Category Zoology

                              Many scientists believe that the largest dinosaurs, such as the sauropods, may have lived for as much as 100 years. This can be calculated because of the time it would take for an animal to reach the enormous body weight of these sauropods. This calculation takes into account their vegetable diet, which was not very nutritious.

                            The world would have been a very dangerous place for young dinosaurs. We do not know which dinosaurs cared for their young. However, young dinosaurs probably developed quickly in order to become independent and able to look after themselves. The modern crocodile is one of the few reptiles that look after its young until they are able to avoid predators.

                            From the evidence of fossil footprints and the distribution of the remains of dinosaurs, it seems likely that the plant-eating species migrated according to the seasons. In the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods, when the dinosaurs flourished, there would have been variations in the seasons just as there are today. Like any other grazing animal, the dinosaurs would have migrated to where they could find food. Maiasaurus is thought to have lived in herds containing thousands of individuals. These herds migrated along regular paths, flattening the ground with their great weight as they travelled.

Picture credit: google

                       The food of plant-eating dinosaurs depended on their type of mouth. Some dinosaurs had broad mouths like a duck’s bill, and they probably grazed on a mixture of plants. Dinosaurs with narrow jaws probably selected particular plants to eat.

                       The long-necked sauropods probably grazed on leaves and shoots. Large herds of sauropods would have caused tremendous devastation by feeding in this way, and may have used their great weight to push trees over so they were easier to reach. A herd of sauropods would have cleared great areas of trees, creating large expanses of open land where smaller dinosaurs could graze. Dinosaurs with cutting beaks probably cropped the vegetation very short.

                           The bodies of meat-eating dinosaurs varied considerably, so their hunting methods would also have been very different. Small agile dinosaurs would have pursued their prey, catching them as they ran and dodged. Some of them probably hunted in packs.

                          The very large carnivores probably lived alone and attacked their large prey by ambush. We do not know enough about dinosaur anatomy to say whether they chased their prey for long distances, or whether they made short dashes like modern reptile predators, such as crocodiles and monitor lizards.

Picture credit: google

                    The smaller bird-like dinosaurs were as fast and agile as most of their predators, and would simply have run away when attacked. The giant sauropods were well able to defend themselves, by rearing up and trampling any attacker with their huge weight. They also defended themselves with the claws that many of them had on their front legs. They may have used their tails and long necks as weapons too.

                   The young sauropods would have been very vulnerable, and it is probable that the adults guarded them. This may also have happened with bulky horned dinosaurs, such as Triceratops. These dinosaurs might have formed a protective circle around the young when attacked, presenting a barrier of sharp horns towards the attacker.

               Almost all modern grazing animals live in herds or large family groups, and there is no reason to suppose that dinosaurs were any different. Animals living in herds are able to alert each other to the approach of threatening predators, so this behaviour helps with survival.

             Fossil footprints show us that plant-eating dinosaurs travelled in groups made up of both large and small individuals. Sometimes large groups of fossils of the same species are found tumbled together. Scientists think that sometimes a herd may have died when overwhelmed by a flood, for example when crossing a river.