Zoom Dinosaurs DINOSAUR QUESTIONS

Q: Is there a difference between a raptor and a Velociraptor?
from Max S., Sewickley, PA, USA; September 25, 1998

A: Yes. In the movie Jurassic Park, they said raptor to mean Velociraptor (and also made it a lot bigger than it really was). This, however, is not standard. Scientifically, raptor refers to birds of prey; only a few paleontologists use 'raptor to refer to dinosaurs (and they usually mean the bird-like dromaeosaurids, which include Dromaeosaurus, Velociraptor, Deinonychus, Utahraptor, etc.).

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Q: On Discovery Channel, I recently heard mentioning of a program, about disvoveries of even larger sized dinosaurs, than what has been known before. I think the discoveries were claimed to have been in South America. Is there any throuth in this, and if there is what are the sizes?
Thanks, Lars.
from Lars B., Copenhagen, Denmark; September 29, 1998

A: Giganotosaurus carolinii, a meat-eater even larger than Tyrannosaurus rex, was found in Argentina. For more information on Giganotosaurus. click here.

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Q: how big are the eggs of a Allosaurus
from ch, san angelo, texas, USA; September 29, 1998

A: I've never seen a reference to one.

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Q: I am doing a class project about sintaosaurus family of the Hadrosauridae. They are also known as big lizards from china. Please send me any information for my project, any information will be helpful. Thank you martin
from martitn o., deltona, FL, USA; September 28, 1998

A: Tsintaosaurus is a doubtful name and is probably the same as Tanius (which was named earlier and therefore retains its name). It was a crestless Hadrosaurid from China. These large, heavily-built plant-eaters were duck-bills that had a bony protuberance between the eyes on their flat head. They had toothless beaks, and strong jaws with self-sharpening cheek teeth (for chewing tough plant material). They had four-fingered hands and could walk on 2 or 4 legs. They date from the late Cretaceous period, about 88.5 to 65 million years ago. Tanius was named by Carl Wiman in 1929. Tsintaosaurus was named by Young Chung Chien in 1958.

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Q: I need information on the metriorhynchus. How did it protect itself, interesting information, any sites I can visit to get more information. Thanks
from Fred J., Raleigh, NC, USA; September 29, 1998

A: Metriorhynchus was a marine crocodile from the middle Jurassic period (the Callovian age). It was not a dinosaur, but a different type of reptile. Like other crocodilians, it probably protected itself with its teeth and tail. Its fossils have been found in Chile, South America. I can't find any sites on Metriorhynchus on the web, but Crocodilian.com has a lot of information about crocodiles.

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Q: What is the name of the Dinosaur that sprouts out a wing like structure and is able to spit acid out of its mouth. It was seen on Jurassic Park the movie. Thanks
from Ryan, Logan, WV, USA; September 30, 1998

A: Dilophosaurus, but there is absolutely no evidence that it spat anything at all. For more information on Dilophosaurus, click here.

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Q: who came frist humans or dinosaurs
from Rita D. M., Toronto, Ontario, Canada; September 29, 1998

A: Dinosaurs. They evolved over 228 million years ago and died out 65 million years ago. People didn't evolve until about 200,000 years ago.

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Q: I would like information about the dinosaur Elaphrosaurus
from Emily K., Sacramento, CA, USA; September 29, 1998

A: Elaphrosaurus (meaning "light lizard") was a fast, bipedal (walked on two legs), meat-eating dinosaur that lived during the late Jurassic period, about 155 million years ago. It was about 17 feet (5 m) long and had a small head, many sharp teeth, short, thin arms with 3-fingered hands, strong, long-shinned legs, 3-toed feet, a long thin neck and a stiff tail. It was an ornithomimid ("bird-mimic") dinosaur, the family of fast-moving theropods. Its fossils have been found in Tanzania, East Africa.

