What are some differences between creatures today and Dinosaurs from the past? What do they have in common?

Questions about Dinosaurs  What is one of your favorite dinosaurs?  Why is it your favorite?  What made the dinosaurs disappear?  What do we see today that has evidence of that dinosaurs existed?

Dinosaurs: Alive!  Dinosaurs lived in places where we live today, but the time was very different.  Dinosaurs lived in three different time periods: Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods.  Some dinosaurs were Herbivores, or they only ate plants. Others were carnivores, or only ate meat. Some were even omnivores, which ate both meat and plants!  We can find out about the dinosaurs through fossils!

Dinosaur’s Den  Dinosaurs lived all over the world, including the United States. The world looked very different back then.  They were very territorial, which means they didn’t want any other dinosaurs taking their lands.

Triassic Period  225 to 193 million years ago  There weren’t many dinosaurs around in this period because of an ice age right before the period started  Dinosaurs that lived in this period include the Lystrosaurus and the PLATEOSAURUS

Jurassic Period  193 to 136 million years ago.  This was considered the age of the ruling reptiles.  Some of the dinosaurs that lived in this period are the stegosaurus, Brachiosaurus, and plesiosaurus.

Cretaceous Period  Million Years Ago.  This period had the most dinosaurs of the three periods.  Dinosaurs from this period include the Triceratops, Pteranodon, which was a bird-like dinosaur and Tyrannosaurus Rex

Herbivores  Herbivores were dinosaurs that eat plants.  Brachiosaurus, Stegosaurus, and Triceratops were dinosaurs that were herbivores.  A herbivore can also be called a Vegetarian.  Deer, grasshoppers and rabbits are today’s herbivores

Herbivores(Cont.)  Brachiosaurus(then)Deer and Rabbit(now)

Carnivores  Carnivores were those dinosaurs that mostly ate the meat of animals and other dinosaurs.  The Tyrannosaurus Rex, Plesiosaurus and Velociraptor were carnivores of their times.  The Velociraptor used a huge claw on both of its feet to take down its prey.  There are several carnivores in our world today. Lions, grizzly bears and sharks are all carnivores.

Carnivores(Cont.)  Velociraptor(then)  Lion(now)

Omnivores  Omnivores were dinosaurs that ate both plants and meat.  There were very few of these types of dinosaurs.  Some omnivore dinosaurs were the Ornithomimus and Oviraptor  Some of the modern day omnivores are panda bears, pigs and even humans!  Omnivores are very common in today’s day and time.

Omnivores(Cont.)  Oviraptor(then)  Human(now)

What Happened to them?  Dinosaurs were put into near extinction by a meteor that hit Earth’s surface during the Cretaceous period, over 65 million years ago!  Those dinosaurs that survived the meteor hit died during the Ice age that followed.

Dinosaurs in 2008  Dinosaurs are still here. They are in what are called Fossils.  Dinosaur fossils are found in layers of rock that have been compacted over millions of years deep under the surface of the earth.  A scientist called an archeologist digs in the ground and looks for fossils.  With fossils, archeologists can determine what type of dinosaur it is, how old the dinosaur is and what the dinosaur ate!

Questions?  What is are some characteristics of a Herbivore?  What are some characteristics of a Carnivore?  What is an Omnivore?  What types of food did the Brachiosaurus eat?  What types of food did the T-Rex eat?  What are fossils? Who digs fossils up?  What is one major difference between when dinosaurs ruled North America and today?