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In this article we will discuss many interesting and funny dinosaur facts for kids. You will learn the following:
- Interesting information about dinosaurs
- History of the dinosaurs
- New dinosaur research and discovery
If you have kids around you and you need to tell them some interesting and funny facts, then you can tell them fun facts about dinosaurs. Remember, kids, love dinosaur facts and pictures. However, you don’t have to do dinosaur research for kids as we have compiled some dinosaur information for kids. Telling them these mind-blowing facts about dinosaurs will not only keep your kids happy and entertained but is also educative.
Therefore, this article will discuss 25 dinosaur facts for kids and types of dinosaurs for kids. Here we go!
1. Dinosaurs first appeared on earth between 233 and 242 million years ago
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Some kids might not even know that the earth has been existing for that period of time. But the dinosaur was named in 1842. The word dinosaur comes from the Greek language. Coined by English paleontologist Richard Owen in 1842.
2. Non-avian Dinosaurs were extinct around 66 million years ago
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Many scientists believed that there was an asteroid that hit the earth somewhere in Mexico. The impact generated sulfur dust that covered the entire earth and affected the normal earth condition. The dust prevented the sun from getting to the earth’s surface. Hence plants cannot photosynthesize. The death of plants led to the starvation of animals that depended directly or indirectly on plants. This group of animals included all non-avian dinosaurs.
3. Dinosaur means terrible lizard
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This is one of the major fun facts about dinosaurs for kids. The name, dinosaur, was given by an English scientist called Sir Richard Owen. It was derived from two Greek words, deinos and sauros. Deimos means terrible or fearfully great, while sauros means lizard or reptile. So you can call them terrible lizards, terrible reptiles, fearfully great lizards, or fearfully great reptiles.
4. Birds are Dinosaurs
( source by: Only Dinosaurs)
Not many people know this. Birds and dinosaurs are closely related, such as the lithographic Archaeopteryx. Archaeopteryx lithographica: the missing link between dinosaurs and birds Dinosaurs lived between 230 and 65 million years ago, in a time known as the Mesozoic Era. The earliest known avian dinosaur is 150 million years old: Archaeopteryx had birdlike wings and a long, bony dinosaur tail. Even scientists recently discovered that modern-day birds are descendants of dinosaurs. That is why it is not accurate to say dinosaurs were extinct; rather, we say non-avian (non-bird) dinosaurs are extinct. Birds came from winged dinosaurs and underwent several modifications over the years to become what they are today. Read on to learn more fun dinosaur facts for kids.
5. All dinosaurs lay eggs
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As big as dinosaurs may be, they all lay eggs like birds. Most of dinosaurs laid eggs in the nest. Dinosaur eggs come in all shapes and sizes. They tend to be ovoid or spherical in shape. The egg of a dinosaur could be as long as 47 cm that is about 8 times the length of an extra-large chicken egg. The smallest dinosaur egg discovered was less than 2cm in length.
6. The Heaviest dinosaur may have weighed more than 100,000Kg
( source by: Only Dinosaurs)
Although it is difficult to determine the weight of an animal through its fossils. However, using the best scientific method available, Giraffatitan Branca, a dinosaur species, weighed between 30,000 and 60,000 kg, while Argentinosaurus may have weighed between 80,000kg and 100,000kg. Remember that anyone that weighs between 81 and 90 kg is regarded as a heavyweight in boxing. That means the dinosaur might have weighed more than one thousand heavyweight boxers.
7. Dinosaur could be as light a 110g
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The impression many people have is that dinosaurs are always very big and heavy. Of course, many of them were. But But not all dinosaurs were big, there were also many small dinosaurs, in fact, tiny and lightweight, there were also many small dinosaurs, in fact, tiny and lightweight. A species of dinosaur called Anchiornis huxleyi is believed to weigh just 110g. For comparison, one liter of water weighs 1000g. That means if you put nine of those dinosaurs together, they would still weigh less than one liter of water.
8. The tallest dinosaur is 59 feet
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A human being is considered tall if he is 6 ft tall (1.8m), but a dinosaur called sauroposeidon was 59 ft (18m) tall. That is about the height of 10 tall human beings. If the dinosaur is alive today, it could have been looking through the sixth-floor window without stretching its neck.
9. The longest dinosaur is about 130 ft
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Because dinosaurs are reptiles, their lengths are even more significant than their height, and they could be terribly long. Argentinosaurus mentioned earlier could be as long as 130 ft. The width of a standard football field is 160 feet. Hence if the dinosaur stood in the middle of a football field, there would be little space left for anyone to pass.
10. The smallest dinosaur is 1.1 ft long
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Based on the size of dinosaur bones, Anchiornis huxleyi is regarded as the smallest non-avian dinosaur. It was just 34 cm long. That may just be the size of a pigeon.
