100 PAGES OF EPIC DISCOVERY FOR KIDS AGED 7-11
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Issue
EW
9
OVER
WATCOHS E R VWID ITH OU IBLE INCRREADCTIVE
50
INTXEPERIENCE
ISSUE 9
Digital Edition
g excititno do t h i ng s
E
s r u a s o n Di THE WORLD’S GO BACK IN TIME AND WALK WITH ABOUT THEM IN BIGGEST REPTILES AND LEARN ALL TIES PUZZLES, VIDEOS AND ACTIVI
Tyrannosaurus
Triceratops
Brachiosaurus + More!
e d s n i ’s t a h W 6
What are dinosaurs?
8 Kinds of dinosaurs
34 End of chapter: puzzles & activities
88 Record-breaking dinosaurs
10 The Triassic period: 252 to 201 million years ago
38 Horn-faced dinosaurs 40 Ceratopsian dinosaurs
90 End of chapter: puzzles & activities
12 The Jurassic period: 201 to 145 million years ago
46 End of chapter: puzzles & activities
98 Fun facts about dinosaurs
14 The Cretaceous period: 145 to 66 million years ago
50 Plant-eating dinosaurs
16 Where are they now? 18 Dino extinction
58 End of chapter: puzzles & activities
20 Dinosaurs around you
62 Long-necked dinosaurs
22 End of chapter: puzzles & activities
64 Sauropod dinosaurs
52 Ornithopod dinosaurs
26 War-ready dinosaurs
70 End of chapter: puzzles & activities
28 Armoured dinosaurs
74 Meat-eating dinosaurs
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12 4
76 Theropod dinosaurs
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26
20
38
50 62 76
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INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCE Scan the QR code with your device’s camera or download a free QR code reader app. Many iPhone and Android devices include these features
When you see the ‘Scan with your phone or tablet’ prompt, use your device to scan the QR code, which looks like this
Hold your mobile device over the image and watch it come to life! Your device needs to be connected to the internet for this to function
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WHAT ARE DINOSAURS? T
he word ‘dinosaur’ means ‘terrible lizard’, but dinosaurs are not lizards! Dinosaurs evolved from ancient reptiles, and while some looked a bit lizard-like, they were actually a really varied bunch. Some were small, speedy scavengers; some were huge, heavy plant-eaters and some were terrifying predators. There were dinosaurs with scales, feathers, crests or spikes. Some dinosaurs had powerful jaws, sharp claws, wings or even neck frills! Some dinosaurs walked on two legs and some walked on four. So if dinosaurs aren’t lizards, and if they don’t all look the same, then what makes a dinosaur a dinosaur? All dinosaurs had these things in common, which helps scientists figure out if the skeleton they’ve discovered is a dinosaur or not: • Their legs are directly under their bodies. Think about how lizards or crocodiles have legs that stick out from the sides of their bodies and you can understand the difference. • All dinosaurs are vertebrates, which means they have a backbone. • All dinosaurs had some sort of tail. • Dinosaurs were covered in scales or feathers. • Dinosaurs laid eggs. Dinosaurs first appeared in the Triassic period, about 235 million years ago. They continued to evolve through the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Some species of dinosaurs developed to be so powerful and ferocious that dinosaurs ruled the Earth. The Cretaceous period ended 66 million years ago when an enormous asteroid – a giant rock from space – hit Earth and wiped out almost all of the dinosaurs. All that is left of them now are their fossils, which include bones, teeth and eggs. Dinosaurs existed for a very long time, so there are loads of fossils still waiting to be found. Scientists are learning more and more about these amazing creatures every day, and new species are still being discovered. Strangely enough, birds are the descendants of dinosaurs, so you could say that dinosaurs aren’t actually extinct!
ODD ONE OUT Which of these is not a dinosaur? Use the clues about what makes a dinosaur a dinosaur
B
A T. rex
Archaeopteryx
D Snake ANSWERS: C and D
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Crocodile
E Stegosaurus
C
WHAT ARE DINOSAURS?
FILL IN THE BLANKS See if you can fill in these sentences using the word pool
1
Dinosaurs first appeared about _______ million years ago.
2 They were wiped out by an __________ that
hit Earth _______ million years ago.
235
3 This means they existed on Earth for
ASTEROID
around _______ million years.
171
66
ANSWERS: 1. 235 2. Asteroid, 66 3. 171
WATCH THIS!
