Dinosaurs Facts for Kids
Roar-some facts about dinosaurs
Tyrannosaurus rex could not stick out its tongue. Scientists discovered that large theropod dinosaurs had tongues anchored to the floor of their mouths, much like crocodiles today.
The real Velociraptor was only about the size of a large turkey, standing roughly 60 cm tall. The much bigger 'Velociraptors' shown in the Jurassic Park films were actually based on a different dinosaur called Deinonychus.
Stegosaurus had a brain roughly the size of a walnut, weighing only about 80 grams despite being as large as a bus. This makes it one of the smallest brain-to-body ratios of any known dinosaur.
Some scientists believe Diplodocus could crack its tail like a whip, potentially creating a supersonic boom louder than a gunshot. The tip of the tail may have exceeded the speed of sound.
The club at the end of an Ankylosaurus tail was made of fused bone and could weigh over 30 kilograms. Scientists think it could shatter the leg bones of a large predator with a single swing.
Triceratops' enormous neck frill was probably brightly coloured and used to attract mates and intimidate rivals, much like a peacock's tail. It was not primarily used for protection, as scientists once believed.
Spinosaurus is the largest known predatory dinosaur ever discovered, even bigger than T. rex, and recent fossil evidence shows it spent a lot of time in rivers hunting fish. Its leg bones were dense and heavy, like those of modern diving birds, helping it sink below the surface.
Despite being the largest animals to ever walk the Earth, sauropod dinosaurs hatched from eggs no bigger than a football. A newborn Argentinosaurus would have grown more than a million times its hatching weight by adulthood.
Dinosaur fossils have been found on every single continent, including Antarctica. When dinosaurs first appeared, all the world's landmasses were joined together in a supercontinent called Pangaea, allowing them to spread everywhere.
Pachycephalosaurus had a skull dome up to 25 cm thick — about as thick as a human thigh bone. Scientists debate whether it used this dome to head-butt rivals like modern rams, or mainly for display.