Prehistoric Beasts

from our past

Kelli A. Plumeri
Grade 2
EDU6302
 Fossils
We learn about dinosaurs from their
fossils. We’ve all heard of fossils
and know a little about them. But
what do we really know?
Fossils are the ancient remains of plants
and animals.
Some plant and animals remains are
preserved by nature. They petrify to become
fossils.
Dinosaur fossils have been found all over
the world.
Scientists can measure the age of most
fossils through a process called
radiocarbon dating.
 Fossil Facts Continued…

Animal fossils are often teeth, bones,

or shells. Rarely, whole bodies of
animals may be preserved.
Why do you think this is?

Dinosaur remains are millions of years old.

Do you remember the name of the process
that tells scientists how old fossils are?
 There were three types of diets
for dinosaurs. These are:

Carnivore – Dinosaurs who were carnivores

ate meat only.
Herbivore – Dinosaurs who were herbivores
ate plants only.
Omnivore – Dinosaurs who were omnivores
ate both plants and meat.
What are you?
 I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT DINOSAURS!!!

o How many kinds were there?

Scientists have found more than 300 kinds of
dinosaur fossils. It is likely that there are more
dinosaurs awaiting discovery.
o Where in the world are they from?
They have been found all over the world on all of
our 7 continents. In our country, USA, they have
been found in many of our 50 states.
Do you know the names of all 7 continents?
Click HERE to find out!
To learn more about dinosaur fossils and where they
were found, click on the following link:
http://www.zoomdinosaurs.com
 We will be looking at four dinosaurs and
learning more about them. Take a look at
this chart to see what we will study:

D in o s a u r s

T y ra n n o s a u ru s B r a c h io s a u r u s T r ic e r a to p s S te g o s a u ru s
Rex

p h y s ic a l p h y s ic a l p h y s ic a l p h y s ic a l
c h a r a c t e r is t ic s c h a r a c t e r is t ic s c h a r a c t e r is t ic s c h a r a c t e r is t ic s

fu n fa c ts fu n fa c ts fu n fa c ts fu n fa c ts
a n d w e b lin k

f o s s il d is c o v e r ie s s iz e c h a rt fa c t s h e e t
w e b lin k
The Tyrannosaurus Rex, or T-Rex, is probably
the most popular and vicious of all prehistoric animals

Height – 18 feet
Weight – 7 tons
Length – 40 feet
Diet – carnivore
Top running speed – about 20 mph
The T-Rex jaws were 3 feet around. Each of
its 60 teeth were shaped like daggers and
were 6 inches long.

The T-Rex had giant muscular legs and small

front arms.

How do you think it caught prey?

Learn about T-Rex fossil discoveries at:

http://www.fieldmuseum.org/
 Brachiosaurus

–
Brachiosaurus is one of the biggest dinosaurs ever found.
They roamed the Earth over 130 million years ago!

Height – about 40 feet

Weight – 80 – 100 tons
(this is more than 20 elephants!)
Length – 70-90 feet
Diet - herbivore
 Brachiosaurus means “arm lizard”
 The first Brachiosaurus was discovered over
100 years ago in Colorado.
 It could have looked over the top of a three-
story building.
 Some scientists believe it lived in the water,
using its long neck to keep its head above
the surface.
Use this diagram to see how big
the Brachiosaurus really was!
 Along with the T-Rex, Triceratops is probably
one of the most famous dinosaurs ever found.

 Weight – 6 tons
 Length – 30 feet

 Diet – omnivore

 Fossils found – USA and Canada

 Triceratops
The Three-Horned Beast
 The triceratops has three horns on its head.
The two main horns on the forehead area
are each more than 3 feet long!
 The horns were used for wrestling and
charging the enemy.
 The “frill” is the part of the head that
expands out beyond the neck and back.
The head and frill together were more than
6 feet long!
 Stegosaurus
The Stegosaurus had bony plates down its back.
Some scientists believe these were used for protection
from flesh-eating dinosaurs.

Weight – 2 tons
Length – 30 feet
Diet – omnivore
Fossils found – USA, Europe, Africa,
India, and China
 Stegosaurus was first discovered in 1877 in
Colorado.
 Stegosaurus means “plated lizard”.

 It had a small tube-like head, small teeth,

and the brain the size of a walnut.

Check out more Stegosaurus facts on the
following link:
http://www.stegosaurus.org/
We have learned about four famous dinosaurs.
These are:
Tyrannosaurus Rex,
Brachiosaurus,
Triceratops, and
Stegosaurus
But when did they exist?
Let’s look at the following page
to compare them…
 Exactly how old are dinosaurs?
Let’s compare them to other
animals we know…
The Age of the Dinosaurs
years before the present

250
200
(millions)

150
100
50
0

animal types

Examine a Geologic Time chart HERE

 What happened to the
Dinosaurs?
There are many different ideas that scientists have about
how the dinosaurs became extinct. Some scientists
believe the dinosaurs caught an infectious disease.
Some say the volcanoes erupted all over the world. We
don’t really know for sure.
Check this link to find out other theories on extinction.

But what does extinct mean?

Extinct – Animal breeds that have completely died out.

They do not exist anymore.
Endangered – Animal breeds that there are very low
numbers of. They are in danger of dying out completely.
What other animals are extinct
or endangered? Some examples
are:
Extinct Endangered
Caribbean monk Seal Puma
Dodo Bird Jaguar
Heath Hen Hawaiian monk Seal
Dire Wolf Blue Whale
Stag-moose Humpback Whale
American Mastodon Brown Pelican
Mammoths American Crocodile
Learn more about endangered and extinct animals at:
http://www.kids.msn.com/kidz/endangeredspecies.asp
 What did you learn?
Use a blank sheet to answer the
following questions…

1. Which dinosaur is larger –

Brachiosaurus or Triceratops?
2. Carnivores eat ________ only.
3. Which dinosaur had a brain the size of a
walnut?
4. T-Rex’s teeth were _____ inches long.
5. If an animal species no longer exists, it is
___________.
Click HERE for Answers
You have learned about many dinosaur
breeds and fun facts. Use the following
links to continue your discoveries…

Dinosaur Dig-Kid’s Habitat

http://www.sdnhm.org/kids/dinosaur/

Children’s Stomping Ground

http://www.oink.demon.co.uk/topics/dinosaur.htm
 Resources
http://www.oink.demon.co.uk/topics/dinosaur.htm
http://www.zoomdinosaurs.com
http://www.stegosaurus.org
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/trex/trexpo.htm/
http://www.kids.msn.com/kidz/endangeredspecies.asp
http://www.sdnhm.org/kids/dinosaur/
Lambert, D. (1983). A Field Guide to Dinosaurs.
Avon Books. New York, New York
Hincks, J. (1990). The Rourke Dinosaur Dictionary.
Rourke Enterprises, Inc.
Russell, W. (1994). Fossils. The Rourke Corporation, Inc.
 The End

You are official

“dino discoverers!”

Kelli Plumeri
EDU6302