7 Fantastic Dinosaur Facts

Even though dinosaurs died more than 65 million years ago, people are still fascinated with them. I actually just read something online that said that kids who love dinosaurs grow up to be smarter than those who don’t. Now I don’t know if that is a proven fact but it just goes to show how learning about all those complex creatures can be beneficial.

Here is an interesting dinosaur infographic to learn more about those prehistoric creatures.

• Dinosaurs lived during the Mesozoic Era, which includes the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods. This era took place 230 million years ago to 65 million years ago.
• The biggest plant-eating dinosaurs weighed more than 100 tons and had to eat up to a ton of food each day.
• Scientists weren’t sure how dinosaurs were born until explorer Roy Chapman Andrews found a nest of fossilized dinosaur eggs in the Gobi Desert in 1923. Andrews is believed to be the inspiration for Indiana Jones.
• The largest dinosaur egg ever discovered was 19 inches long, and the smallest was 3 centimeters long. Approximately 40 types of dinosaur eggs have been discovered so far.
• The first Stegosaurus skeleton was discovered in Morrison, Colorado. This area, known as Dinosaur Ridge, was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1973, and the tracks of nearly 80 different dinosaurs are preserved on the ridge.
• It is believed that the extinction of the dinosaurs was caused by an asteroid hitting the Yucatan Peninsula. Researchers estimate that the asteroid was 6 miles in diameter, and it caused a crater that was 112 miles wide. The impact of this crater most likely caused earthquakes, landslides, and tsunamis.
• Dinosaur teeth were discovered in China 3,500 years, but people thought they were dragon teeth because no one knew about dinosaurs back then.