Dinosaurs Facts for Kids
Roar-some facts about dinosaurs
Duck-billed dinosaurs called hadrosaurs had elaborate hollow crests on their heads that scientists believe they used to produce low, resonating calls. The crests acted like a trombone, amplifying sounds to communicate across dense forests.
Scientists believe Diplodocus could crack the tip of its long tail like a whip, producing a sound as loud as a cannon shot. This may have been used to warn off predators or communicate with other members of its species.
Therizinosaurus had enormous curved claws up to 1 metre long — the longest claws of any animal known to science. Despite its fearsome appearance, it was a plant eater that used its claws to pull leafy branches towards its mouth.
Scientists studying T. rex brain endocasts — casts made from the inside of the skull — have found that the olfactory bulbs were proportionally large, suggesting T. rex had an exceptional sense of smell. It may have been able to sniff out prey from kilometres away.
Ankylosaurus had a heavy, bony club at the end of its tail that it could swing with enough force to break the leg bones of a T. rex. Its body was also covered in bony plates and spikes, making it look like a living tank.
Dinosaurs first appeared approximately 230 million years ago during the Triassic period, after a mass extinction wiped out many other animals. Early dinosaurs were relatively small and walked upright on two legs.
A massive asteroid roughly 10 kilometres wide struck what is now Mexico about 66 million years ago, triggering devastating wildfires, a 'nuclear winter', and the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs. This impact left a huge crater called Chicxulub beneath the Gulf of Mexico.
Some historians believe the legend of the griffin — a creature with the body of a lion and the head of an eagle — may have been inspired by Protoceratops fossils found by ancient Scythian nomads in the Gobi Desert. These fossils have a beak-like face and four-legged body.
Like trees, dinosaur bones have annual growth rings that scientists can count to work out how old a dinosaur was when it died. This technique has revealed that some dinosaurs grew very quickly during their teenage years.
Almost all carnivorous dinosaurs walked on two legs, freeing their front limbs to become arms or, eventually in the case of birds, wings. This body plan is called bipedal locomotion and made them very agile hunters.