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The Triceratops (Tri-Sera-tops) “Three horn face”

The Triceratops (Tri-Sera-tops) “Three horn face”

The Triceratops is a quadrupedal herbivore that lived during the late Cretaceous period—or about 68 million years ago. This dinosaur was first discovered near Denver, Colorado in 1887. When it was first discovered it was believed to have been an unusual type of bison. However, it was discovered rather quickly that this wasn’t just an unusual form of bison but was actually a dinosaur. Since then, Triceratops specimens have been found all over North America. The name of this dinosaur translates into “3 horned face” from the Greek “Tri” meaning three and the word “keratops” meaning face.

04 Feb 2020
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Stegosaurus [Steg-a-saur-us] “The Armoured Giant”

Stegosaurus [Steg-a-saur-us] “The Armoured Giant”

Stegosaurus, (genus Stegosaurus), one of the various plated dinosaurs (Stegosauria) of the Late Jurassic Period (159 million to 144 million years ago) recognizable by its spiked tail and series of large triangular bony plates along the back. Stegosaurus usually grew to a length of about 6.5 metres (21 feet), but some reached 9 metres (30 feet). The skull and brain were very small for such a large animal. The forelimbs were much shorter than the hind limbs, which gave the back a characteristically arched appearance. The feet were short and broad.

04 Feb 2020
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Diplodocus (Dip-lod-acus) “The long friendly Dinosaur”

Diplodocus (Dip-lod-acus) “The long friendly Dinosaur”

One of the longest dinosaurs, Diplodocus had a unique body construction, with two rows of bones on the underside of its tail to provide extra support and greater mobility. Because of Diplodocus' unusual skeleton, palaeontologist Othniel C. Marsh coined its name in 1878, deriving it from the Greek words "diplos," meaning "double," and "dokos" meaning "beam." One of the best-known sauropods (long-necked herbivorous dinosaurs), this genus of dinosaur lived during the late Jurassic Period, about 155.7 million to 150.8 million years ago, an d primarily roamed western North America. Four species are recognized: D. longus, D. carnegii, D. hayi and D. hallorum (previously known as Seismosaurus). Diplodocus is the longest dinosaur known from a near-complete skeleton — that is, other dinosaurs, such as the sauropod Supersaurus, may be longer, but those length estimates are based on fairly incomplete skeletons.

04 Feb 2020
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Centrosaurus (Sen-tro-sore-us.) “The Prickly Lizard”

Centrosaurus (Sen-tro-sore-us.) “The Prickly Lizard”

Centrosaurus acquired its named from the numerous bony projections that run along the edges of its frill.‭ ‬Aside from these a large nasal horn extends upwards from the top of the snout,‭ ‬and a pair of small horns project from the eyebrow.‭ ‬Two more hornlets hook down from the top of the frill,‭ ‬although how developed they are depends upon the species,‭ ‬being most pronounced in C.‭ ‬apertus.‭ ‬The nasal horn is also known to curve either forwards or backwards,‭ ‬and may be indicative of species.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

04 Feb 2020
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Carnotaurus (Carn-O-Taurus) “Eyes like Humans, hands like a duck”

Carnotaurus (Carn-O-Taurus) “Eyes like Humans, hands like a duck”

While Carnotaurus had the standard theropod morphology of a bipedal animal with large head and small arms,‭ ‬it still possessed a number of features that made it quite unique among the large theropods.‭ ‬One such feature‭ ‬is the arms,‭ ‬which are not just small like you would expect,‭ ‬but are positively tiny.‭ ‬Further to this the fingers were fused together meaning they could not move independently from one another.‭ ‬On top of this the fingers also lacked claws.‭ ‬Had Carnotaurus not gone extinct,‭ its descendants may have eventually lost these arms all together.

04 Feb 2020
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