It’s thought that only 10% of dinosaur species have been found so far
The oceans of the world
were once ruled by
ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs and
mosasaurs, not dinosaurs. Many
of these underwater animals
looked a lot like modern-day fi sh.
They were perfectly adapted for
life in the sea and fossils
show that they may have
given birth to live young.Swimming
reptiles
Plesiosaurs
Some plesiosaurs had
long, fl exible necks. They
used these to catch
nimble fi sh
Most meat-eating dinosaurs had
hip bones like the lizards of today
and moved around on two legs.
This gave them the ability
to run very fast to catch
prey. Strangely,
today’s birds
evolved from
lizard-hipped
dinosaurs.Two-legged
dinosaurs
Though they were around at the same time,
most fl ying creatures in this period were not
actually dinosaurs. These winged reptiles ruled
the skies with their big brains and deadly beaks.Pterosaurs
Pterosaurs
Many pterosaur fossils show
they had incredibly strong
muscles, perfect for fl yingNOT ACTUALLY
DINOSAURS
Attack
By running on two
feet, predatory
dinosaurs could
reach high speeds“Dinosaurs are a
diverse group of
reptiles, beginning
life on the super-
continent of
Pangaea”