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Q: I have to write a paper about whether or not dinosaurs were stupid because they had such small sized brains compared to the size of their bodies. Do you have any information or an opinion to share on this?
from Robyn H., Greensboro, NC, USA; September 29, 1998

A: Any group of animals that can survive for over 150 million years isn't stupid. Click here for a page on dinosaur brains in the "Anatomy and Behavior" section.

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Q: What does the word sauros mean?
from Amanda S., Linden, Tennessee, USA; September 28, 1998

A: Sauros is Greek for lizard.

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Q: I am 7 years old and I am very interested by the stegosaure. Please could you confirm that the weight of the stegosaure is 1 ton; I am felling that is not enough regarding its sizes.
Thank you, Best Regards
from Lagarde A., Ancerville, Meuse, France; September 27, 1998

A: Some references say that it weighed about 1 ton, others say that it weighed between 1 and 2 tons. This does seem a bit light for a 26-30 feet long (8-9 m) animal, but a lot of the Stegosaurus' length was its tiny head, relatively thin neck, and thin tail. Plus, it had a very thin cross-section (it was not a very wide dinosaur). Additionally, dinosaur weights are very approximate as they are estimated from the dinosaur's reconstructed volume times its estimated density. There's a lot of room for error in this calculation.

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Q: What were the predators of the Spinosaurus?
from Pat H.,Interlochen, MI, USA; September 27, 1998

A: Spinosaurus was about 40-50 feet long (12-15 m) and weighed 4 tons or more. Itwas probably at or near the top of its local food chain. Carcharodontosaurus lived during the same time period and in a nearby region of Africa - they may have met. For more information on Spinosaurus, click here.

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Q: What was the first dinosaur found?
from Mac M., Sewickley, PA, USA; September 26, 1998

A: The first dinosaur fossils that were found (and identified as large, extinct reptiles) were Megalosaurus, Iguanodon, and Hylaeosaurus.

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Q: Why don't you have any information on the late, great, cetiosaurus? Do you have any facts that you could post for me?
from Jason T., Castleton, VT, USA; September 25, 1998

A: I do. Look under "C" in the in Dinosaur Dictionary.

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Q: I need information on the Stegosaurus. This information should include dinosaur type, what they ate, physical features, and general information. Thank you.
from William B., Savannah, GA, USA; September 24, 1998

A: Click here for an information sheet on Stegosaurus.

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Q: I am working on a school project and need to find some information on a dinosaur named Coelurus. Can you help me locate some information on this dinosaurs. I am most interested in knowing how tall it was and our teacher asked us to find an interesting fact about this dinosaur. Thank you.
from Mike B., CITY, NC, USA; September 24, 1998

A: Coelurus (meaning "hollow") is a poorly known genus. It was perhaps a bipedal theropod dinosaur 6 feet (1.8 m) long. It was a carnivore that lived during the late Jurassic period, about 156 to 145 million years ago. Its bones were hollow and lightweight, so Coelurus was probably light and fast. Its fossils were found in Wyoming. Coelurus was named by Othniel C. Marsh in 1879.

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Q: what were some of the oxygen breathing animals in the early paleozoic era?
from centennial middle school, georgetown, ontario, Canada; September 24, 1998

A: Early in the Paleozoic Era was the Cambrian Period or "The Age of Trilobites," 540 to 500 million years ago. There was a huge surge in the development of life forms in which all existant phyla developed; this was called the Cambrian explosion of life. Animals in existence include trilobites, shell-fish, echinoderms, brachiopods, mollusks, etc. All animals except anaerobic bacteria breathe oxygen - they didn't use lungs at this point, but they still needed oxygen to survive. No land animals or plants had appeared yet. For more information on the Paleozoic Era, click here to see a chart of geological time.

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Q: Thank you for the information sheet on the Utahraptor. One question I still have about the Utahraptor is How high could it jump and how far?
from Kevin K., Levittown, PA, USA; September 22, 1998

A: I don't know and I've never see any estimates. There is a section on dinosaur locomation in the section on "Anatomy and Behavior" which explains how speeds are estimated. Jumping height would be even more complex and approximate.

