A brief history of the Dinosaurs

 Dinosaurs have long been the stuff of legends, but how well do you really know them? These large, long-extinct creatures are widely considered to be terrifying, lumbering beasts that were smarter than your average animal. In fact, you’ll learn more about dinosaurs than you ever imagined in this brief history of dinosaurs.

Audio Article is Ready

In the Beginning

This probably seems like a strange subject for an introduction to a blog post, but hear me out. I love learning about evolution, and find it fascinating that after years of research, scientists are still trying to unravel the mystery of the dinosaurs' disappearance. But in this post, I want to talk about another fascinating part of their existence: their reproductive life cycle.

What We Know About Dinosaurs Now

Dinosaurs once ruled the earth, but their reign came to an end some 75 million years ago. However, they still serve as one of the most enduring mysteries in science: what did they eat? What were their habitats like? How were they able to stay so fit and healthy for so long? Scientists are still finding out more about these magnificent creatures each day. There's no telling what new information we might learn in the future. Until then, here's a brief rundown on everything we know about dinosaurs now.

How Did We Learn This?

Scientists knew about the existence of dinosaurs for hundreds and hundreds of years, but the knowledge wasn't widespread. Dinosaur fossils were first discovered in 1824 by a British lawyer and amateur fossil collector named Mary Ann Mantell. Her family physician husband William sent her on a journey to look for fossils in order to keep her from getting bored in their home. She found one particular fossil on June 28th, 1822 while vacationing with friends at Beachy Head near Hastings. They were all so excited that they gave it a name: Mantell's Monster. They later donated it to the Royal Society of London and had it identified as part of an iguanodon.

How Big Were They?

It is difficult to accurately measure the size of most prehistoric animals because fossilized bones don't always capture information about the creature's full length. Scientists often use a creature's tibia, or shinbone, as a means for estimating their overall size because, like humans, dinosaurs walked on two legs and had four fingers on each hand.

Weighing in at just over 11 tons, Argentinosaurus was the largest known dinosaur of all time. This gargantuan herbivore lived more than 100 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period (100-66 million years ago) and roamed what is now Argentina. It's close cousin Puertasaurus was only slightly smaller at a weight of 10 tons and it also inhabited South America during the same time period.

What Was Their World Like?

No one knows what the dinosaurs saw or how they behaved as they roamed their world, but some people think they spent a lot of time eating because there was a lot of low-lying vegetation. There are scientists who theorize that early sauropods stood with their tails against trees for support. With any luck, we will never know for sure. All we know is that one day, everything changed and the dinosaurs went extinct

Did They Have Feathers?

What many people don't know is that scientists recently discovered evidence that dinosaurs had feathers. It seems like many different dinosaurs were covered in feathers, and it's likely that they took on different colors to match their environment and help them stay cool.

Did They Roam Earth Together in Herds?

It's believed that dinosaurs may have not been alone on earth, but in fact roamed around in herds. However, many facts lead to this assumption not being true and the reality of the situation is that their presence in earth may have only been about two million years at best. The fossil record for raptors is small and sketchy with evidence for small packs roaming here and there, but most researchers agree it's unlikely a herd would be out there. Nevertheless, there has been an increase in discoveries recently that have led many to speculate whether or not they could have actually been roaming the earth together.

Did T. Rex Hunt Other Beasts?

Their discovery in North America in the 1870s ushered in the dinosaur mania that captivated millions of children, who pored over colorful illustrations and eagerly awaited new specimens. In 1899, two brothers named Barnum Brown (later nicknamed Bones) discovered the fossils of six large animals that were dubbed Apatosaurus ajax. When they examined more closely one specific fossil, however, they discovered some unusual features: the tip appeared to have been bitten off by a T. rex. So why did the dino-hunter kill and eat his own kind? Evidence suggests that T.

Why Did They Go Extinct?

For decades, experts have debated the reason behind the dinosaurs' extinction. As technology improves and more data about the creatures becomes available, it is beginning to look like an asteroid collision was not the cause. Recently unearthed evidence proves that dinosaurs may have died from a lack of food caused by climate change. Fossil records show that 80% of plant species disappeared around the same time as mass extinctions occurred and it is believed that most plant-eating animals did not survive without their necessary source of food. Plant-eating dinos were weakened by lack of food and eventually succumbed to extinction when they came into contact with other factors like a comet or global warming.