Dinosaurs Facts for Kids
Roar-some facts about dinosaurs
Many ornithopod dinosaurs like Iguanodon could switch between walking on all four legs when moving slowly and sprinting on just their two hind legs when fleeing from predators. This made them surprisingly versatile movers.
Spinosaurus had a tall, fin-like tail that scientists discovered in 2020, reshaping our understanding of how it moved through water. Unlike any other known dinosaur, Spinosaurus almost certainly used its tail to propel itself through rivers like a crocodile.
Chemical analysis of fossilised dinosaur eggshells can reveal the body temperature at which the eggs formed. Recent research confirmed that many dinosaurs were warm-blooded, able to regulate their body temperature like modern mammals and birds.
Caudipteryx was a small, turkey-sized dinosaur from China with fully developed feathers on its arms and a fan of feathers on its tail. Despite having beautiful feathers, its wings were too small to fly, so feathers must have evolved for other reasons first.
Studies of T. rex bone growth rings suggest most individuals only lived to about 28 years old, with very few surviving past 30. Life was tough at the top — injuries, disease, and intense competition shortened the lifespan of even the apex predator.
Research on ankylosaur skulls shows they had surprisingly well-developed inner ear structures, suggesting they could hear low-frequency sounds very well. They may have communicated with deep rumbles felt through the ground as much as through the air.
Heterodontosaurus is unusual because it had three different types of teeth — cutting teeth at the front, canine-like tusks, and flat grinding teeth at the back. Most dinosaurs had only one type of tooth, making this small plant-eater extraordinary.
The name 'Brontosaurus' was removed from science books for over a century because scientists thought it was the same animal as Apatosaurus. A major 2015 study re-examined the fossils and concluded Brontosaurus is actually a distinct genus after all.
Fossils of close T. rex relatives suggest that young T. rex individuals may have had a covering of downy feathers for insulation. As they grew into giant adults, the feathers may have disappeared since large body size alone was enough to retain heat.
After the asteroid impact 66 million years ago, only small animals survived the darkness and cold that followed. The dinosaurs that made it through — the birds — were small, could eat seeds, and were able to endure the catastrophic nuclear-winter-like conditions.