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Dinosaur Facts for Beginners

The Tallest Dinosaur

The tallest dinosaurs were the Brachiosaurid group of sauropods. Their front legs were longer than the rear legs giving them a giraffe-like stance. This combined with their extremely long necks, which were held vertically, meant they could browse off the tallest trees. Brachiosaurus – the most well known of the group – was 13 metres tall. Sauroposeidon was massive and probably grew to 18.5 metres tall making it the tallest dinosaur.

The Dumbest Dinosaur

Stegosaurus had a brain the size of a walnut – only 3 centimetres long and weighing 75 grams. However, comparing brain size to body size sauropodomorphs, like Plateosaurus, were probably one of the dumbest dinosaurs.

The Longest Dinosaur

The longest dinosaur was Argentinosaurus, which measured over 40 metres, as long as four fire engines. It was part of the titanosaur group of dinosaurs. Its remains have been found in Argentina, South America.

The Heaviest Dinosaur

The heaviest dinosaur was Argentinosaurus at 77 tonnes. It was the equivalent to 17 African Elephants. Argentinosaurus is a double award winner being also the longest dinosaur. It is also the largest land animal to have ever lived.

The Most Brainy Dinosaur

One of the most intelligent dinosaurs was Troodon. It was a hunting dinosaur, about 2 metres long, and had a brain size similar to that of a mammal or bird of today, stereoscopic vision, and grasping hands.

The Smallest Dinosaur Egg – How To Tell a Dinosaur Egg from a Rock?

Dinosaur eggs come in all shapes and sizes. They tend to be ovoid or spherical in shape and up to 30cm in length – about the size of a rugby ball. The smallest dinosaur egg so far found is only 3cm long. Once the egg has been fossilised it will become hard like rock, but it will retain a structure of its own.

The Longest Dinosaur Name

The dinosaur with the longest name was Micropachycephalosaurus meaning “tiny thick-headed lizard”. Its fossils have been found in China, and it was named in 1978 by the Chinese paleontologist Dong.

The Oldest Dinosaur

The oldest known dinosaur is Saltopus. It was a small carnivore that lived 245 million years ago. Remains of this dinosaur have only been found in Scotland, so the UK might hold the key to the origin of dinosaurs.

The First Dinosaur to be Named

The first dinosaur to be named was Megalosaurus. It was named in 1824 by Reverend William Buckland. Megalosaurus means ‘great lizard’ and it was about 9 metres long, and 3 metres tall.

The First Dinosaur to be Discovered in America

The first discovery of dinosaur remains in North America was made in 1854 by Ferdinand Vandiveer Hayden during his exploration of the upper Missouri River. He discovered a small collection of teeth which were later described by Joseph Leidy in 1856 as belonging to Trachodon, Troodon, and Deinodon.

The Fastest Running Dinosaur

The speediest dinosaurs were the ostrich mimic ornithomimids, such as Dromiceiomimus, which could probably run at speeds of up to 60 kilometres per hour.

How many types of dinosaur were there?

At present over 700 different species of dinosaurs have been identified and named. However palaeontologists believe that there are many more new and different dinosaur species still to be discovered.

 

Source: https://www.thedinosaurmuseum.com

 

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