How It Works-Book Of Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs perished some 65 million

years ago in what is known as the

K-Pg (formerly K-T) extinction event.

This cataclysmic event at the

Cretaceous-Palaeogene boundary led to 75

per cent of all species on Earth dying off.

From the smallest ocean plankton to the

largest land beasts, the K-Pg extinction

event resulted in devastation at every

level of the world’s ecosystems, with all

non-avian dinosaurs eradicated. The

current theory for the catalyst of this

global wipeout is an asteroid impact

in South America, but the real cause

for such widespread carnage was

not the impact itself but its

knock-on effects. These

include plants not being able

to photosynthesise due to

dust blocking out the Sun

plus a series of epic

tsunamis and fi re storms.

Of all the dinosaurs that lived on Earth few

can truly lay claim to be a terrestrial giant

• but the Diplodocus can. Built like a
  suspension bridge, the Diplodocus
  measured over 25 metres (82 feet) long


• that’s longer than fi ve African elephants!
  It weighed over 12 tons, roughly 170 times
  more than the average human. It had an

incredibly long neck and counterweight

tail, the former used to elevate its head

into the foliage of trees for food, while the

latter was its primary form of defence.

With a typical Diplodocus estimated to

have lived between 50 and 80 years, it

also had one of the longest life spans of

any dinosaur from the Jurassic period.

Extinction

Diplodocus: a dino titan

Since palaeontologists began

uncovering dinosaur remains in the

19th century, our depictions of them

in the fl esh have been largely

coloured by a few initial artist

impressions, with fi gures such as

Charles Knight often drawing species

in inaccurate postures and with

factually incorrect sizes, colours and

features. Based on current evidence,

the lack of feathers on most species

is one of the most obvious fl aws in

these early depictions, with half of all

non-avian theropods now thought to

have been partly feathered. The main

cause for these misassumptions has

been the lack of evidence, with

feathers and soft tissues rarely

preserved like fossilised bone.

Today the study of dinosaurs is entering an exciting

new age, where we can achieve an unprecedented

level of accuracy through cutting-edge analysis. After

a T-rex’s soft tissue was discovered within a bone

sample, we can now study things like proteins, blood vessels

and other micro-anatomy to help us determine how

individuals lived and died, as well as how dinos evolved.

Feathered

fi ends

Genetic legacy

Whether dinos hunted and scavenged

alone like the T-rex or in large packs like

the Deinonychus – the model for the

Velociraptor in Jurassic Park –

carnivorous dinosaurs were no doubt

the apex predators on Earth. However,

debate rages as to how co-ordinated

dinosaur pack hunters were. Since fi rst

described in 1969 by palaeontologist

John Ostrom, the Deinonychus has been

imprinted in the public consciousness

as a highly intelligent, synchronised

team hunter. However, many modern

dino experts disagree with this

assumption, believing that while

Deinonychus did move and chase prey

in groups, they did so with little

co-ordination, with each individual

simply acting out of self-interest rather

than working together like, say, lions.

Hunting strategies

“Colour in dinosaur feathers was

a topic I think people thought

that we would never know the

answers to. But we were able

to rely on a fair number of fossil

feathers that were exceptionally well

preserved and deep within their internal

structure we could see colour-bearing

organelles. So by using some smart

observations and techniques we have

proved it to be possible”

DID YOU KNOW? You can see a Diplodocus skeleton in the Natural History Museum, UK