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Q: What was the biggest and the heaviest dinosaur called? I also want to know how fast this dinosaur was and whether it was a herbivore or carnivore.Can you send me a picture of this too? Thanks!!!
from Dhruv.S., New Delhi, Delhi, India; September 22, 1998

A: The biggest dinosaurs were all herbivores. See the question 4 below this one for particulars. For information on speed, look in the section on "Locomotion" within "Anatomy and Behavior."

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Q: Can 19 Stegosaurus's take down 137 T-Rex's?
from Alex C., Sewickley, PA, USA; September 22, 1998

A: Stegosaurus and T. rex did not live during the same time - they were separated by millions of years. Also, Stegosaurus was a plant eater and probably did not attack other animals, especially large predators.

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Q: What was the lifespan of the stegosaurus?
from Cherie B., Luling, LA, USA; September 21, 1998

A: I don't know. For some information on dinosaur life spans, see the section in "Anatomy and Behavior."

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Q: WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST AND THE SMALLEST DINOSAUR EGG?
from Jordan D., Ashland, Kentucky, USA; September 21, 1998

A: The biggest dinosaur eggs are about a foot long and are probably from Sauropods (which were the biggest dinosaurs). It is very hard to determine which species an egg belongs to unless there is an embryo within it, and this rarely happens because the soft tissue of the embruo usually rots and does not fossilize. The smallest eggs are probably from small dinosaurs, but I can't find any reference to the smallest example.

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Q: What is the biggest dinosaur and the length and width? And how tall is it?
from Ashton C., Ashland, Kentucky, USA; September 21, 1998

A: The biggest dinosaurs were the plant-eating sauropods from the Jurassic period. The largest examples include:

Supersaurus - 134 feet long (41 m) Argentinosaurus - 115-130 feet long (35-40 m); 80-100 metric tons Seismosaurus ("Earth-shaking lizard") - 120+ feet long (37 m); +80 tons Ultrasauros - 100+ feet long (30 m), +80 tons Brachiosaurus - about 85 feet long (26 m), 40 feet tall, and weighed 70-80 tons.

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Q: .Was it possible for a Tyrannosaurus Rex to kill it's own species? 2.Which is bigger,Giganotosaurus Carollini or Tyrannosaurus 3.Did T-Rex hunt or scavenge?
from Muhd Edwan Shaharir, Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia; September 21, 1998

A: 1. Yes - a T. rex could theoretically kill a smaller, weaker, or sick one.
2. Giganotosaurus is a bit taller. Click here for an information sheet on Giganotosaurus.
3. Most hunters are also scavengers. There is a section on this in my information sheet on T. rex.

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Q: wHAT IS A TRICERATOPS
from Kevin S., DeWitt, Michigan, USA; September 20, 1998

A: Triceratops was a plant-eating dinosaur with three horns on its head. For an information sheet on Triceratops, click here.

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Q: I have some questions about UTHARAPTORS. 1.How big was a utahraptor 2.How much did they weigh? 3.How far and how high could they jump? 4.Where did they live? 5.What color were they? and Do you think each utahraptor looked exactly the same or did they have different colors?
from Kevin K., Levittown PA, USA; September 20, 1998

A: For an information sheet on Utahraptor, click here. As to question #5, no one knows what colors any of the dinosaurs were.

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Q: Why aren't the "flying reptiles" considered dinosaurs?
from Susan S., Rochester, MN, USA; September 19, 1998

A: Because the definition of dinosaur includes diapsid reptiles from the Mesozoic Era with an upright stance. Pterosaurs had a semi-upright stance. There is a tiny minority of paleontologists who think that the pterosaurs' stance was, in fact, upright and that pterosaurs should therefore be included in the clade of dinosaurs (being derived theropods). Either way, dinosaurs and pterosaurs are certainly closely related.

