Fun Facts
This page is just some interesting bits of trivia we picked up along the way. It was so interesting, we thought we should share it! We are constantly adding to it, so you should come bakc from time to time!
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If you haven't done so already, check out our puzzle sections in Australian and World Dinosaurs
If you really want to test your skills, come and try our Scavenger Hunt - a series of increasingly difficult puzzles!
Pangaea
At the beginning of the Triassic period, the continents formed one giant landmass called Pangaea. Later, they began to break apart forming 'Gondwana' in the south, which was South America, Africa, India, Antarctica and Australia and 'Laurasia' in the north, which was North America and Eurasia.
Dinosaur Footprints
Some of the many different types of dinosaur footprints that have been found around the world.
Can you see the one that most closely resembles the footprints in our video?
Did you know?
Dinosaurs are divided into two groups: 'Ornithischia' which means 'bird-hipped' and 'Saurischia', which means 'lizard-hipped.' The division was made in 1888 by a man named H.G Seeley. Even stranger, modern birds evolved from the lizard-hipped dinosaurs, not the bird-hipped! Weird, right?
Qantassaurus
The Qantassaurus was named after the Australian airline, Qantas, by Tom & Pat Rich in honour of the airline which shipped fossils around the country as part of the 'Great Russian Dinosaurs Exhibit' between 1993 and 1996. Qantas also sponsored expeditions to South America and Eastern Europe!
How many species of dinosaur are there?
There are currently just over 1,000 known dinosaur species. Palaeontolgists think that is less than a third of how many there actually was, which means there are still many more new species to find!
Approximately 15 new species are discovered every year! In 2001, there was only 700 known species.
The 'Ceratopsians'
You've heard of the Triceratops, right? The famous dinosaur with three horns on its head. Did you know there are many different types of 'ceratopsians' as they are known, and one of them had as many as 15 horns on its head? The Kosmoceratops!
Velociraptor
The real Velociraptor looks little like the ones in the movie, Jurassic Park. It had feathers, and adults measured just over 2 metres long, and half a metre tall, about the size of a turkey!
The Utahraptor, discovered after the movie came out, is much closer to the film version of the raptor. But it still had feathers!
One particularly famous Velociraptor fossil specimen was found together with a Protoceratops, and they appeared to have been locked in combat at the time of their death!
Spinosaurus
Scientists don't really know the purpose of the sail, or hump, on the Spinosaurus. Several theories exist, ranging from heat absorption, regulating the bodyheat, to a way of making it appear bigger than it actually was, to intimidate other animals, or even as a display for courting/mating. Yet another theory suggests it serves to make the creature more 'hydrodynamic', meaning it can move through the water smoother and faster. Whatever the reason, we think it is a very cool looking dinosaur!
Pachycephalosaurus
Its name means 'thick-headed lizard' based on the very thick skull, up to 25cm! (10 inches) Scientists think it was the two-legged equivalent of a bighorn sheep, where male individuals headbutt each other. Not all scientists agree with this however, with some suggesting that although the skull was thick, the bone may not have been strong enough to withstand the force of constant headbutts!
The Thagomizer
The spiky end of a Stegosaurus' tail got it's name from a Gary Larson 'Far Side' comic. Scientists don't often get to name new bones, a leg bone is a leg bone (femur), an arm bone is an arm bone (humerus) after all. So when a new body part comes along, it's a time of excitement. When this cartoon was released, scientists loved it so much, the name became official!
Brachiosaurus
It was initially believed the Brachiosaurus was too massive to support its own weight on dry land, and instead lived its life partly submerged in water. For this reason, early depictions had the nostrils positioned in the bump on its head, like a snorkel. Greater understanding of bone structure has remedied this, and the nostrils are now in a more 'traditional' location on the top of the snout.
Oviraptor
The name means 'egg thief'. The first fossil of this dinosaur was found near a nest of eggs, intially believed to belong to Protoceratops, which is how it got its name. This was later proved to be wrong, as a closer examination of the eggs showed a small juvenile oviraptor inside. Along with other Oviraptorsaurs found in 'nesting poses', scientists now accept this dinosaur is not a thief, but a protective parent. Unfortunately, the name remains.
Big-eaters!
Some of the biggest herbivores (plant-eaters) had to eat about a ton of food each day. That's like eating a pile of leaves the size of a bus!
They also ate stones, which are called 'gastroliths'. This would help with digestion by breaking down all the rough plant material.
The only known remains of a Seismosaurus (a sauropod up to `36 metres long) appears ot have choked to death while trying to swallow one of these stones!
Not Dinosaurs
Water-dwelling reptiles like plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, kronosaurus, and the flying reptiles like pterosaurs are not actually dinosaurs.
The term 'dinosaur' refers to the land-dwelling reptiles that have a specific hip structure, among other traits.
So, they lived at the same time as the dinosaurs, but are not dinosaurs.
Stegosaurus
Did you know that Australia was home to some type of Stegosaurus dinosaur? (This family of dinosaurs is called 'Stegosauria')
Unfortunately, the only known evidence of its existence was footprints that were found near Broome, in Western Australia.
These footprints were removed from the ground and stolen in 1996, and to date, their whereabouts remain a mystery.
Therizinosaurus
The Therizinosaurus was found in Mongolia. It had the longest claws of any known animal! With that in mind, it seems appropriate that its name means 'scythe lizard'.
Despite its size and scary appearance, it was likely a herbivore, and some variations of it were likely covered in feathers!
Mary Anning
Mary Anning was not a dinosaur. She was an English fossil collector who became known around the world for the incredible finds she made.
She discovered the first correctly identified Ichthyosaur skeleton when she was just 12 years olld! She also found the first two nearly complete plesiosaur skeletons (pictured), and the first pterosaur skeleton found outside of Germany.
During her time, she was not always given the credit she deserved because she was a woman. At the time, most scientists were men, from wealthy backgrounds. It was only after her death in 1847 that her unusual life story attracted interest and she began to receive the recognition she deserved.
Dinosaur Eggs
All dinosaurs laid eggs. About 40 kinds of eggs have been discovered.
A famous explorer named Roy Chapman Andrews found the first known dinosaur nest in 1923, in the Gobi Desert, in Mongolia. Before then, scientists were not sure how dionsaur babies were born.
It is estimated that trillions of eggs were laid during the time of the dinosaurs, but fossilised eggs containing embryos are rare.
The largest eggs were as big as basketballs!
THANK YOU
We hope you enjoyed exploring our games and trivia. Please visit us again, we will update with new games and trivia when we relase a new book. Visit the shop for upcoming release dates.
