Excavate! Dinosaurs: A Sneak Peek

pstContentsIts your turn to be a paleontologist! 4

What were dinosaurs? 6

What are fossils? 8

What do paleontologists do? 10

Rebuilding skeletons 12

The Triassic Period 14

The Jurassic Period 16

The Cretaceous Period 18

Field Guide 20

Ankylosaurus magniventris 22

Parasaurolophus walkeri 24

Triceratops horridus 26

Tyrannosaurus rex 28

Beipiaosaurus inexpectus 30

Allosaurus fragilis 32

Anchiornis huxleyi 34

Stegosaurus stenops 36

Fruitadens haagarorum 38

Giraffatitan brancai 40

Plateosaurus engelhardti 42

Pisanosaurus mertii 44

Dinosaur digs 46

Constructing your model dinosaurs 48

Dig site 1: Cretaceous 51

Dig site 2: Jurassic 61

Dig site 3: Triassic 71

Answers 75

Glossary 79

Acknowledgments and photo credits 80

Jurassic Period

Cretaceous Period

Triassic Period

United States edition published in 2014 by

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ISBN: 9781612125206

Copyright 2014 Ivy Press Ltd

This book was conceived, designed & produced by

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Printed in China

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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



What are fossils? 8






Field Guide 20













Dinosaur digs 46





Answers 75

Glossary 79


Jurassic Period

Cretaceous Period

Triassic Period




www.storey.com













ISBN: 9781612125206



Ivy Press










Printed in China


10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



What are fossils? 8






Field Guide 20













Dinosaur digs 46





Answers 75

Glossary 79


Jurassic Period

Cretaceous Period

Triassic Period




www.storey.com













ISBN: 9781612125206



Ivy Press










Printed in China


10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1



What are fossils? 8






Field Guide 20













Dinosaur digs 46





Answers 75

Glossary 79


Jurassic Period

Cretaceous Period

Triassic Period




www.storey.com













ISBN: 9781612125206



Ivy Press










Printed in China


10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This is a sampling of pages from Excavate Dinosaurs! 2014 by Ivy Press Ltd.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages or reproduce illustrations in a review with appropriate credits; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval.

MC

S

1514

The Triassic (from about 252 to 201 million years ago) was the first period

of the Mesozoic Era. During this time, life on Earth was recovering from the

largest mass extinction ever at the end of the Permian Period (see page 6).

THE FIRST DINOSAURSThere were three major dinosaur groupssauropodomorphs, theropods and

ornithischiansall of which first emerged in the Triassic Period. These

dinosaurs triumphed over other animals to become the dominant life form on

land during the late Triassic and early Jurassic periods.

LIFE IN THE SEAMeanwhile, in the seas, prehistoric marine reptiles began

to evolve, including unusual groups such as nothosaurs,

plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs and thalattosaurs.

Early amphibians

Turtles

Therapsids (our mammal-like ancestors)

Archosaurs (pterosaurs; crocodiles;

dinosaurs; and their descendants, birds)

The extinction is thought to have been partly caused by the formation of the supercontinent

Pangaea. All the existing continents crashed together to create one giant landmass.

NEW SPECIESThe huge amount of volcanic activity at the end of the Permian Period made

life impossible for all but the toughest animals. It took some time after

this extinction for life to recover, and this period saw the rise of many

new animal groups, including:

THE TRIASSIC PERIOD

Thallasiodracon, a plesiosaur

This crash would have caused volcanic activity

and disturbed many global systems,

such as sea level and climate.

Cymbospondylus, a type of ichthyosaur

PANGAEA

Theropods, like this Herrerasaurus, were meat-eaters and walked on their

back legs.

Ornithischians, such as Pisanosaurus,

had beaks and ate plants.

Sauropods, like Plateosaurus, had long necks and tails, and

small heads.

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LIMBS Short legs of equal length

held the armored body close to the ground.

2322

FIELD GUIDE: Ankylosaurus magniventris Cretaceous period Ankylosaurus was a living, breathing tank with bony armor

covering most of its body. Of all the ankylosaurs, Ankylosaurus

was the biggest, at approximately the same height as a human

adult. It lived alongside mega-predators like Tyrannosaurus rex.

Unlike its hadrosaurian (duck-billed) and ceratopsian (beaked)

cousins, Ankylosaurus did not have teeth for grinding foodit

had leaf-shaped teeth for cropping plants.