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Q: Could Giganotosaurus run away from Utahraptor if they met together?
from Brandon, Singapore City, Singapore; September 18, 1998

A: They could never have met. They were separated by both time (millions of years) and water. Giganotosaurus lived in South America during the late Jurassic period. Utahraptor lived in North America during the early Cretaceous period. Back then, there was no land connecting North and South America. Utharaptor was probably much faster than Giganotasaurus, but Giganotosaurus was bigger.

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Q: Where can I get fossil Deinonochus claws
from Wesley H., Evergreen, Colorado, USA; September 17, 1998

A: There are lots of on-line stores that sell fossils. To find them, do a search using a search engine like hotbot.com or Yahoo.com

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Q: How fast was the Triceratops?
from Janice J., Mjölby, stergötland, Sweden; September 17, 1998

A: I don't know exactly - no one does. Probably the best way of estimating the speed of extinct animals is the equation formulated by R. McNeill Alexander:
Speed (m/sec)=0.25*(stride length)^1.67*(leg length)^-1.17*(gravitational constant)^0.5

For more details about this formula and on dinosaur locomotion in general, see this page.

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Q: 1. What were the T-Rex's eating habits? 2. Wheree was its habitat? what was it like? 3. Reproduction of the T-Rex? 4. Any general information about T-Rex...
from Michelle, Daly City, CA, USA; September 16, 1998

A: For an information sheet on T. rex, click here.

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Q: how big is the Stegosaurus?(in size) How much does it weigh?
from Drew G., nc, USA; September 15, 1998

A: Stegosaurus was about 26-30 feet long (8-9 m), about 9 feet tall (2.75 m), and weighed about 1 ton. For more information on Stegosaurus, click here.

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Q: Do dinosaurs ever watch their babies.
from Sandy S.; September 14, 1998

A: Some did, some didn't. Maiasaura, whose name means "good mother" was a dinosaur that made nests for its eggs and then cared for its young. For more information on Maiasaura, click here.

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Q: Did meat eaters eat their babies.
from Casey M.; September 14, 1998

A: Some probably did, just as some modern carnivores do. Some dinosaurs have been found with the bones of small examples of the same species inside them. Some may have been cannibals; others may have been females who gave birth to live young (although this is speculative).

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Q: -what diffences exist between dinosaurs and reptiles to day?2-Is there any creatures which become extinct or are nearly extinct? Thanking you
from ozan c, Christchurch, New Zealand; September 13, 1998

A: 1. Their stance is the most obvious difference. Dinosaurs were land-dwelling reptiles that walked with an erect stance. Their unique hip structure caused their legs to stick out under their bodies , and not sprawl out from the side (as with other reptiles).
2. Most creatures that ever existed are now extinct (this is also true for plants). Many modern creatures are on the verge of extinction, including plants and animals that are threatened by loss of habitat, poisoning, over hunting, and/or other causes. Common animals that are threatened with extinction include many of the larger whales, the larger sharks, the panda, the tiger, etc. Click here for the World Wide Fund for Nature that has extensive information about endangered and threatened species.

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Q: What is the earliest feathered dinosaur, and what time period is it from?
from Donya Q., Marshall, VA, USA; September 13, 1998

A: The earliest feathered dinosaur yet found is Sinosauropteryx prima which is from about 121-135 million years ago. Sinosauropteryx had a coat of downy feather-like fibers that are perhaps the forerunner of feathers. This ground-dwelling dinosaur had short arms, hollow bones, a three-fingered hand, and was about the size of a turkey.

Protarchaeopteryx and Caudipteryx are two other very early feathered dinosaurs found at the same location in China.

For more information, see this news item, or information pages on Caudipteryx, Protarchaeopteryx, and Sinosauropteryx.

