs lived near it then.
Q: how many different types of dinosaurs were there?
from ??; November 30, 1998
A: There are about 500-700 valid, known dinosaur genera. More are being discovered all the time.
Q: How did the T. rex get it's name?
from Cody C., San Jose, CA, USA; November 30, 1998
A: Tyannosaurus rex (meaning "tyrant lizard king") was named in 1905 by Henry Fairfield Osborn. For more information on T. rex, click here.
Q: How do you get to know how the dinosaurs shapes are?????
from Benjamin W., San Jose, CA, USA; November 30, 1998
A: The general shape of a dinosaur is determined by putting the fossilized skeleton together. More particular details, like how it stood (tail up or dragging, head level t the ground or upright) or where plates are positioned are harder to determine and other methods are used, like an engineering analysis, or exactly how certain bone joints work. For example, it is not known with certainty how Stegosaurus' plates were positioned or if Spinosaurus had spikes or a sail on its back.
Q: Who were the Brachiosaurus' enemies? And where did the Brachiosaurus live?
from Spencer L., Albany, NY, USA; November 30, 1998
A: Brachiosaurus was so large that its main enemies were probably bacteria and viruses. Not much else could have killed an adult Brachiosaurus. Brachiosaurus fossils have been found in what is now western Colorado, USA and Tanzania, Africa. For more information on Brachiosaurus, click here.
Q: What dinosaurs lived during the Permian period? What did they look like and what was their background information.
from Yoshi, Texas, Texas, USA; November 29, 1998
A: No dinosaurs lived during the Permian period. Dinosaurs evolved later, during the mid-Triassic period about 225 million years ago.
Q: Are there any dinosaurs called Ceratosaurus?
from Jolis G., Kota kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia; November 28, 1998
A: Yes, check out the entry in the Dinosaur Dictionary.
Q: Are there any dinosaurs called Barapasaurus and how huge it is?
from Sabah, Malaysia; November 28, 1998
A: Yes, I've added Barapasaurus, an Indian sauropod, to the Dinosaur Dictionary.
Q: What do fossils look like?
from Brandon G., Savannah, GA, USA; November 28, 1998
A: Fossils have the same shape that the original item had, but their color, density, and texture vary widely. A fossil's color depends on what minerals formed it. Fossils are usually heavier than the original item since they are formed entirely of minerals (they're essentially stone that has replaced the original structure). Many fossils look like like ordinary rocks, but some are more exotic, including one fossilized dinosaur bone, a Kakuru tibia, which is an opal!
Q: new dinosaur fossils found in africa. what is it called ?,and where could i find out more ?
from Danz M., Hope, B.C., Canada; November 27, 1998
A: Suchomimus, and for more information about it, click here.
Q: What specific stuff did the Camptosaurus eat?
from Jason L., Sparta, NJ, USA; November 27, 1998
A: Unless fossilized stomach contents or fossilized dung are found (and these are VERY rare), a dinosaur's exact diet is unknown. Its teeth do tell you something about its diet, and Camptosaurus was a plant eater. For more information on Camptosaurus, click here.
Q: I remember that a complete dinosaur skeleton was recently sold or auctioned for around $10,000,000.00. How many of these are available and what did the new owners plan to do with it?
from Sammy G., New York, NY, USA; November 25, 1998
A: "Sue" the T. rex recently sold for $5,000,000. It will be displayed at a museum.
There's another tyrannosaurid (70% complete) for sale, "Mr. 'Z.' rex" from Harding County, South Dakota. It's reportedly for sale for ten million dollars.
Q: Which Dinosaur's name means "Thunder Lizard".
from Jessika R., Saugus, CA, USA; November 25, 1998
A: Brontosaurus, which is the old name for Apatosaurus.
Q: who was the littlest dinosaur.
from ?; November 25, 1998
A: Compsognathus.
Q: what is the biggest dinosaur? who was the first dinosaur
from Calli E . and Rachel G . Karrie M ., Nebraska City, Nebraska, USA; November 24, 1998
A: For the biggest, see the section on extreme dinosaurs. The earliest was Eoraptor.
Q: WHAT was THE First Dinosaurs they found ?
from Crysta B., Nebraska City, Nebraska, USA; November 24, 1998
A: For a page on the first dinosaur fossil discoveries, click here.
Q: I have a report to do on a Stegosaurus and need some info. fast!