101 FACTS ABOUT DINOSAURS
Scan with your phone or tablet https://bit.ly/3ulPgkS
WORD SCRAMBLE 1 wslac 2 alit 3 kesspi 4 aserheft 5 eacsls 6 heteht
© Getty Images
Unscramble the words to spell out some dinosaur features
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ANSWERS: Claws, tail, spikes, feathers, scales, teeth
THE JURASSIC PERIOD: 201 TO 145 MILLION YEARS AGO
D
uring the Jurassic period, the huge supercontinent of Pangaea split into two parts: Laurasia in the north and Gondwana in the south. A great ocean swept between the two continents, completely changing the Earth’s climate. There were rainforests, lakes and even tropical islands. Now that much more of the land was close to water, plants and animal life flourished. This was good news for the dinosaurs, who evolved into hundreds of diverse species depending on where they were in the world. Dinosaurs became the dominant land animal. Huge, plant-eating sauropods towered over the forests, ruthless theropod predators hunted across the plains and small, feather-covered dinosaurs chased their prey among the trees. During this time, the first birds and small mammals also appeared on Earth. The Jurassic period saw dinosaurs that were larger and more powerful than ever before, including Allosaurus, Apatosaurus, Diplodocus, Stegosaurus and Scelidosaurus. Allosaurus was one of the deadliest dinosaurs of all time. Not only did it have sharp teeth and claws for attacking its prey, it was also fast, intelligent and fearless. Apatosaurus and Diplodocus were two long-necked planteaters. They had enormous tails that helped balance their bodies and could also pack a painful punch against any predator who tried to come close. Stegosaurus is famous for its tough body armour, the line of plates along its back and its spiky tail. These features helped protect the plant-eater from predators. Scelidosaurus was covered from head to tail with tough, bony plates. Even though this relatively small plant-eater was slow, its body armour was enough to keep attackers at bay. It’s because of these mighty beasts that we can say without a doubt that during the Jurassic period, dinosaurs ruled Earth!
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WHICH DINOSAURS LIVED DURING THIS PERIOD?
ALLOSAURUS
STEGOSAURUS
DIPLODOCUS
THE JURASSIC PERIOD: 201–145 MILLION YEARS AGO
IDENTIFY THE DINOSAURS Draw a line between the dinosaur name and its silhouette
HERBIVORE OR CARNIVORE? Were these dinosaurs herbivores (plant-eaters) or carnivores (meat-eaters)? Mark the boxes with H or C
ALLOSAURUS
ALLOSAURUS
DIPLODOCUS APATOSAURUS
SCELIDOSAURUS
STEGOSAURUS
DIPLODOCUS
SCELIDOSAURUS SKIN Can you tell which of these shows the bony plates of a Scelidosaurus?
B
C
STEGOSAURUS
SCELIDOSAURUS
ANSWERS: C, H, H, H, H
A
APATOSAURUS
WHAT WAS IT LIKE DURING THE JURASSIC PERIOD? ANSWER: C
APATOSAURUS
HOT, COLD OR JUST RIGHT? Warm and humid
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE
AVERAGE RAINFALL
16.5ºC
At least 114cm (45in)
SUMMARY • Dinosaurs were everywhere, in all shapes and sizes • Different climate zones allowed diverse species to flourish • Small insects, birds and mammals lived among the dinosaurs.
SCELIDOSAURUS
• Dinosaur battles were an everyday sight: ferocious predators attacked armoured plant-eaters
© Getty Images
• Enormous marine reptiles dominated the lakes and oceans
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END OF CHAPTER: PUZZLES & ACTIVITIES LET’S PUT YOUR KNOWLEDGE TO THE TEST AND SEE HOW WELL YOU KNOW THE HISTORY OF THE DINOSAURS
SCULPT YOUR OWN DINOSAUR BONES
HOW BIG?
Create your own dinosaur fossils using salt dough. Mix, sculpt, bake and bury for an epic dinosaur dig adventure
WHAT YOU’LL NEED • Baking sheet • Baking paper
INSTRUCTIONS 1. Prepare your salt dough by mixing the flour and salt
together, then add the water and mix until it becomes a ball of dough. 2. Form your salt dough into the shapes of dinosaur bones and other fossils. Take a look at some pictures of dinosaur skeletons to get an idea of the shapes you want to create. 3. Turn your oven on to the lowest setting and line a baking tray with baking paper. 4. Lay your dinosaur bones out on the baking tray and place them in the oven for at least three hours. 5. Once your salt dough bones have cooled, you can paint or decorate them however you want. 6. Find a spot to bury your dinosaur bones. You can bury them in garden soil, in a bucket or tray filled with sand or even in a dish filled with salt! 7. Grab your tools and get digging. What dinosaur fossils will you discover today?
