Fun Dinosaur Facts For Children!

Interesting dinosaur facts you didn't know you didn't know!

Dinosaur Fact #1: What is a Dinosaur? When scientists talk of dinosaurs, they mean a special kind of creature that lived on land during the Triassic, Jurassic, or Cretaceous period. But a lot of people say "dinosaur" when they mean any prehistoric creature, such as sea creatures or pteradactyls.

Dinosaur Facts #2: What are the Ages of Dinosaurs? They are Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous.You can learn more about those on the dinosaur history page.

Dinosaur Fact #3: The Smartest Dinosaur was ... The Troodon! Scientists measure smartness by figuring out how big an animal compared to its body. This is called "encephalization quotient." Troodon wins! Even so, they think he was only about as smart as a modern possum. But for a dinosaur, that was pretty smart! For more on smart dinosaurs see this article.

Dinosaur Fact #4: The Dumbest Dinosaur was ... The stegosaurus! It had a brain as big as a walnut in a body weighing nearly two tons! "Dumb" isn't a nice word, even if it is a dinosaur fact. Let's just call Stegosaurus "less smart than a Troodon"!

Dinosaur Fact #5: The Fastest Dinosaur was ... Coelophysis and other Ornithomimosaurs. Scientists think these dinosaurs ran up to 30 miles per hour for short distances!

Dinosaur Facts #6: The Biggest Dinosaurs were: Saurpods. Seismosaurus was 165 feet long (it's tail helped!). Arentinosaurus was the heaviest at 100 tons. The Brachiosaurus was 39 feet high (which helped it reach branches in trees). Giganotosaurus was the largest hunting dinosaur, at 46 feet long and up to 8 tons!

Dinosaurs Fact #7: The Smallest Dinosaur was the Saltopus. It was only 3 feet long, and weighed about five pounds.

Dinosaurs Fact #8: What Killed the Dinosaurs (Dinosaurs Cause for Extinction): No one really knows! Scientists have several theories:

Meteor hits the earth!
Lots of volcanic eruptions!
Climate Changes (over a long period of time)
Dinosaur Facts #9: Are Dinosaurs Reptiles or Birds? Scientists now believe that dinosaurs may have been warm-blooded like birds, and not cold-blooded like reptiles. Scientists also believe that today's birds are actually dinosaurs, and that birds are reptiles?! Confused? Here's a site that discusses it.

Dinosaur Fact #10: Dinosaurs Lived on Land! Many prehistoric sea creatures lived at the same time as dinosaurs. However, they were not dinosaurs! Kronosaurus was the largest of all the sea reptiles. It grew to be almost 42 feet long.

Dinosaur Fact #11: Dinosaurs First Appeared: In the Triassic period, around 200 million years ago. A group of reptiles from the late Permian Period (archosaurs) became the best hunters on land. They developed special features in their skulls and how they walked (having an upright body with their legs under their body), which made them dinosaurs.

Fun Dinosaur Facts For Kids[kidsdigdinos.com]
Stegosaurus Facts[kidsdigdinos.com]
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