What can you give me? Katie, Grade 6 What are the stegosaurus' plates made out of?
from Katie G., Calgary, Alberta, Canada; November 24, 1998
A: For an an information sheet on Stegosaurus, click here. The plates were made of bone which was not solid, but was filled with tube-like tunnels. The plates were prbobaly well-nourished by blood vessels, indicating that the plates may have been used to regulate the dinosaur's temperature.
Q: Why did the dinosaurs go extinct?
from Andrea O., Calgary, Alberta, Canada; November 24, 1998
A: See the sections on the K-T extinction and the Alvarez Asteroid theory.
Q: How much did the Oviraptor weigh?
from Maria T., Old Forge, PA, USA; November 23, 1998
A: Oviraptor weighed about 55 to 76 pounds (25 to 35 kg). For more information on Oviraptor, click here.
Q: My name is Joe, I'm 14 years old. I heard that the example of an insect trapped in amber, as in Jurassic Park, could not have happened because there were no trees that produced sap during the time of the dinosaurs, is that true?
from Joe, Thornton, Colorado, USA; November 23, 1998
A: No, there were sap-producing trees, like conifers, during the Mesozoic Era. The DNA, however, would most likely decompose over the intervening 65 plus million years.
Q: How many babies did the Utahraptor have? How were they cared for?
from Adam J., Bloomington, Indiana, USA; November 23, 1998
A: No one knows.
Q: what or how long is a dinosaur lactation period
from k.j.r., Trinidad and Tobago; November 23, 1998
A: Dinosaurs didn't lactate. Only mammals do.
Q: How long did the Brachiosaurus live?
from John H., Stillwater, Minnesota, USA; November 23, 1998
A: The genus Brachiosaurus lived for about 11 million years, from 156 to 145 million years ago. An individual Brachiosaurus may have lived for roughly 100 years. For more information on Brachiosaurus, click here.
Q: What period did t-rex exist in.
from Zach S., Stillwater, Minnesota, USA; November 23, 1998
A: T. rex lived during the late Cretaceous period, about 68 to 65 million years ago. For more information on T. rex, click here.
Q: Were there any dinosaur fossils found in the southeastern part of
the United States? If so, where?
from AJ K., Macon, GA, USA; November 22, 1998
A: Yes. For more details, click here.
Q: what are some relatives of T. Rex?
from Jimmy M., cloverdale, ca, USA; November 22, 1998
A: Tyrannosaurus rex's closest relatives are the other members of the genus Tyrannosaurus, which include: Tyrannosaurus bataar, T. efremovi, and perhaps T. novojilovi and T. ancensis (these species are all increasingly smaller than T. rex and have been found in Mongolia and/or China).
Other relatives, a bit more distant, include the Tyrannosaurids: Daspletosaurus, Albertosaurus, Gorgosaurus, Alioramus, and others.
Q: How little was a baby t-rex? Brett T. Nov.21.98
from Brett T., ?; November 21, 1998
A: T. rex hatchlings haven't been found (yet), so no one knows.
Q: Hi! I want to know what the largest ornithischian dinosaurs were. Were they ornithopods, stegosaurs, ankylosaurs, or ceratopsians?? When did they live?? Name a few genuses of them.
from Jimmy L., Georgia, USA; November 21, 1998
A: See my handy-dandy chart that has all this information (and lots more)!
Q: . Was Velociraptor one of the smartest,fastest,and deadliest dinosaurs ever?
2. What did Velociraptor use the sickle claw on both of it's feet for?
3. Was Velociraptor's sickle claw 5 inches long in real life?
from Ryan P., Stewertsville, New Jersey, USA; November 21, 1998
A: See the page on Velociraptor.
Q: I Don't really Know what bird-hipped or lizard-hipped bones look like.
from Jodi A., St. Johns, Antigua; November 21, 1998
A: See this page.
Q: how many years does the t-rex live?
from Sohum, M., Toronto, Ontario, Canada; November 20, 1998
A: No one knows. For a page on dinosaur life spans, click here.
Q: I am doing a report on living fossils and my friends say Godzilla is real I wanted to know if he is real?
Brett T., greensburg, PA, USA; November 20, 1998
A: No.
Q: what continent was the dinosaur not found on
from John K.; November 20, 1998
A: Dinosaur fossils have been found on all the continents. For a listing of where fossils have been found, click here.