ANKYLOSAURUSMAGNIVENTRIS

Meaning of name: Fused

lizard for its body

armor (named in 1908)

Group: Ankylosauridae

(Ornithischia)

Period: Late Cretaceous

Length: Up to 33ft (10m)

Location: North America

Fossils: Several

incomplete specimens

Diet: Plants

TAIL The end of the tail was enormously overgrown, forming a huge club. Ankylosaurus would have used this lethal weapon to lash out at predators.

BODY The back was covered

in plates of bony armor

beneath the skin, which

was covered in bony knobs.HEAD

The skull was completely fused

into a solid, triangle-shaped, helmet-like structure for

protection.

pstpst

4140

FIELD GUIDE: Giraffatitan brancai - Jurassic period

TEETH Its chisel-like teeth plucked

large amounts of vegetation from

plants, for processing in its enormous stomach.

LIMBS Huge Giraffatitan would usually have needed to stand on all four sturdy

limbs. It may have been able

to rear up on its hind limbs to reach higher vegetation,

or in defense.

NECKGiraffatitan had

a much

longer neck than Plateosaurus

(see page 42), giving it a wider

reach when grazing.

Meaning of name: Giant

giraffe (named in 1914)

Group: Sauropodomorpha

(Saurischia)

Period: Late Jurassic

Length: Up to 75 ft (23m)

Location: Tanzania

Fossils: Several partial

skeletons and skulls

Diet: Plants

GIRAFFATITANBRANCAI

BITESIZE FACT

Many sauropods ate

stones to help them

grind up the tough pla

nt

food in their stomachs

.

These stones, called

gastroliths, are often

found with dinosaur

skeletons.

Sauropod dinosaurs were the largest animals to have walked

the Earth and Giraffatitan was among the biggest. It had an

enormous neck, which it held near-vertically, and its huge body

was supported by four strong limbs. Two nostrils on top of

its head near the tip of the snout meant that Giraffatitan,

like Parasaurolophus, was originally thought to be amphibious.

Current research, though, shows that water pressure would have

crushed it, and it spent almost all of its time on land.

BODY The enormous body wa

s

encased in long, sturdy ribs

and positioned at an angle

due to its longer forelimbs.

DINOSAUR DIGS

Bones belonging to the 12 dinosaurs in the Field Guide have been uncovered at three different dig sites but

they are all mixed up! Your job is to figure out how to reconstruct each dinosaurs skeleton.

The dig sites are from three different time

periodsthe Cretaceous, the Jurassic and the

Triassic. Use the descriptions in the Field Guide

section to help you identify which bones belong

to which dinosaur.

Before you begin, look at the next two pages

for information on constructing your

pop-out models.

4948

MODEL DINOSAURSCONSTRUCTING YOUR To build your models, you need to determine which bones belong to which

dinosaur. Its a good idea to pop out the named model stands first

and then, as you collect a set of bones, match them with their stand.

Do one era at a time so you dont get confused!

Pop out the stands and fold back

the flap at the dotted line.

Pop out the bodies. Look out for things such as bony plates, a long, thick tail or a slim, bird-shaped skeleton.

Identify the heads. Look for features like horns, a bony crest or unusual teeth.

Look for arms that are the same size. Check for matching claws and the correct number of toes.

Identify legs that are the same size. Check to be sure that the length, thickness and the feet all match.

Some models have a separate hip-bone piece. Identify them from the clues on the page.

Some models have a separate shoulder-bone piece. Identify them from the clues on the page.

There are clues to help you identify the small neck and tail bones.

The pieces fit together with slotsslide the slots together gently.

Attach the heads and tails first. Join the smallest bone on the neck

piece to the head, and the biggest to the body.

Attach the hip bones and shoulder bones (if needed) and then the limbs.

Place the dinosaur in the stand where marked on the body or tail (one is

on the head!) and you have your very own model dinosaur!

If you are unsure or get

confused, go to the Answers

section on pages 7578 to see if

you are on the right track.

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1

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Identify the pieces

Putting it all together

5958

DIG SIT

E 1: Cretace

ous perio

d

Parasaurolophus

Neck

for a

horiz

ontal

dinosa

ur.

Wide h

ip bone

s for

heav

y, stur

dy leg

s.

This dinos

aur

doesnt ne

ed hip

bones.

6766

DIG SIT

E 2: Jurassic

perio

d

Strong sho

ulders for

a

wide-legg

ed dinosa

ur.

Stegosaur

us

Extra neck piece for a super-long neck!

This o

ne is

for a

long

-

neck

ed d

inosa

ur.

Add to a tail to make it into a weapon.

Excavate! Dinosaurs: A Sneak Peek

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