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Q: After High School, How can I to study paleontology? I want to dedicate my life to Paleontology. Please send me information about the best schools in your country and if they have e- mail to write them or questioning . Thank You for your time.
from Rafael Ch., Toluca, Edo. México, Mexico; September 13, 1998

A: You should ask your school advisor or counsellor about Universities that would suit you. There are books available, such as Barron's Guide to Colleges, that will give you a lot of information about American colleges (such as what majors are offered, what qualifications you need to enter, costs, graduation requirements, etc.). You might also try visiting a nearby college or University and going to the paleontology, biology or geology department and finding a friendly professor who can give you some professional guidance.

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Q: What does the word 'dinosaur' mean/stand for?
from Rebecca R., Sydney, NSW, Australia; September 13, 1998

A: It roughly means "terrifying lizard."

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Q: When did all the dinosaurs live?In what period did the Ankylosaurus live?
from Ciera L., Garland, STXTATE, USA; September 13, 1998

A: The dinosaurs lived during most of the Mesozoic periodMesozoic, about 225 to 65 million years ago.

Ankylosaurus lived during the late Cretaceous period, about 70 to 65 million years ago.

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Q: I know that Monoclonius have been found in Coahuila. Is that true?
from Andrés L., D.F., D.F., México; September 12, 1998

A: I haven't heard about this but it could well be true. Sometimes it takes news time to make its way around.

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Q: What kind of behavior did Barosaurus have?
from Lauren H., Brick, NJ, USA; September 12, 1998

A: Barosaurus was a diplodocid sauropod (a long-necked, long-tailed, small-headed, short-legged giant). It was an herbivore, a plant-eater. It was huge, perhaps over 60 feet (20 m) long, and was slow-moving. Its primary defense against predators was its size. Not much else is known about its behavior. Barosaurus lived during the late Jurassic period, about 156 to 145 million years ago. Its fossils have been found in western North America and East Africa. It was named by Othniel C. Marsh in 1890.

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Q: What family should belong some sauropods bones found in Puebla state, México in 1987? Is my understandig that I have to be a Geophysic in order to be a paleontologist. Is that true? There are paleontology schools in México? Why dinosaurs bones found in México seems to be of little interest from paleontogical comunity?
from Rafael Ch., Toluca, Estado de México, México; September 11, 1998

A: 1. The following dinosaur have been found in México: Albertosaurus, Apatosaurus, Gorgosaurus, Hypacrosaurus, Kritosaurus, Labocania, and Lambeosaurus. I don't which ones were found in Puebla state. For more North American fossils, broken down by region, click here.
2. There are lots of different ways to become a paleontoogist other than majoring in Geophysics.
3. I don't know anything about the University system in Mexico - you should ask your school advisor or counsellor about Mexican Universities. Since you're near college age, you might also try visiting a nearby college or University and going to the paleontology, biology or geology department and finding a friendly professor who can give you some professional guidance.
4. Mexican dinosaur bones are just as interesting as dinosaur bones found anywhere else. Dinosaur bones are ALWAYS interesting!!!!!!!!!

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Q: Why are dinosaurs green?
from Charlotte F., stoke on trent, England; September 10, 1998

A: No one knows what colors the dinosaurs were. Their color is not preserved in the fossilization process.

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Q: WHAT WAS A SALTOPUS'S FAMILY LIFE LIKE
from Valerie V., Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, USA; September 9, 1998

A: Very little is known about Saltopus. It was about 23 inches long (60 cm), ate meat, dates from the late Triassic period (about 225 million years ago) and was found in Scotland. Some paleontologiusts even doubt that it was a dinosaur. For more information on Saltopus, click here.

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Q: My Dad said he heard something recently about a major dinosaur graveyard which was discovered recently in, he thinks, South or North America. Can you give me more information about this?
from Jonathan V., Dublin, Ireland; September 8, 1998

A: Recently, a huge set of trackways were found in Bolivia, South America. For more information on these, click here. Dinosaur graveyards, also known as "bonebeds" have been found in Utah, Montana, Colorado, in the USA, Alberta, Canada, Liaoning Province, China, and other locations.

