CONTENT

Tyrannosaurus…………………..p.g.3

Pterodactyls or Pterodactyloids…………….p.g.4

Velociraptors…………………..p.g.5

Pteranodons…………………….p.g.6

TYRANNOSAURUS

Tyrannosaurus rex was a huge meat-eating dinosaur that lived during the late Cretaceous period, about 85 million to 65 million years ago. Tyrannosaurus lived in open forests with nearby rivers and in coastal forested swamps.

ANATOMY

Tyrannosaurus rex was a fierce predator that walked on two powerful legs. This meat-eater had a huge head with large, pointed, replaceable teeth and well-developed jaw muscles. It had tiny arms, each with two fingers. T. Rex had a slim, stiff, pointed tail that pprovided balance and allowed quick turns while running. T. rex’s neck was short and muscular. Its body was solidly built but its bones were hollow.

SIZE

Tyrannosaurus rex was up to 12.4 m long, about 4.6 to 6 m tall. The arms were only about 1 m long. Tyrannosaurus rex was roughly 5 to 7 tons in weight.

TEETH AND JAWS

T. rex’s jaws were up to 1.2 m long and had 50 to 60 thick, conical, bone-crunching teeth that ranged in size from vvery small to over 23cm long.

TAIL

Tyrannosaurus had a stiff, pointed tail. The tail was used as a counterbalance for its enormous head, for agility and for making quick turns.

SKIN

Skin was bumpy, like an alligator’s skin.

HABITAT

Tyrannosaurus rex probably lived in forests, wwhere its prey (plant-eating dinosaurs) could find plenty of food.

PTERODACTYLS or PTERODACTYLOIDS

Pterodactyloids lived from the Jurassic period through the late Cretaceous period. Pterodactyls died out during the Cretaceous, about 65 million years ago

ANATOMY

The Pterodactyls (or Pterodactyloids) were a group of flying reptiles. They were lightly built with hollow bones, long, curved necks, long skulls, and small bodies. They had large brains and good eyesight. Some had light-weight, bony head-crests, some did not. The crest may have acted as a rudder when flying.

SIZE

Pterodactyls ranged in size from having a wingspan of a few centimetres (primitive Pterodactyls) to over 12 m (later Pterodactyls). A pterodactyloid about 1.8 m long. Pterodactyls weighed about 50 kg.

TEETH

Pterodactyloids were carnivores; some had bristle-like teeth, some hhad no teeth. They ate fish (which they caught at the surface of the oceans), mollusks, crabs, perhaps plankton (for some species), insects, and scavenged dead animals on land.

TAIL AND FUR

Pterodactyls had short tails, some had no tails. Some pterodactyloids had fur on their bodies.

WINGS

Pterodactyls flew long distances using large, light-weight wings. Pterodactyloid wings were covered by a leathery membrane. This thin but tough membrane stretched between its body, the top of its legs and its elongated fourth fingers, forming tthe structure of the wing. Claws protruded from the other fingers.

VELOCIRAPTORS

ANATOMY

Velociraptor was a fast-running, two-legged dinosaur. This predator had an s-shaped neck, arms with three-fingered clawed hands, long thin legs, and four-toed clawed feet.

SIZE

Velociraptor was about 1.5-2 m.long, and 1m.tall. It may have weighed about 7 to 15 kg. Velociraptor’s head was about 18 cm long. Velociraptor’s brain was relatively large in comparison to its body size.

TEETH

This meat-eater had about 80 very sharp, curved teeth in a long, flat snout; some of the teeth were over 2.5 cm long.

TAIL

It had a stiff tail that worked as a counterbalance and let it make very quick turns.

HABITAT

Velociraptor lived in a hot, dry environment – a desert-like environment that had some streams.

PTERANODONS

Pteranodons were reptiles, but not dinosaurs. They lived during the late Cretaceous period about 85-75 million years ago.

ANATOMY

Pteranodons were flying pterosaurs. This wing-span is longer than any known bird. Pteranodons had hollow bones, were lightly built. They had large brains and good eyesight. Some pteranodons had long, light-weight, bony crests on their heads that may have acted as a rudder or stabilizer when flying.

SIZE

Pteranodons were about 1.8 m long, had a foot 7.8-10 m wingspread, and weighed about 35 pounds; its sstanding height was about 1.8 m.

TEETH

They had no teeth. Pteranodons were carnivores. They ate fish (which they caught at the surface of the oceans), mollusks, crabs, insects, and scavenged dead animals on land. They may have hunted like modern-day pelicans, scooping fish out of the water and swallowing them whole.

TAIL AND FUR

Pteranodons had almost no tail, and small bodies; they may have had fur.

WINGS

Pteranodon wings were covered by a leathery membrane. This thin but tough membrane stretched between its body, the top of its legs and its elongated fourth fingers, forming the structure of the wing. Claws protruded from the other fingers. Pteranodons could flap their wings and fly with power. They flew long distances using large, light-weight wings.