Q: what is belived to be the fastest moving dinosaur ever to live?
from ??; November 20, 1998
A: The speediest dinosaurs were the bird-like, bipedal carnivores (theropods) with long, slim hind-limbs, and light bodies. These fast dinosaurs probably weren't any faster than modern-day land animals. For example, Ornithomimus was a fast, agile dinosaur,probably running about as quickly as an ostrich , which can run up to 43 mph (70 kph). For more details, see the page on dinosaur extremes.
Q: What dinosaur did the T.rex eat the most.
from Daniel B., Sacramento, CA, USA; November 19, 1998
A: No one knows. Some T. rex dung was found recently, and it contained some crushed Triceratops bone (from the frill), so this may have been a common meal for T. rex. For more information on T. rex, click here. For an article on the T. rex feces find, click here.
Q: What was the land like in the late Cretaceous period?
from Ian O., Norfolk, New York, USA; November 19, 1998
A: There was no polar ice during the mild warm, subtropical Cretaceous period. The land was covered with forests surrounded by shallow seas. Seasonality was increasing. Most of the land mass was at or around sea level until the mid-Cretaceous, a time of high tectonic activity (continental plate movement) and accompanying volcanic activity . This is when many mountain ranges were formed , including California's Sierra Nevadas, the Rocky mountains in the western USA and the European Alps. The sea levels rose during the mid-Cretaceous, covering about one-third of the land area. Toward the end of the Cretaceous, there was a drop in sea level, causing land exposure on all continents, more seasonality, and greater extremes between equatorial and polar temperatures. Also, the continents were taking on their modern-day forms. For more information about the Cretaceous period, click here.
Q: Thanks for answering my other question, but I have one more about the Hypsilophodons: How did they raise their young? Did they abandon them so they could mature on their own,
or did they defend them against predators untill they were old enough to take care of themselves? Thanks...
from T.L., Beckley, W.V., USA; November 19, 1998
A: There is bonebed evidence that Hypsilophodon may have been a herding animal (about 20 Hypsilophodon fossils were found together on the Isle of Wight, off the
southern coast of England). There is no fossil evidence about the nurturing of their young. For more information on Hypsilophodon, click here.
Q: Did the Hypsilophodontids have any kind of defences against predators?
from Tonya L, Beckley, W.V., USA; November 18, 1998
A: Hypsilophodontids were small, speedy plant-eaters whose first line of defense was probably their speed. One Hypsilophodon (the type genus for the Hypsilophosontids) was found with some bony plates nearby, indicating that it might possibly have been armored (but no other armored examples have been found, so this is doubtful). For more information on Hypsilophodon, click here.
Q: Who named the Velociraptor? thanks
from Ian O., Norfolk, New York, USA; November 17, 1998
A: Henry F. Osborn in 1924. For more information on Velociraptor, click here.
Q: When and where was the first dinosaur skeleton found in North America?
from Danyelle H., Sarasota, FL, USA; November 17, 1998
A: The first dinosaur fossil found in the US was a thigh bone found by Dr. Caspar Wistar, in
Gloucester County, New Jersey, in 1787 (it had since been lost, but more fossils were later found in the area). For more details, click here to see this page.
Q: i am doing a reprt on velociraptors and could you please give me a LOT of info on him
from Edward L., East Lansing, MI, USA; November 17, 1998
A: For an information sheet on Velociraptor, click here.
Q: who jumped farther veliciraptor deinoychus or utahraptor
from ?, USA; November 17, 1998
A: Utahraptor, because it was a much bigger dinosaur (about 20 feet long) than Velociraptor or Deinonychus
Q: How does the way the Velociraptor look effect the way it lived?
from Ian O., Norfolk, and Jeremy O., Norwalk, New York, USA; November 17, 1998
A: The anatomy of an organism always affects the way it lives, including its diet, habitat, reproduction, etc. For example, carnivores like Velociraptor were built to catch and eat other animals. They couldn't survive on a vegetarian diet (because their digestive systems most likely couldn't process enough plant material to keep them alive). Size is another fator that affects how an animal lives. For a carnivore, it determines what size animal it can prey upon, how much it needs to eat, and metabolic rates (small animal have to generate more heat per pound than larger animals do because they lose heat quickly (they have a high surface area: volume ratio; for example, see Gigantothermy in the Dinosaur Dictionary).
Q: what geological events occured during the permian period
from Josh L., Arvada, Colorado, USA; November 16, 1998
A: The Permian Period (also known as the "Age of Reptiles") is best known for the largest mass extinction that happened at its end (about 248 million years ago).