VELOCIRAPTOR 0.5M COELOPHYSIS 1.2M
TYRANNOSAURUS 5.5M
TRICERATOPS 3.0M STEGOSAURUS 4.0M
APATOSAURUS 9.0M ARGENTINOSAURUS 13.0M
13 12 11 10
HEIGHT (METRES)
• 50g plain flour • 125g salt • 125ml water
Can you plot the heights of these dinosaurs on the graph to compare their size to an average human child?
9 8 7 6 5 4 3
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Argentinosaurus
Apatosaurus
Tyrannosaurus
SPECIES
Stegosaurus
Triceratops
Coelophysis
Velociraptor
0
human child
1
1.2
2
END OF CHAPTER: PUZZLES & ACTIVITIES
4 5 3 2 1
7
12
6
8 11
9
13 10
CROSSWORD Using the clues below, can you work out which words fill in the blanks to fill in the crossword?
IDENTITY PARADE Can you name the dinosaur from its silhouette?
A
B
C
D
Across
1. A rock from space that wiped out the dinosaurs (8) 3. What plant-eaters are called (10) 4. Sauropods had blunt ______ for grinding up leaves (5) 6. A plant-eater with a bony head frill and three horns (11) 9. Stegosaurus had these on its tail (6) 10. Dinosaurs laid ______ (4) 11. The Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods make up the Mesozoic ____ (3)
13. When the asteroid hit Earth, a huge _____ cloud
blocked out the Sun (4)
Down
2. The flying reptiles who lived at the same time as dinosaurs and are often mistaken for them (10)
4. Dinosaurs that walked on two legs and ate meat (9) 5. The time period in which the dinosaurs died out (10) 7. Some dinosaurs were covered in _______, although they
E
couldn’t fly (8)
F
8. Modern-day descendants of the dinosaurs (5) 12. The supercontinent that stretched across Earth when
© Getty Images
dinosaurs first appeared (7)
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ANSWERS: A. Spinosaurus B. Stegosaurus C. Triceratops D. Diplodocus E. Apatosaurus F. Allosaurus
ANSWERS: 1. Asteroid 2. Pterosaurs 3. Herbivores 4. (Across) Teeth (Down) Theropods 5. Cretaceous 6. Triceratops 7. Feathers 8. Birds 9. Spikes 10. Eggs 11. Era 12. Pangaea 13. Dust
PLANT-EATING DINOSAURS
WATCH THIS!
T
he plant-eating ornithopods were sort of like the cows of the dinosaur world: they lived in herds and were a common sight, grazing on the prehistoric plains and woodlands. In fact, ornithopods were the most common dinosaurs of all. Ornithopod means ‘bird feet’, and most ornithopod dinosaurs were able to walk like birds – using two legs with bird-like, three or four-toed feet. And that’s not the only feature they share with birds. Nearly all ornithopods have a beak, too, some with teeth and some without. In fact, ornithopods had the same ancestors as the other beaked dinosaurs, the ceratopsians. The earliest ornithopods appeared in the Late Triassic period; they continued to thrive and evolve right until the end of the Cretaceous period, when they were wiped out with the rest of the dinosaurs. Early ornithopods, such as Heterodontosaurus, were small and speedy. They would dart on two legs through trees and shrubland, searching for food and hiding from predators. Over millions of years, ornithopods grew larger and their bodies evolved to make it easier to eat plants and shrubs from the ground, with their backbones growing in a curved shape. With a curved back, ornithopods such as Iguanodon and Muttaburrasaurus found it easier to walk on four legs while grazing – though they could still run fast on their two stronger back legs if a hungry Allosaurus came roaring along. Other predators that hunted ornithopods included Deinonychus, Troodon and the terrifying Tyrannosaur. The only defensive weapon an ornithopod had against a predator was a thumb spike on their front legs, though many later ornithopods don’t seem to have this spike at all. Early ornithopods had sharp teeth for slicing and tearing up leaves and plants, but later ornithopods developed very specialised teeth that allowed them to chew plant matter so that they didn’t need to swallow it whole. These chewing teeth were called dental batteries, and they were actually made up of hundreds of teeth in a row that would grind together to mash up food. Iguanodon – perhaps the most famous ornithopod – was one of the first dinosaurs to be discovered. In 1822, a British scientist named Mary Ann Mantell found some strange fossils on the side of a road. Her husband Gideon was a scientist too, and he identified them as the bones of a creature similar to an iguana, but much bigger.
