Childrens Illustrated Encyclopedia

DINOSAURS

163

THE END OF THE DINOSAURS
There are many ideas about the end of the dinosaurs.
Some people believe they died out because a giant
meteorite crashed into Earth, throwing up a dust cloud
and blotting out the sun. Without sunlight, the plants
and the dinosaurs that fed on them could not survive.

IGUANODON

Iguanodon was a herbivore. As an

adult, it was about 33 ft (10 m) long,

with small hooves on its hands and

feet. Some scientists believe that

Iguanodon lived in herds because, in some

areas of Europe, they have found many fossilized

skeletons of Iguanodon together in one place.

BARYONYX

In 1983, the fossilized claw and bones of a dinosaur were found in

Surrey, England. This dinosaur is named Baryonyx. Fossilized

scales of fish were found in this dinosaur’s

stomach, so it was probably a fish-eater and

may have used its claws to catch fish.

Scientists have been able
to reconstruct some
dinosaur species, such
as this Edmontosaurus.

MYA = million years ago

TYPES OF DINOSAURS

Dinosaurs varied greatly in size and shape, and they did

not all live at the same time. Some lived 200 million years

ago; others lived 70 million years ago. This chart gives the

sizes of some dinosaurs in comparison to the size

of a 10-year-old child.

Diplodocus was a

herbivore; all its teeth

were at the front of

its mouth for nibbling

at tough leaves.

Citipati was about

10 ft (3 m) long. Its

body was covered

with fluffy feathers

that looked like fur.

DIPLODOCUS

The largest dinosaurs, including Diplodocus, belonged to the

group of plant eaters called sauropods. At 88 ft (27 m)

in length, Diplodocus was one of the longest

dinosaurs. Its long, thin tail made up

most of its length. With its slim body, it

probably weighed only about 9 tons.

EGGS

The fossils of Citipati reveal that the

females would sit in their nests with

their arms outspread over clutches

of eggs. A Citipati egg was around 7 in

(18 cm) long, and up to 20 eggs could

be found in a single clutch.

Triceratops

65 MYA

Iguanodon

120 MYA

Diplodocus

140 MYA

Coelophysis

210 MYA

Protoceratops

80 MYA

Comp-

sognathus

140 MYA

Baryonyx

120 MYA

Euplocephalus

75 MYA

Tyrannosaurus

68-66 MYA

CITIPATI
A group of dinosaurs called
oviraptorids included this beaked
dinosaur. Citipati mainly ate small
animals and eggs, as well as fruit and
seeds. Scientists have found at least
four Citipati fossils with clutches of
eggs, which shows it took good care
of its young.

Evolution

Fossils

Prehistoric life

Prehistoric peoples

Find out more

Iguanodon belonged

to the bird-hipped

group of dinosaurs

called ornithischians.

Iguanodon had

versatile hands –

the three middle

fingers acted like

hooves, the little

finger could grasp

food, and the

spiked thumb was a

fearsome weapon.

Heavy tail balanced

the rest of

Iguanodon’s body.

Bird-type

pelvis