Q: About how long did the woolly mammoth live?
from Colin H., Baraboo, Wisconsin, USA; November 16, 1998
A: It lived from the Pleistocene to the early Holocene epoch. For more details on the geologic periods, click here.
Q: Can you tell me about the "Chasmosaurus" was he a friendly dinosaur? Thank You, P.J.
from P.J., Lindenhurst, Illinois, USA; November 16, 1998
A: Chasmosaurus was a ceratopsian, a plant-eating dinosaur built like a rhinoceros. For an information sheet on Chasmosaurus, click here. I doubt that any dinosaurs were friendly.
Q: My quesition were the Tyrannosaurids pure hunters or scavengers.
from Thomas H., Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, USA; November 16, 1998
A: This is a topic of debate right now. It used to be assumed that T. rex was a hunter (and also a scavenger, since most hunters do not turn down a free meal). Paleontologists (notably Jack Horner) have recently begun to question whether T. rex could have been an effective hunter, given its small eyes, puny arms, and relatively slow gait (Note: many other paleontologists think that T. rex had good eyesight and was a relatively fast dinosaur.) Horner's alternative theory is that T. rex scavenged its food from other animals' kills. Scavengers need a good sense of smell (to find meat) and means of long-distance locomotion (to get to the meat). There is evidence that T.rex had an acute sense of smell (deduced from room in its skull for large olfactory lobes in its brain). Also, T. rex's large legs would provide ample means of long-distance locomotion. There are arguments against this scavenger hypothesis. Small eyes do not imply poor vision. Birds (dinosaurs' descendants) have relatively small eyes but acute vision. As for T. rex's puny arms, arms are not necessary for predation; many predators have no arms at all, like sharks and snakes. As for T. rex's gait (speed), there were many animals that were slower than T. rex; these would become its prey, not the speedier types.
Q: IS THERE ANY DINOSAURS EGGS LEFT. THANK YOU ANDREW AGED 8
from Andrew S., Glasgow, Scotland, Britain; November 16, 1998
A: Thousands of fossilized dinosaur eggs have been found.
Q: What were the dominant Carnivores and Herbivores of the Cretaceous Period?
from Paul G., Arvada, Colorado, USA; November 16, 1998
A: This varied from area to area and through time. The Cretaceous period lasted about 81 million years; a lot of genera came and went during this time. For example, Suchomimus dominated at least part of Africa during the early Cretaceous. Also during this time, Giganotosaurus may have dominated South America. Later in the Cretaceous, T. rex was is western North America, etc. See the section on the Cretaceous period for more details.
Q: How do scientists know what color the dinosaurs where when all the flesh rots away?
from Amanda, Fall River, MA, USA; November 16, 1998
A: They don't, which is why no one knows what colors the dinosars were.
Q: I'm doing a report on dinosaur evolution. Could you give me any information on how and why dinosaurs evolve. Also what evidence supports this. Thanks...
from Dan S., New York, NY, USA; November 15, 1998
A: Dinosaurs evolved from the crocodile-like thecodonts. For a good page on dinosaur evolution from the Royal Tyrrell Museum, click here.
Q: Do Ouranosaurus lay eggs or do they have live births? Also do Ouranosaurus travel in herds, small groups, or alone?
from Lisa M., York, PA, USA; November 15, 1998
A: Ouranosaurus was an iguanodontid dinosaur that is known from 2 fossilized Nigerian skeletons. It probably hatched from eggs, although none have been found with Ouranosaurus skeletons or containing Ouranosaurus hatchlings. No bonebeds (many fossils of the same species, but of different ages, found in the same area) were found, so its herding behavior is unknown. For more information on Ouranosaurus, click here.
Q: Can you name some dinosaurs that lived in the water?
from Kaleena W., Woodland Park, Colorado, USA; November 15, 1998
A: No dinosaurs lived exclusively in the water. Plesiosaurs, Mosasaurs, and Ichthyosaurs were water-adapted reptiles from the Mesozoic Era (but were not dinosaurs).
Q: Hello!
I am an eight year old boy who has an interest in dinosaurs! We were watching TV yesterday when we saw a program about a new dinosaur which was found in Africa, its name is Suchomimis. We noticed that it looked a lot like Baryonx. Has anyone noticed the similarity? And who do I alert to tell them about it?
from Mathew L., Fairfield, CT, USA; November 15, 1998
A: You are very observant and also remarkably knowledgable about dinosaurs! Suchomimis and Baryonyx are both spinosaurs (theropods with long snouts, crocodile-like teeth and vertebral spines). For more information on Suchomimus, click here.
