Many children’s perceptions of dinosaurs are due to movie depictions, not facts. Although the reality of dinosaur existence may not have been as colorful as the movies suggest, the fact remains that dinosaurs are truly fascinating creatures. Its incredible size, the length of its rule over the earth, and the eons since its existence reinforce that fascination.

The term dinosaur comes from two Greek words that mean terrible, powerful and wonderful lizard. The most common dinosaur images that come to mind are Tyrannosaurids (the largest being Tyrannosaurus rex), Brontosaurus (now identified as Apatosaurus), Stegosaurus, and Triceratops. Dinosaurs existed for almost 160 million years, from about 225 million years ago to about 65 million years before present, although not all of these four species coexisted. Apatosaurus and Stegosaurus went extinct nearly 80 million years before Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus (T. rex) roamed the earth. For those unfamiliar with these four dinosaurs, some descriptions are in order:

1-Apatosaurus was a huge herbivore. It had a long neck, a relatively small head, a large body on four legs, and a very long tail that could whip and crack. The total length could reach 85 feet, its height over 20 feet and it weighed more than 32 tons.

2-With two rows of triangular-shaped bony plates that extended from the head along the back to the tail that had two pairs of long spikes at the tip, Stegosaurus was a much smaller herbivorous quadruped than Apatosaurus. It grew up to 30 feet long, was 14 feet tall, weighed about 5 tons, and had a tiny head that was bent toward the ground.

3-Triceratops is a word that actually means face with three horns. It was also a herbivorous quadruped that approached 30 feet in length, stood 10 feet tall, and weighed up to 13 tons. Its most recognizable features were a very large head with a long horn over each eye, a shorter horn on top of its snout, and an immense curved skull plate that extended from the back of its head over the back of its neck. like a big inverted bib. . This body armor was obviously designed to help protect the Triceratops from any predators it encounters.

4-Lastly there is the T. rex, which is probably more familiar to most people. It had jaws with banana-shaped serrated teeth 6 inches long, a large head with small eyes, very large hind legs on which it stood and moved, small arms, and a large tail to act as balance when walking or running. As one of the largest carnivores, T. rex was about 15 feet tall, 40 feet long, and weighed about 6 tons.

The knowledge of dinosaurs, as it exists today, has been expounded by people who are primarily paleontologists. Information is developed by studying numerous fossils in their environment and making educated guesses, using knowledge based on scrutiny and observation of extant creatures that exhibit traits presumed to be similar to those of dinosaurs. Since most conclusions are based on individual opinions, there is usually some disparity in the resulting hypotheses. Consequently, most of the accepted theories regarding dinosaurs are by consensus of opinion.

Some areas being discussed are:

A. T. rex was a predator or a scavenger?

b. How fast could T. rex run?

vs. What caused the mass disappearance of the dinosaurs?

you? rex was a predator or a scavenger? One argument is that T. rex had small eyes, short arms, and huge, heavy legs, all of which made predation very difficult, if not impossible. The contrary view is that most large predators eat meat when available, but prefer fresh meat. The indication is that several of the successful large predators have overcome some of the cited limitations. Unfortunately, due to the extinction of T. rex and the lack of a modern relative to reconstruct its behavior, there is no basis for a conclusive conclusion.

Due to the size of T. rex and the heaviness of its legs, it is highly unlikely that T. rex could run nearly as fast as shown in the movies. Here again, there is no conclusive evidence to prove or disprove its speed. There would have to be a series of footprints (called footprints) to determine footfalls and stride length to estimate speed.

Such pathways have not been discovered to date.

Until now, there has been a lot of unresolved discussion about the disappearance of dinosaurs in massive numbers, sometimes called extinction. To make a semantic clarification, it is important to understand that dinosaurs are not extinct. One fact that many people are not aware of is that birds are descendants of avian dinosaurs. Therefore, it is essential to distinguish between non-avian dinosaurs, which are extinct, and avian dinosaurs, which evolved as birds.

Some important factors must be considered when evaluating information about dinosaurs. Although the fossils had been discovered centuries ago, it was not until the early 1800s that dinosaurs were recognized as the animal species belonging to the fossilized remains. In fact, the technology did not exist until the last century when more accurate information became available, identifying more than 1,000 species. With the improvement of technology, the ability to learn much more bodes well.

A couple of facts are irrefutable. First, non-avian dinosaurs went extinct about 65 million years ago. Many non-avian dinosaurs were no bigger than humans. Dinosaurs were the dominant vertebrates during their existence. Fossilized dinosaur remains have been discovered all over the world.

Dinosaurs have received a great deal of media attention, including books and movies, whether the depictions were legitimate or not. Outstanding mounted skeletons are top attractions in museums around the world for the viewing public. For dinosaur enthusiasts, excellent replica T. rex and Triceratops skulls are available. Museum-quality skulls are made to scale so they can be easily displayed in the home and/or office. They’re educational pieces, great for conversation, and an enjoyable way to fulfill a childhood fascination.