WHO WERE THE ORNITHOPODS
Scan with your phone or tablet https://bit.ly/3LUqUoh
ORNITHOPOD OR NOT? Spot which of these dinosaurs is an ornithopod. Put a tick in the correct boxes
Iguanodon
Apatosaurus
Muttaburrasaurus
Stegosaurus
Allosaurus
Corythosaurus
ANSWERS: Iguanodon, Muttaburrasaurus, Corythosaurus
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PLANT-EATING DINOSAURS
WORD SEARCH Find the missing words below
R N O Q P F S R E G N R H L V
B L L U E R C T O H L T E O T
T P K O R G V E R M O H R P U
H O U M T A R A N J P R D U A
M G B E A K S T I U R A V T I
K D P L R L I L T T G H N G H
I J D O L M K J H E S J M A E
N K A U K G L Y O L P U I S R
O R S H M H O U P O I K U F B
S G T N H R P I O P K I T R I
T A Y J D J S O D A E O R T V
R V J E A Y A P H S F P A H O
I B N A K S I R K D H L S Y R
L M I G U A N O D O N E R U E
S L L P Y B D D L R N S T Z E
ORNITHOPOD BEAKS SPIKE NOSTRILS IGUANODON HERBIVORE GRAZING HERD
WHAT MAKES AN ORNITHOPOD DINOSAUR? Herbivorous Medium-sized Large nostrils
Beak Thick tail
Many had thumb spikes Ability to walk on two legs, though most could walk on four as well
© Getty Images, Alamy
A E G R A Z I N G R A E A K Z
51
RECORD-BREAKING DINOSAURS L
D
inosaurs were incredible creatures. They roamed the Earth for hundreds of millions of years, evolving and flourishing. They developed features that made them the best at what they needed to do – from hunting, digesting plants, fishing, finding a mate, self-defence and chewing. It’s no wonder dinosaurs hold so many world records. Let’s find out about some of the all-time record-breaking dinosaurs.
LARGEST SKULL
PENTACE RATOPS 2.65 metr es – the size of an ostric h
FASTEST ORNITHOMIMUS 60 miles per hour
t s e g n Lo orous v i n r a c r u a s o din AURUS SPINOS as long long – s e tr e hale 15 m back w p m u h as a
THICKEST SKULL
PACHYCEPHALOSAURUS 25 centimetres thick – 40 times thicker than a human skull
88
T S E G N LO ns hor
TOPS, TRICERA AND RATOPS E C A IL COAHU AURUS s TOROS as tall a long – s e tr e ld 1.2 m t year o an eigh
STRONGE ST BI of any l TE and a
ARGEST ARGENTINOSAURUS 35 metres long – ha lf as long as a jumbo jet
LONGEST CLAWS THERIZINOSAURUS 60 centimetres long – as big as a one-year-old child
nimal
TYRANNO SAURUS Six tonne s of pres sure – enough to crush a car
MOST TEETH EDMONT OSAURU S Its denta l battery held 1,50 0 teeth
FIRST FOSSILS
MEGALOSAURUS ssils The first dinosaur fo 1824. were discovered in ntified as They were later ide s bo Megalosaurus ne
T S O M NS HOR OPS ERAT C O KOSM rns on its 15 ho head huge
LONGEST CREST
PARASAU ROLOPH US One metr e long – as long a s a baseba ll bat
MOST TEETH of a
of a inosaur d
carnivo r dinosauous r
HEIRUS wo DEINOC that ’s t long – s e tr n e 2.4 m childre ear-old p of eight-y e on to n o g in stand er the oth
FIRST FEATHERS First non-flying dinosaur to be discovered with feathers
SINOSAUROPTERYX Discovered in 1996, Sinosauropteryx surprised everyone by showing that it wasn’t only the flying dinosaurs that had feathers
PELECAN IMIMUS 220 teeth
LONGEST DINOSAU NAME R
ASTONISHING Dinosaurs dominated our planet for much longer than humans have even been alive. Despite this – and despite the fact that some dinosaurs were so enormous – we didn’t know they existed at all until 1842. That’s less than 200 years ago. In 1842, a British scientist named Richard Owens first used the word ‘Dinosauria’, which means ‘terrible lizard’ in Greek. He coined the word to explain the huge fossils that had been discovered in England over the previous 20 years or so. The fossils looked reptilian, but much bigger.
© Getty Images.
T S E G N LO S ed AtRwoM -legg
MICROPA CHYCEPH ALOSAUR US 23 letters long
T S E G N LO NECK
ON POSEID SAURO long a ng – s lo s e tr 12 me tball e baske as thre hoops
WORD SCRAMBLE Unscramble the letters to discover five dinosaur record breakers
1 eocmraotokpss 2 eoonutsmardus 3 aosealurmusg 4 tapcraetoepsn 5 usaahuroplropsa ANSWERS: 1. Kosmoceratops 2. Edmontosaurus 3. Megalosaurus 4. Pentaceratops 5. Parasaurolophus
9000
RECORD-BREAKING DINOSAURS
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