Q: Please can you send me some infomation on Santosaurus and drawing dinosaurs.
from Matthew T, Hindhead, Guildford, UK; November 14, 1998
A: I've never heard of Santosaurus. Santanadactylus is a ptersaur, a flying reptile closely related to the dinosaurs. It dates from the early Cretaceous period and was found in Brazil. It was named by Buisonje in 1980.
Q: This is slightly off-subject, but I have a five year old daughter who has been a dinosaur fanatic since the age of one. She wants a dinosaur watch for Christmas this year, but I'm having much difficulty coming up with one. If you have any ideas, they would be greatly appreciated! Thank you for you time...
from Shannon H., Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA; November 14, 1998
A: I don't know where to get a dinosaur watch, but I'll try to fiind one. Also, we're opening a Dinosaur Toy Store here at Zoom Dinosaurs very soon. It will offer museum-quality toys and kits.
Q: I know most scientists think that dinosaurs died from a meteorite, but what would have happened to sharks, corcodiles, the still-living creatures that also lived before? I think the dinosaurs died because it got really cold, and the sharks just went to the heat "vents" in the ocean bottom. I'm kind of confused. Did crocs and sharks die and just appear again?
from kristi, ida, mi, USA; November 14, 1998
A: During the K-T extinction, many other animals went extinct besides the dinosaurs, including many marine species. In fact, about half of the marine invertebrate species went extinct during this mass extinction. Many species of sharks and crocodiles survived this extinction, but not all. During the Mesozoic, for example,there were 50 foot long crocodilians (now extinct). Modern-day sharks and crocodiles are descendants of the survivors.
Q: How do you pronounce deinonychus
from J.D., Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA; November 14, 1998
A: die-NON-ih-kus (emphasis on the NON).
Q: WHAT WAS THE AVERAGE LIFESPAN FOR A T-REX?
from Joseph O., Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA; November 13, 1998
A: For a page on the life spans of dinosaurs, click here.
Q: I would like to know more information on Suchomimus tenerenis, thank you.
from David H, Timaru, New Zealand; November 13, 1998
A: For a page on Suchomimus, click here or look in the DInosuar Dictionary under "S."
Q: I am in second grade. I have to do a report on Trachodon for my class.
I am unable to find any information in the library. Could you help me
find the size,possible color,what it ate,its enemies,where it lived....? Maybe guide me to some information.
Thank you
from Stanley, Glendora, California, USA; November 13, 1998
A: There's information on Trachodon in the DInosaur Dictionary. Trachodon is only known from a few fossilized teeth, so many details about the dinosaur are not known (like size and weight). There is no color information about any of the dinosaurs.
Q: Dear Mr. Dinosaur man- I was wondering how long the Triceratops lived?? I am doing a report on it and I need to know some information about it. Thank you very much!!! Write back as soon as you can.
Sincerely
from Landon H. Age 9, Redwood Falls, Minnesota, USA; November 13, 1998
A: Triceratops lived from about 68 to 65 million years ago (during the late Cretaceous period). For more information on Triceratops, click here. Also, I'm not a man.
Q: I'm a freshmen in College doing a research paper on whether or not dinosaurs were warm blooded (endothermic) or cold blooded (exothermic). I would appreciate it if you could help me with this question.
Thank you for your time :)
from Sarah H., Portland, Oregon, USA; November 13, 1998
A: For a page on this subject, click here.
Q: Why (and when) was the brontosaurus' name changed to Apatasaurus?
from D. Baer, Franklin, WI, USA; November 13, 1998
A: The American paleontologist Othniel C. Marsh described and named Apatosaurus in 1877. A few years later, in 1879, he described and named another fossil, Brontosaurus. It turned out that the two dinosaurs were actually two species of the same genus. The earlier scientific name, Apatosaurus, was adopted and Brontosaurus was dropped. Many people still use the term Brontosuaurs, but scientists don't.
Q: Did brachiosaurus's travel in herds?
from Deona F., Levittown, PA, USA; November 12, 1998
A: Brachiosaurus probably travelled in herds and may have migrated when they deleted their local food supply.
Q: Would you please give me all of the information you have on the Pteranodon, especially the behavior and it's enemies. Please get back to me as soon as possible, because we need it for our 4th grade report. Thank you very much.... Harrison Ludwig
from Harrison L., Monroeville, Pennsylvania; November 12, 1998
A: For an information sheet on Pteranodon, click here. Also, to determine some of its predators, look at the page on the Cretaceous period, go to the part on the late Cretaceous (when Pteranodon lived) and then to the section on North America (where Pteranodon lived) and see what meat-eaters lived nearby.
