How can I use this with my children?

This non-fiction information booklet

contains a wealth of information about
dinosaurs. You could read the booklet
Parent Guide
together or encourage them to share
interesting facts they learn with you once
they’ve finished reading it.

How does this help my children’s learning?

Reading non-fiction and information books

can help children to build their background
knowledge of a range of topics, broaden
their vocabulary and encourage them to eb
curious about the world around them.

Ideas for further learning:

Why not encourage your child to research

their favourite dinosaurs and create their
own top card game to play with friends
or family?
All About Dinosaurs
 What Are Dinosaurs?
Dinosaurs are a group of prehistoric reptiles that lived during the Mesozoic era (245 million to
68 million years ago).

Throughout this era, dinosaurs of different shapes and sizes evolved, from ones the size of a
chicken (e.g. Microraptor) to giants that were 30m long (e.g. Brachiosaurus).

Sir Richard Owen created the word ‘dinosaur’ in 1842. He used the Greek words 'deinos' (which
means 'fearfully great') and 'sauros' (which means 'lizard'). They lived millions of years before
humans existed.

How Did Dinosaurs Behave?

We can’t be sure how the dinosaurs behaved, how they sounded or what colour and pattern
they were.

We do know:
• ●that most dinosaurs were herbivores
(plant-eaters);

• ●that some dinosaurs were carnivores

(meat-eaters);

• ●where dinosaurs lived;

• ●what the climate and vegetation were like where theylived;

• ●when the dinosaurs lived.

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 When Did Dinosaurs Live?
Dinosaurs lived on earth for about 245 million years during the Mesozoic era. The Mesozoic era
has three geological periods:

The Triassic Period

251 million to 199 million years ago

The Jurassic Period

199 million to 145 million years ago

The Cretaceous Period

145 million to 66 million years ago

During the Mesozoic era, one huge supercontinent (Pangea) gradually split into smaller
landmasses. As the landmasses moved to new locations, their climate and vegetation changed,
which affected how dinosaurs evolved.

Not all dinosaurs lived during the same period; for example, the Tyrannosaurus rex lived during
the late Cretaceous period (about 72 million years ago), whereas the Stegosaurus had been
extinct for 66 million years before the T. rex appeared.

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How Do We Know About Dinosaurs?
Hundreds of years ago fossilised remains of dinosaurs were misunderstood. People believed that
they were proof of ancient legends and mythical creatures. It was not until the early 1800s
that a number of fossil discoveries in southern England led to the classification of this new
group of animals that later became known as dinosaurs.

Palaeontologists are scientists. They look for clues preserved in ancient rocks to try to understand
more about prehistoric animals, including dinosaurs. They examine fossilised bones, teeth,
eggs, tracks and footprints, dung and vegetation to discover how dinosaurs lived.

What Are Fossils?

A fossil is the preserved remains, impression or trace of a once-living thing from a previous
geological era. Examples include, bones, footprints and DNA.

There are three types of fossils:

Chemical fossils
contain carbon, Trace fossils
Body fossils record the activity
which is proof that they
are the remains of an of an animal. They
must be formed from once-
animal or plant, such as include footprints,
living things. Examples of
bones, shells or leaves. trackways and
chemical fossils include
They include: coprolites (faeces).
coal, petroleum oil and
natural gas.

Mold fossils form when all the parts Cast fossils form from mold fossils as
(including the bones) have decayed and the mold fossil is filled up with sediment
all that is left is the mold of the animal. - so it is not made up of the original
matter of the animal or plant.

Replacement fossils form when water

dissolves the original hard matter of the Whole-body fossils form when the
bones and replaces them with mineral original body has been preserved - for
matter - this is what we think of when example, a woolly mammoth in ice or a
we discuss dinosaur fossils. They still mosquito in amber.
look like the original bones but are not
made up of the same matter.

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How Are Fossils Formed?
Fossilisation (the process by which a fossil is formed) only takes place in sedimentary rocks as
the heat from the lava that creates igneous rocks and changes the structure of metamorphic
rocks would be too high for fossils to survive.

First, an animal or plant dies (on land or in the sea) and it gets
covered by a layer of sediments (e.g. plant material and tiny
parts of rock or soil). Over time, through compaction and
cementation (solidifying), these eventually form a layer of
rock. More layers of rock are formed which cover it and by
this time the only thing to remain of the organism would be
the hard parts such as bones, shells and teeth.

Over thousands of years, the mold fossil might become a cast

fossil with sediment entering the mold. In the case of replacement
fossils, the original bone matter changes to mineral matter but this
does not affect the shape of the bones. Over a long period of time, the
sea will recede in certain places. The sea level could also be changed quickly through
earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Over time, as erosion and weathering take place, the
fossils become exposed.

Why Did They Go Extinct?

Most dinosaurs became extinct 65 million years
ago. Scientists think this was probably
because of an asteroid that hit the
Earth. The asteroid impact would
have made a big change to the
Earth’s climate and vegetation.
Large volcanic eruptions could
also have affected the Earth’s
climate. Unfortunately, the
dinosaurs couldn’t adapt to
the change of climate and food
available after the collision and
became extinct.

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 What Were the Different Types of Dinosaurs?
There were many different dinosaurs that lived at different times during the Mesozoic era.

Dinosaurs can be grouped into the following categories:

Armoured Dinosaurs
These medium-sized, four-legged herbivores had body armour and
some even had tail spikes. Examples of armoured dinosaurs include
Gastonia, Stegosaurus and Nodosaurus.

Ceratopsians
These dinosaurs were herbivores and had parrot-like beaks, bony frills
and, sometimes, horns. Examples of ceratopsians include Triceratops,
Centrosaurus and Achelousaurus.

Euornithopods
These medium-sized herbivores usually walked on two legs.
Examples of euornithopods include Iguanodon, Parasaurolophus and
Edmontosaurus.

Sauropods
These very large herbivores mostly walked on four legs. Examples of
sauropods include Brachiosaurus, Diplodocus and Pelorosaurus.

Large Theropods
These large carnivores walked on two legs. Examples of large theropods
include Carnotaurus, Allosaurus and Tyrannosaurus rex.

Small Theropods
These small carnivores, herbivores and omnivores walked on two legs
and sometimes had feathers. Examples of small theropods include
Oviraptor, Troodon and Velociraptor.

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 Top 10 Dinosaur and Fossil Facts
1. Marine fossils reveal that Mount Everest used to be part of the sea floor.

2. Modern birds have evolved from dinosaurs. We know this because birds share common
skeletal traits with some dinosaurs.

3. Crocodiles existed 200 million years ago at the same time as dinosaurs. Crocodiles are
reptiles, not dinosaurs.

4. It is thought that some dinosaurs (e.g.the Apatosaurus) may have been able to create a
sound known as a sonic boom by banging its tail.

5. Fossilised remains of the largest dinosaur ever discovered were found by a shepherd in
Argentina in 2013. The dinosaur is thought to have been over 40 metres long.

6. Mary Anning was one of the first palaeontologists. When she was 12, Mary and her family
discovered the skull of an Ichthyosaur in a cliff in Dorset.

7. Triceratopses had a bird-like beak which could eat through tough vegetation.

8. Pterodactyls were winged reptiles, not dinosaurs. They should actually be referred to as
pterosaurs. Scientists believe that the largest pterosaurs could reach speeds of over 100km
per hour.

9. The smallest dinosaur egg ever discovered was 3cm long, whilst the largest was 50cm long.

10. Dinosaur fossils have been discovered on all of the seven continents.

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