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Q: Did the dinosaurs get hit by asteroids.
from juan M., Reading, PA, USA; September 8, 1998

A: No. The Alvarez Asteroid Theory says that a large asteroid hit the Earth 65 million years ago. The asteroid only hit a small area, but repercussions from the impact affected the entire Earth for years. The climate, atmosphere, and life forms were changed.

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Q: I am looking for extensive information on the Wuerhosaurus. Could you please help me? I would like to know how long it was, what it ate, what period it lived in , etc.
from Marcus G., Plainview, TX, USA; September 8, 1998

A: Wuerhosaurus was a late Stegosaurid dinosaur that was found in Wuerho, China. It was about 25 feet (7.5 m) long and was similar to Stegosaurus, but had smaller plates and front legs. It was a plant-eater that lived during the early Cretaceous period, about 138-125 million years ago. Wuerhosaurus was named in 1973 by the Chinese dinosaurologist Dong Zhiming.

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Q: Q.If you could answer these two questions I would be very greatful.My first question is what did the Brachiosaurus use for defense and my second question is what did the Brachiosaurus use for offense.
from Caitlin I., Round Rock, TX, USA; September 7, 1998

A: Brachiosaurus was huge dinosuar, about 85 feet long (26 m), 40 feet tall, and weighed 70-80 tons. Its bulk was its main defense - it is very hard to successfully attack a giant animal. Also, Brachiosaurus was a plant-eater and probably had no more need for offense than elephants do. For more information on Brachiosaurus, click here.

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Q: what happend to the dinosaurs? how did they become extinct? where did the ankylosaurus live? where did all the dinosaurs live when did the dinosaurs live?
from Ciera L., Garland, Texas, USA; September 6, 1998

A: 1. They went extinct and some evolved into the birds. 2. See the section on extinction and the Alvarez Extinction theory. 3. Ankylosaur fossils have been found in what is now western North America, Europe, South Africa, Australia, and Asia. For more information on Ankylosaurs, click here. 4. Dinosaurs lived all over the world; their fossils have been found on every continent, including Antarctica.

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Q: How does one become a paleontologist? What are good ways to prepare?
from Coutney J., Holiday, FL, USA; September 6, 1998

A: Take a lot of science classes, especially biology and geology - and read a lot. There are many wonderful books about paleontology that you can probably find at your school library or the public library.

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Q: What Family does the Brachiosaurus belong to? I need the answer urgently for a school project!
from Shani.M, Sydney, N.S.W., Australia; September 7, 1998

A: Brachiosaurus was a late-Jurassic Saurischian dinosaur (the order of lizard-hipped dinosaurs). It was a sauropodomorph (the large, plant eating dinosaurs). It was a member of the Brachiosaurids (the family of enormous, long-necked herbivores), and was in the subfamily Brachiosaurinae (the largest land animals which included Brachiosaurus, Ultrasauros, Seismosaurus, and more).

For more information on Brachiosaurus, click here.

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Q: Do you have a dinosaur club? because if you do I would like to Know to be in it . I hope I cold join it. Can I know your email adress so we can talk about the club. Oh and if you have secretary open can I be it. good bye and I hope you can email me back by today. Bye ps; I am 9 years old.
from Taylor B., Ashburn, VA, USA; September 6, 1998

A: We don't have a dinosaur club now, but if there a lot of people interested, we could start one. What do you think should be the activities of a dinosaur club? My e-mail address is [email protected] Thanks for thinking up this idea and writing me about it.