Q: How or what caused the Compsognathus to become extinct?
from art s, los angeles, la, USA; November 12, 1998
A: Compsognathus lived in the late Jurassic period, about 155 to 145 million years ago. There was an minor extinction about the time when Compsognathus died out. For more information on Compsognathus, click here.
Q: where exactly did the dinosaurs mainly live?
from kd, Montvallo, AL, USA; November 12, 1998
A: They lived on every continent on Earth. For a list of where each of the dinosaurs were found, click here.
Q: My sister loves dinosaurs and asked me if it was posable for humans to
to bring them back to life? I told her I would find out.
from Jared, Sparta, TN, USA; November 12, 1998
A: Probably not, since the DNA would most likely decay over the course of that much time (even when encased in amber like in Jurassic Park).
Q: Do you know how DINOSAURS died.(If not, how do you think they did.)
from Jonathan, Sparta, TN, USA; November 12, 1998
A: The most likely (and widely accepted) theory is the Alvarez Asteroid theory. See the page about it in the secion on "Extinction."
Q: How do you know an astroid hit the earth and killed the dinosaurs.
from Eric T., Meridian, ID, USA; November 11, 1998
A: There's a lot of physical evidence, listed on this page.
Q: I'm doing a report on Dinosaurs and how they met their demise and I was just wondering how they died. What time period did the dinosaurs really die off at? Also did the dinosaurs really die of the Volcano-greenhouse theory or was it, because of a giant meteor that did them in?
If you could please answer these in a timely fashion it would
be very nice.
Thanks for all your help!
from Jason M., Conifer, Colorado, USA; November 11, 1998
A: See the page on the K-T extinction and the section on extinction.
Q: where is five states in the u.s dinosaurs lived
from Floyd R., orlando, USA; November 11, 1998
A: For a page that lists where the dinosaurs have been found in the US, click here.
Q: Is the T-rex (in JURASSIC PARK) the same size in real life?
fromJared K., Sparta, TN, USA; November 11, 1998
A: The T. rex in Jurassic Park was about the right size (about 40 feet long and about 20 feet tall). For more information on T. rex, click here.
Q: Define the word sauros.
from Jim T., USA; November 10, 1998
A: Lizard.
Q: Is it true that since the raptor may have been a scavenger that it sometimes ate it's young? (My brother told me this was true and I don't believe him...)
from Boris J., Bay City. Michigan, USA; November 10, 1998
A: Many carnivores (not just scavengers) are cannibals and even eat the young of the species. Modern-day examples include sharks, lions, and polar bears.
Q: How much did a pteranodon weigh?
from Kurt C., Tinton Falls, NJ, USA; November 10, 1998
A: About 35 pounds. For more information on Pteranodon, click here.
Q: Is there evidence for dinosaur nesting? If so, what kind of nests did they make?
from Adrienne P.; November 10, 1998
Yes, for more information and examples of nests, click here.
Q: How long was the Ultrasauros?
from Abhishek, Mortdale, NSW, Australia; November 9, 1998
A: Estimates vary from 82-100+ feet long (25-30 m) and about 52 feet (15 m) tall. For more information on Ultrasauros, click here.
Q: What was the most babies a Brontosaurus could have?
from Michael, Mortdale, NSW, Australia; November 9, 1998
A: No one knows.
Q: How many teeth does a T.Rex have?
from Nessrine, Mortdale, NSW, Australia; November 9, 1998
A: About 60.
Q: When did dinosaurs first appear on earth?
from Linda, Mortdale, NSW, Australia; November 9, 1998
A: At least 228 million years ago. Eoraptor is the earliest-known dinosaur.
Q: Is T.Rex the biggest meat eater?
from Alex, Mortdale, NSW, Australia; November 9, 1998
A: No, Giganotosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus were slightly bigger.
Q: How did dinosaurs become extinct?
from Lewis, Mortdale, NSW, Australia; November 9, 1998
A: See the page on the K-T mass extinction.
Q: Well I was just learning about the Iguanadon and well we didn't learn how long it lived and if it was a lizard or bird
from Jonathan S., San Jose, CA, USA; November 9, 1998
A: Iguanodon was a dinosaur (and a reptile) but not a bird or a lizard. For more information on Iguanodon, click here.
