Dinosaurs Flashcards
What happened in 2010?
The royal society included Mary Anning in their list of 10 women who have most influenced the history of science
When was the first Ichthyosaur discovered?
1811
When was the first Plesiosaur skeleton discovered?
1821
Who is also known as “The Dinosaur Doctor”?
Gideon Mantell (1790-1852)
Who were the first people to suggest dinosaur extinction?
George Cuvier & William Buckland
Who established the British Natural Museum?
Richard Owen
Which american discovered and named 56 dinosaurs?
Edward Drinker Cope
Which american discovered and named 86 dinosaurs?
Othniel Charles Marsh
When did dinosaurs disappear?
65MYA
What characteristics do we know about Pterodactyls?
- Between a few inches and over 40 feet
- Hollow bones
- Large brains
- Leathery wings
What dinosaur is considered the largest flier ever?
Quetzalcoatlus
What are the major dinosaur groups? Briefly describe.
Stegasuria: Head the size of a horse, brain the size of a walnut; Plates for defence?; 2 rows of 17 bony plates; Brain in its tail?; Cavity adjacent to spinal cord near hips; About 20x larger than brain cavity
Ankylosaurs: Tank-like; Heavily armoured; One of the last to be alive; Tail-club - Decoy head- defensive weapon
Marginocephalia: Large quadrupeds; Large crest; Variable size and horns; Large beak; Capable of slicing through tough vegetation
Ornithopoda: Large group of herbivores; Bipedal; Fast runners; 3 toes; Duck beaks; Very abundant dinosaurs
Sauropoda: Tail for counterbalancing the long neck; Big gut for digestion of lots of plant material; Tiny head and brain; Long neck for grazing; Four columnar legs; Largest land animals; Geographically widespread; Herbivores
Therapoda: Big, sharp teeth in scissor-like jaw; All hollow bones, vertebrae & limbs; Tail for counterbalancing the neck and head; short head and claws for grasping prey; Long back legs for spread; Alive today as birds; Carnivores; Obligate bipeds
Herrerasauria: Earliest known; Carnivorous; Small arms; relatively small; >1m tall; 6m long; weighed 300kg; Extinct by the end of the Triassic
Ceratosaurus: Huge head; horn on snout; hornlets above eyes; long, flat teeth; osteoderms on back; small but strong arms
Tetanurans: Large; Carnivorous; Long thigh bones; Narrow pointed faces
Tyrannosaurids: Up to 40 feet long; 15-20 feet tall; 3 feet arms; weighed 5-7 tonnes; Skull 5 feet; Eyeball 3” in diameter; Jaws were up to 4 feet; 50 to 60 bone-crunching teeth - up to 9” tooth regrowth
Briefly describe velociraptor
- “Speedy thief”
- Fast ~24mph
- Intelligent
- Retractable claws
- Feathers?
What are the supporting arguments that birds evolved from theropods?
- Lost of anatomical similarities
- Hollow bones
- Furcula/wishbone
- Feathers
What is the damaging argument that birds evolved from theropods?
Archaeopteryx is lizard-hipped