Rowan University: Fossil Park Elizabeth Reuter

Dino…what? The name dinosaur comes from the term Dinosauria, which means terrible lizards.

What is a Paleontologist? This is a scientist who studies fossils They are mostly linked with dinosaurs, or really any animal from the Mesozoic era.

Mesozoic Era Dinosaurs went extinct 65 million years ago. The Mesozoic era lasted about 180 million years. It is divided into 3 different time periods: The Triassic The Jurassic The Cretaceous

The Triassic The Triassic period occurred between 251 million years and 190 million years ago. Some popular dinosaurs from the late Triassic are Coelophysis Eoraptor Plateosaurus The Triassic was generally very dry over much of Pangaea with very hot summers and cold winters in the continental interior

The Jurassic This is the most popular time period of the dinosaurs. It occurred from 199.6 million years to 145.5. million years ago. In this period, the supercontinent of Pangea split apart. Some popular dinosaurs form this period: Ceratosaurus Stegasaurus Diploducus Allosaurus The warm, humid climate allowed lush jungles to cover much of the landscape.

The Cretaceous This lasted from 145.5 million years to 65.5 million years ago. Dinosaurs in the Cretaceous are the most known. Some popular dinosaurs you may know: Tyrannosaurus-Rex Corythosaurus Parasaurlophus Triceratops Carnotaurus Gallimimus Velociraptor A relatively warm climate, resulting in high eustatic sea levels that created numerous shallow inland seas.

Types of dinosaur diets Herbivores Eats nothing but plants Carnivores Eats nothing but meat Omnivores Eats both, but are usually known as egg thief's.

Sauropods Sauropods Long necks Long tail Walked on all 4 legs

Fossils Found at the dig site Snails Brachiopods Bryozoan colonies Shark teeth Boney fish Marine Crocodiles Mosasaurs

Different work stations Excavation Cleaning Prep Identification

Digging around/up spots that has fossils excavation Digging around/up spots that has fossils

Specific tools are used, so the fossil doesn’t break, or get damaged. cleaning Cleaning fossils is done in a lab, or in the tent that’s set up in the field. Specific tools are used, so the fossil doesn’t break, or get damaged.

Prep stands for preparing Scientists prepare the fossils to be shipped to the lab to be examined and identified.

This usually happens in the lab. Identification This usually happens in the lab. Scientists use 3D imagery to see, and identify each bone, and ultimately give a name to whom the fossil belonged to.

How did the dinosaurs end up in the ground? Climate change? Earthquake? Asteroid? Tidal wave? Volcanic eruption?

CLIMATE CHANGE! This ultimately affected their food supply.

Dinosaur Hoaxs Dinosaurs can fly Dinosaurs can swim They all had scales T-Rex was the largest carnivore.

Who was the largest carnivore?

Spinosaurus!

References: http://www.history.com/topics/why-did-the-dinosaurs-die-out http://www.atlanteanconspiracy.com/2015/09/dinosaur-hoax-dinosaurs-never-existed.html http://www.rowan.edu/fossils/ http://www.livescience.com/24120-spinosaurus.html http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/paleo/paleowhat.html