Q: What do the suffixes oidea, sauria,and ini mean?
from Raptorius, N.Y., New York, USA; November 9, 1998
A: Oidea means "approximately like or resembling" and sauria menas "lizard". I have no idea what ini means (or even where it is used).
Q: May you please tell me everything you know about the Diplocaulus?
from Marissa L., Auckland, New Zealand; November 8, 1998
A: There's an entry on Diplocaulus in the Dinosaur and Paleontology Dictionary.
Q: I was wondering if you could give me some information on the Anchisauripus, in particular what it looked like. If there are any illustrations you know of, I would be very interested in seeing them. Thanks.
from Jeff C., Midland, Texas, USA; November 7, 1998
A: Anchisauripus is an ichnogenus of dinosaur, a theropod dinosaur only known from fossilized, bipedal, three-toed footprints (roughly 4 to 7 inches long) from Connecticut, USA during the late Triassic to early Jurassic period. What it looked like is unknown. It was named by Lull in 1904.
Q: I am looking for information on thalassomedon. If you have any, I would
appreciate it.
Thanks!
from ??; November 7, 1998
A: Thalassomedon hanningtoni was a plesiosaur (not a dinosuar, but an extinct marine reptile from the Mesozoic Era that lived in the open oceans and breathed air). It had a long snout, long, sharp teeth (up to 5 cm long), a short, pointed tail and four flippers. Fossils have been found in USA. There's a drawing of a skull at this web site (by M. Everhart). For more information on plesiosaurs, click here.
Q: I need information on TSINTAOSAURUS.Any information. This is a very hard dinosaur to find.
Iwould really like a picture also.
from Erin A., IL, USA; November 7, 1998
A: Tsintaosaurus is an invalid name for Tanius. There's an entry for Tanius in the Dinosaur Dictionary. I don't have a drawing of Tanius, but it's closely related to Edmontosaurus and was similar physically.
Q: What were the damages to the environment of the dinosaurs after the asteroid crash.
from L.B. and V.M., Toronto, Ontario, Canada; November 6, 1998
A: Short-term effects could include dust clouds encircling the Earth, decreased sunlight hitting the Earth, cooler temperatures, acid rain, tsunamis, storms, localized fires (near the impact site), etc. Longer tem effects might include changes in the chemical composition of the atmosphere and the oxygen levels in the seas (due to a change in the amount of photosynthesis occurring because of massive plant extinctions). For more information about the K-T extinction, click here.
Q: how much does a Triceratops weigh?
from Zander L., Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; November 4, 1998
A: Up to 6-12 tons. For more information on Triceratops, click here.
Q: Which dinosaur had a second brain where his tail began????
from Elizabeth W., Red Wing, Minnesota, USA; November 4, 1998
A: See the page on Dinosaur brains (the section you want is toward the bottom of the page).
Q: What are the two main groups of dinosaurs?
from Beth W., Red Wing, Minnesota, USA; November 4, 1998
A: Saurischians and Ornithischians. For more information on these groups, click here.
Q: If Dinosaurs could not fly how come birds can, and what about Sinosauropteryx?
from Rasmus K., Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark; November 4, 1998
A: Although cladistically (using the taxonomic system of clades), dinosaurs ARE birds (in the same way that we are apes), when people refer to dinosaurs they generally mean the extinct, Mesozoic Era, non-flying diapsid reptiles.
Sinosauropteryx prima (121-135 million years ago) had a coat of downy, feather-like fibers that were perhaps the forerunner of feathers. It was a ground-dwelling dinosaur had short arms, hollow bones, a three-fingered hand, and was about the size of a turkey. Protarchaeopteryx robusta was another feathered dinosaur with long, symmetrical feathers on arms and tail, but it probably could not fly. For more bird-like dinosaurs, click here.
Q: What is the biggest dinosaur ever discovered (It's been bugging me).
from Dino-Joe, Haubsadt, IN, USA; November 4, 1998
Q: what is the largest dinosaur found
from j. buck, rochford, england; November 4, 1998
A: Probably Argentinosaurus. For more huge sauropods, see the page on extreme dinosaurs.
Q: How many bones does Apatosaurus have?
How many Apatosaurus fossils have been found?
Your info sheet is great!
from PJ H, Mentor, Ohio, USA; November 3, 1998
A: Thank you! I don't know how many bones an Apatosaurus had. I found references to at least 6 Apatosaurus skeletons that have been found (some are partial, even skull-less); there may be more.