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Q: I know that the Paleontologist estimate the speed of a dino from their footprint .But how can they do it since they did not know the time the dino take to move one step .thank
from Ezel, Johore, Malaysia; September 6, 1998

A: In 1976, the British zoologist R. McNeill Alexander used elephants, birds, people, and many other living animals to formulate an equation relating an animal's speed, leg length, and its stride length. Solving for speed, the equation is:

Speed (m/sec)=0.25*(stride length)^1.67*(leg length)^-1.17*(gravitational constant)^0.5

Although devised for living animals, this formaula is most likely fine for estimating dinosaur speeds. Stride length is measured from the trackway. Leg length is estimated using Alexander's equations relating hip height the length of the part of the foot that hits the ground. This is necessary because it is very difficult to determine which dinosaur made a set of tracks. (ref: Alexander, J.M., 1976, Estimates of speeds of dinosaurs, Nature 261: 129-130)

For more information on dinosaur locomotion, click here.

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Q: How big was Ultrasauros.
from Sara, Green Cove Springs, FL, USA; September 4, 1998

A: Ultrasauros was over 100 feet (30 m) long and over 80 tons in weight. For more information on Ultrasauros, click here.

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Q: What's the heaviest dinosaur besides Argentinosaurus that was 100 tons?
from Lyndon C., Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada; September 4, 1998

A: Argentinosaurus is probably one of the heaviest. It is difficult to estimate the weight of dinosaurs, and different paleontologists frequently give different weight estimates for the same dinosaur. The heaviest dinosaur was undoubtably one of the giant Jurassic sauropods, which included:

• Supersaurus - 134 feet long (41 m)
• Argentinosaurus - 115-130 feet long (35-40 m); 80-100 metric tons
• Seismosaurus ("Earth-shaking lizard") - 120+ feet long (37 m); +80 tons
• Ultrasauros - 100+ feet long (30 m), +80 tons
• Diplodocus - grew up to 90 feet long (28 m).
• Brachiosaurus - about 85 feet long (26 m), 40 feet tall, and weighed 70-80 tons.

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Q: Could you tell me if some dinosaurs were warm-blooded? Thanks!
from Neil M., Toronto, Ontario, Canada; September 4, 1998

A: There's no definitive answer to this question - it's a very complex issue. It is difficult to determine whether dinosaurs generated internal heat to maintain their body temperature (this is called endothermic - like modern mammals and birds) or relied on the environment and/or their behavior to regulate their temperature (this is caleld ectothermic - like most reptiles). Or perhaps, some dinosaurs were ectothermic and some (perhapd the fast theropods) were endothermic.

For more detailed information on the warm-blooded/cold-blooded debate, click here.

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Q: I'm doing a project on dino and need your help on these following Q -what is the different between a male and a female dino.
from EzeI, Johor, Malaysia; September 3, 1998

A: It is very difficult to determine which fossils were male and which were female. Some paleontologists have theorized that the males of some species may have had larger crests, frills, or other showy structures that were used in courtship displays, mating rituals, and/or intraspecies rivalry (contests among members of the same species, like territorial disputes and mating competition), very much like some modern-day animals. For more information on the differentiation between males and females, click here.

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Q: Does dino ever fall sick? What medicine did they eat if they fall sick? Is there any dinosaurs disease? Thanks.
from Ankly, Johor, Malaysia; September 3, 1998

A: Yes, T. rex fossils have been found that show evidence of having gout, a painful metabolic disease. For more information on this find and the disease, click here. No, they didn't have any medicine.

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Q: How many dinosaurs are there in the world really?
from Eddie C., Singapore; September 3, 1998

A: Over 330 different genera have been found, and two to three times that number of species. These are only the extinct dinosaurs that have been found; there are undoubtable many, many more times that number yet to be discovered

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Q: Did dinosaurs sleep standing up or lying down?
from Edward B, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia; September 3, 1998

A: I don't know.

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Q: Is a Velociraptor faster than an Utahraptor?
from Austin S., Spanish Fork, Utah, USA; September 1, 1998

A: Probably not. Velociraptor was about 6 feet long (2 m); Utahraptor was much larger, about 20 feet (6.5 m) long. Utahraptor's much longer legs would probably make it faster than Velociraptor.

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