Get to Know a Dinosaur!

Get to Know a Dinosaur!

• What are paleontologists?

• What group do dinosaurs belong to?

• How do dinosaurs move?

• What was dinosaur skin like?

• Were dinosaurs warm or cold-blooded?

• Did dinosaurs make sound?​

Before the 1800's, people who found dinosaur bones and teeth did not know what they were. Little by little, scientists realized that these fossils were different from those of any other group of animals. These animals were somewhat like lizards, a type of reptile, but much bigger. They decided to call this group Dinosauria. The name dinosaur comes from this word, which means "terrible lizards."

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To What Group do Dinosaurs Belong?

Multiple Choice

What part of the dinosaur do people find fossilized?

• bones and teeth

• brains and heart

• muscles and stomach

Multiple Choice

What does the word dinosaur mean?

• terrible lizard

• scary reptile

• giant turkey

P​aleontologists figure out how dinosaurs moved by studying their bones. Muscle scars on dinosaur bones show where muscles were attached to the bones, and how big they were. Strong bones and larger muscles were needed for running and fighting. Studying joints, the places where bones come together, gives scientists an idea of how an animal's body could bend and turn.

Paleontologists also study the muscles of animals that were close relatives of dinosurs, such as crocodiles and birds. Using all this information, scientists reconstruct dinosaur fossils and figure out how they moved.

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How Do Paleontologists Know How Dinosaurs Moved?

Multiple Choice

Why do scientists study dinosaur bones?

• To figure out how they move.

• To avoid having to do math.

• To prevent students from learning.

Multiple Choice

What do muscle scars tell paleontologists?

• How big and strong dinosaurs were.

• How many eggs a dinosaur laid.

• How a dinosaur got its' name

Impressions of dinosaur skin are sometimes preserved in rocks. They show that most dinosaurs probably had tough, scaly, waterproof skin, like other reptiles.

Some had armor and bumpy skin with bony spikes and plates for extra protection. Others had smooth scales like that of a lizard. Some small meat-eaters may have had feathers like birds.

Scientists cannot yet determine the color of a dinosaur's skin from its fossils. They theorize though, that dinosaurs had various patterns and colors, just like today's reptiles and birds.

What was dinosaur skin like?

Multiple Choice

Scientists think that some small meat-eaters may have had _____.

• armor plates

• spikes

• feathers

Multiple Choice

The impressions show that most dinosaur scales were like...

• other reptiles

• lion fur

• seal skin

Multiple Choice

Paleontologists theorize that dinosaur skin...

• was different colors.

• was always green or grey.

• was covered in fur.

​Warm-blooded animals, such as mammals and birds, make enough heat from their body processes to keep their body temperature high. They can be active all the time.

Cold-blooded animals, such as crocodiles and frogs, do not make enough heat from their body processes to keep a high body temperature. They absorb, or draw in, heat fromtheir surroundings to help them become active.

Paleontologists do not agree about whether dinosaurs were warm-blooded or cold-blooded. Some think fast-moving animals like dinosaurs must have been warm-blooded. Others think certain features of dinoaur bones prove they were cold-blooded.

​Were Dinosaurs Warm or Cold-blooded?

Multiple Choice

Cold-blooded animals such as crocodiles and frogs, must ____ from their surroundings.

• absorb, or draw in

• drink warm water

• hold their heat

Multiple Choice

Warm-blooded animals such as mammals and birds make ________.

• new feathers to stay dry.

• enough body heat to stay warm.

• are only warm if they are in the sun.

Skull bones show that many dinosurs probably made sounds. Young dinosaurs may have squeaked or squealed, and older dinosaurs may have croaked, barked, or roared. The skulls of some duck-billed dinosaurs have fan-or tube-shaped crests or tops.

Paleontologists think these crests may have been echo chambers that helped the dinosaurs make sounds. Duckbills may have bellowed to attract mates like a modern day moose would.

Did Dinosaurs Make Sounds?

Multiple Choice

The skulls of some duck-billed dinosurs have fan or tube shaped ____.

• crests

• antlers

• horns

Multiple Choice

Skull bones show that many dinosaur probably...

• are still alive.

• made sounds.

• could run very fast.