Q: What is the Tyrannaurus's social life?
from Bryan G., St. Charles, Missouri, USA; November 3, 1998
A: T. rex didn't have much of a social life. For more information click here.
Q: Is Stokesosaurus clevelandi really a Jurassic tyrannosaur? If this is true, wouldn't they be fairly cosmopolitan?
from Alexander C., New York, NY, USA; November 3, 1998
A: Stokesosaurus clevelandi, only known from a very incomplete fossil, dates from the late Jurassic period, about 156 to 145 million years ago, although some of its skeletal adaptations resemble those of dinosaurs from the late Cretaceous period. Its classification is unsure; if it was a tyrannosaurid, it was by far the earliest one.
Q: What are the names of some dinosaurs that lived in the Jurassic period?
from k. transell, n.s.w., STATE, Australia; November 3, 1998
A: See the page on the Jurassic period.
Q: how tall is a pterodactyl to a human when it stands?
from kelly m., amissville, va, and Brandy, Culpepper, VA, USA; November 3, 1998
A: The Pterodactyls ranged in size from the tiny Pterodactylus to the huge Quetzalcoatlus. For comparative pictures of people and 2 different Pterodactyls, click here.
Q: What is the largest dinosaur?
from Michael U., Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia; November 3, 1998
Q: what is the heaviest dinosaur the lightest dinosaur the smallest dinosaur and the longest dinosaur??????????
from Claire P., North Shore, Aukland, New Zealand; November 3, 1998
A: See the section on extreme dinosaurs.
Q: I have a brother and I'm trying to help on his report. It's on Tyrannosaurus rex(a.k.a:T-rex).Can you help him?P.S:I'm supposed to do it beacause he's grouded for a week from the computer
from Devon K. Third Grade, Dunbar, Pennsylvania, USA; November 3, 1998
A: Click here for an information sheet on T. rex. There's also a page on T. rex's bones here.
Q: Is T. rex the most dangerous dinosaur of all time?
from Bradley T., C.A., USA; November 2, 1998
A: It may have been.
Q: I have a running debate with my sister. Could a T-rex swim? She has refuted everything I have said,so maybe she'll believe you. Thanks.
from James T., Myrtle Beach, SC, USA; November 2, 1998
A: Accoring to M.K. Brett-Surman (1997, The Complete Dinosaur, chap. 24 - a great book, by the way), there are 3 ways that animals can propel themselves in water:
1. Paddling with the arms (T. rex obviously couldn't do this very well)
2. Sculling with the tail (like crocodilians) but only when the tendons in the tail are not too stiff - and theropod tails lacked ossified tendons, so they could be used this way.
3. Paddling with the hind legs (this also could have happened).
But, just because it is possible for an animal to swim doesn't mean that it DID swim (most cats, except tigers, can swim but won't, even when they're after prey).
Q: How did the Brachiosaurus die?
from Shannon B., National Park, New Jersey, USA; November 2, 1998
A: Brachiosaurus went extinct near the end of the Jurassic period, about 145 million years ago. Although there were a couple of minor mass extinctions during the Jurassic (at 190 and 160 and million years ago), Brachiosaurus' extinction wasn't during one of those dramatic times. Instead, it went extinct like most plants and animals do (perhaps up to 95 per cent of all extinctions) - in a background extinction. Background extinctions are not caused by major catastrophes or horrendous climactic changes, but by small changes in climate or habitat, depleted resources, competition, and other changes that require adaptation and flexibility. These background extinctions occur throughout time.
Q: what dinosaur is the largest @ what did they eat
from amanda h., sutherlin, oregeon, USA; November 2, 1998
A: The largest dinosaurs were the huge Jurassic period sauropods, long-necked plant-eaters. For a list of the longest, see the page on "Extreme Dinosaurs."
Q: Was there ever a dinosaur called Mosasaurus.
When did he live, and what did he eat?
from Cameron V., Cape Town, South Africa; November 1, 1998
A: Mosasaurus was a marine reptile but not a dinosaur. For more details, click here.
Q: Did the dinosaurs care for their young?
What lead to there sucess?
Did the dinosaurs go around in groups, or, goaround on their own. how do we know this?
What about their skin, was it scales?
I got told that most of the dinosaurs where small. Is this true?
Is there proof that the T Rex was along. What is it?
from Marc R., Heathfield, East Sussex, England; November 1, 1998
A: You'll find the answers to these questions are in the section on Anatomy and Behavior.
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