11. There were carnivorous, herbivorous, and omnivorous dinosaurs
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Carnivores are flesh-eating animals, while herbivores are plant-eating animals. Animals that eat both flesh and plants are called omnivorous animals. There were species of dinosaurs that ate only flesh, and there were species that ate plants. Some species ate both plants and animals.
12. Some Dinosaurs had feathers
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This is also among the major fun dinosaur facts for kids that you may find difficult to believe. Of course, if you agree that birds came from dinosaurs, then you will understand why some dinosaurs should have feathers. Even big dinosaurs like T-Rex were believed to have feathers.
13. There were no flying dinosaurs
( source: by pixabay.com)
Some Dinosaurs might have feathers, and birds might have come from dinosaurs, but there were no flying dinosaurs. Unlike dinosaurs, there were flying reptiles like the pterosaurs. These reptiles were similar to dinosaurs and shared the same ancestors with dinosaurs, but they weren’t dinosaurs. Their wings were not made from feathers like birds; rather, they were made from skin.
14. When dinosaurs first appeared, they were not the most dominant animal on earth
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Dinosaurs dominated the earth for millions of years. But when they first appeared, they met other animals that were more gigantic and powerful than them.
15. Scientists had discovered over 1000 species of non-avian dinosaurs
( source by: Only Dinosaurs)
There is a great diversity among dinosaurs. Hence over 1000 different species had been discovered. These different species varied in size, structure, nutrition, and behavior. While some were extremely large, some were tiny, some were carnivorous, some were herbivorous, some had feathers, and some didn’t. But they were all vertebrates, reptiles, and laid eggs.
16. Some dinosaurs lived for up to 300 years
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The oldest human being in modern records lived for 112 years, but scientists believed that some dinosaurs lived for 300 years. That is like imagining someone born around 1720 to still be alive till now. You can read more about the lifespan of dinosaurs at the blog Dinosaur lifespan: How long did a dinosaur live?
17. Dinosaur lived in every part of the earth
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Despite the difference in the weather condition and vegetation in different parts of the world, dinosaur fossils had been discovered on all continents of the earth. Even Antarctica that has limited support for life, had dinosaur fossils. That shows that the animals roamed every part of the earth during their era. It also shows that the variation in the earth’s climate at the time may not be as significant as it is today.
18. Many dinosaurs walked on two legs
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All dinosaurs have four limbs like other reptiles (think of lizard, turtle, crocodile, and alligator, but don’t think of snake). However, while other reptiles walk on all their four limbs, most of the carnivorous dinosaurs walk only on two limbs like humans. They use the other two limbs in a similar way you use your hands. They use them to hold objects and do other activities. Also, using two limbs to walk is faster than using four.
19. Some dinosaurs moved in groups
( source by: Only Dinosaurs)
It is rare to see reptiles moving in groups these days, but dinosaurs did. Many species of dinosaurs were believed to had walked in large groups. Scientists believe this may be to protect their young ones or hunt for big preys, or both.
20. All dinosaurs were terrestrial
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There are many aquatic reptiles, even in the time of dinosaurs. But no dinosaur was predominantly aquatic. All dinosaurs were terrestrial. There are pieces of evidence that some dinosaurs used to go to the water to look for prey. Still, no swimming dinosaurs or dinosaurs were living permanently in water like turtles, crocodiles, or other aquatic reptiles.
21. Dinosaurs lived on earth for about 170 million years
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Dinosaur first appeared on earth about 233 to 242 million years ago, and non-avian dinosaurs became extinct about 66 million years ago. That means they lived on earth for about 167 to 176 million years.
22. Not all species of dinosaurs walked the earth around the same time
( source by: Only Dinosaurs)
Although dinosaurs’ mass extinction happened suddenly, some species had become extinct even before other species came. For instance, Tyrannosaurus rex (T-rex) appeared around 72 million years ago, while Stegosaurus became extinct about 140 million years ago.
23. There are toothless dinosaurs
( source by: Only Dinosaurs)
The dentition of an animal is determined by the kind of food it eats. Flesh-eating dinosaurs have sharp and serrated teeth, but others like Ornithamimus and Gallimimus were toothless. They fed on small animals like insects and small mammals. Scientists believe they may also have fed on plants and eggs.
24. Some dinosaurs have almost a thousand teeth
( source by: Only Dinosaurs)
Hadrosaurs had 960 teeth, which was the highest number of teeth a dinosaur had. They were majorly plant-eating dinosaurs, but they also eat crustaceans.
25. Dinosaurs had small brains
( source by: Only Dinosaurs)
Dinosaurs might be big, but their intelligence was not proportional to their sizes. Most of them had small brains, and they were just as intelligent as today’s snake, lizard, or crocodile.
26. We haven't found all the dinosaurs
The fossil record is not complete—animals that lived in upland environments scoured by erosion had poor chances of being preserved, for instance—and that’s not accounting for sampling bias dictated by researcher interests and what field specialists can actually remove from the rock. It’s even possible that some species of dinosaurs have completely disappeared.
