Dinosaurs were amazing creatures, so here are some amazing facts about dinosaurs:
Some Dinosaurs Had Feathers!
Most
fossils
only preserve hard body parts, such as bones and teeth.
However, recently fossils discovered in China, appear to
have show feathers.
Scientists do not yet know for sure, which dinosaur
species
had feathers. Some scientists have suggested that it
is possible that
many different species may have had feathers, including
Velociraptor and
Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Dinosaurs were the most successful land animals for over 165 million
years. This is far longer than mammals have dominated (mammals have only
dominated for the last 65 million years), and what's more, dinosaurs out competed
the mammals and their ancestors.
During the Permian period, which was the period before dinosaurs evolved,
the dominant land animals were
mammal-like reptiles (who were the ancestors
of mammals). When dinosaurs evolved during the
Triassic, over millions of
years, they out competed and gradually drove to extinction, the
mammal-like reptiles.
The mammal-like reptiles leave as their descendants, mammals. However,
during the period that dinosaurs were around, most mammals were tiny
mouse-like creatures, and the largest was no bigger than a beaver. The
dinosaurs were so successful that they suppressed mammalian evolution.
Only after dinosaurs became
extinct (apparently
because of bad-luck, rather than any flaw in the dinosaurs), did mammals
get the chance to evolve into larger creatures.
Dinosaurs Lived All Over The World!
Dinosaur
fossils have been found in all the continents including
Antarctica.
Dinosaurs In Space!
Dinosaurs
have been in space!
Fossils
from Maiasaura
were taken into orbit in NASA Space Lab 2 mission in
1985.
A fossilCoelophysis
skull was taken into orbit, and then to the Mir space station,
by the space shuttle Endeavour in
1998.
Dinosaurs Are NOT Completely Extinct
Most people know that the last dinosaurs became extinct
about 65 million years ago - but did they?
Most scientists now believe that birds evolved from dinosaurs. If this
theory is correct - and there is good evidence for its - then birds are in fact an evolved type of dinosaur
(see dinosaur family tree), and not all dinosaurs are extinct after all.
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