Dinosaur of the Day

[frogfish]

Tyrannosaurus Bataar was also once known as Tarbosaurus

[frogfish]

Eustreptospondylus

Eustreptospondylus oxoniensis

Pronounced: u-Strep-toe-spon-Di-lus

Diet: Carnivore (Meat-Eater)

Name Means: "Well Reversed Spine"

Length: 25 - 30 feet (7 - 9 m)

Height: 10 - 14 feet (3 - 4.5 m)

Weight: 1 - 2 tons(900 - 1,800 kilos)

Time: Jurassic

Location: Northern Europe

This was a curious carnivore (meat-eater) from the Jurassic Period. The only fossils of it that scientists have to study are those of a teenage version of the dinosaur. It is one of those dinosaurs that there is just enough of the fossil to get a pretty good idea of what it looked like, but enough is missing to keep the experts guessing as to its exact look.

It is possible that it is related to the Allosaurus or Megalosaurus because it had similar characteristics, but it currently still occupies its own genus. The original specimens, described in 1841 by Richard Owen, have been lost so there is nothing with which to compare it. Specimens found in northern France are also possibly members of the genus, but have yet to be positively identified. The type specimen was a sub-adult and as such further hinders the classification efforts.

[SG7]

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Saurornitholestes

Saurornitholestes langstoni

Pronounced:sore-Orn-ith-oh-less-tees

Diet:Carnivore (Meat-Eater)

Name Means:"Lizard Bird Robber"

Length:6 feet (2 m)

Height:2 feet (.7 m)

Weight:50 pounds (21 kilos)

Time:Late Cretaceous - 76 MYA

Fact Card: Download a flash card to cut out and quiz your friends

Location:North America

Saurornitholestes was a small but fierce hunter and a member of the raptor family of dinosaurs that includes the famous Velociraptor. In fact, some scientists think that Saurornitholestes may actually be a Velociraptor. Unfortunately, not enough of its skeleton has been found to make any absolute decisions.

The partial skull fragments of Saurornitholestes seem to indicate an extremely close relationship with Velociraptor, but its body remains, which are very incomplete, more closely resemble Deinonychus. An interesting discovery was made of a Saurornitholestes tooth imbedded in a pterosaur bone. The pterosaur was a fairly large individual so scientists believe the smaller dinosaur most likely scavenged the carcass. At the time of its discovery, this was the first reported fossil bone discovered with a predator's tooth actually preserved in it.

[SG7]

Ha forgfish whare is this place. I thart you would know.

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[SG7]

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Rapator

Rapator ornitholestoides

Pronounced:Rap-ah-tore

Diet:Carnivore (Meat-Eater)

Name Means:"One Who Raids"

Length:26 feet (8 m)

Height:12 feet ( 3.8 m)

Weight:1 ton (450 kilos)

Time:Early Cretaceous - 110 mya

Fact Card: Download a flash card to cut out and quiz your friends

Location:Australia

Rapator was a large meat-eater from Australia - maybe. To date, only one hand bone has been found, but it is enough for scientists to determine the basic type of dinosaur from which the bone came. This is a good example of how a little clue can provide a lot of information. Rapator was probably about as large as Allosaurus, but it isn't known if they were related.

Australia is not known for its dinosaur discoveries, so Rapator represents a rare and interesting bit of prehistory. It has been suggested that Rapator was a large ornitholestid, a carnosaur, or even a very large bird-like dinosaur. Some have envisioned this creature as feathered and belonging to the alvarezsauria

[frogfish]

Diceratops

Diceratops Hatcheri

Pronounced:

Diet: Herbivore (Plant-Eater)

Name Means: "two-horned face"

Length: 30 feet (9 m)

Height: 8 feet (2.7 m)

Weight: 12 tons (10,900 kilos)

Time: Late Cretaceous - 68 MYA

Location: Wyoming United States

This dinosaur was similar to Triceratops in many ways. The main differences are that it had a small nose horn and some small holes in its frill. It was as big as Triceratops, so some scientists think it may have been a Triceratops with a bone disease that made it look different.

Diceratops is the name given to a single skull found nearly a hundred years ago. It appears to be a Triceratops, but has unusual openings in its frill. It may be separate species, or a Triceratops with a pathological cause for the holes in its frill. A 1996 study of the specimen concluded it is a valid genus, but that is still not universally accepted.

[SG7]

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Deltadromeus

Deltadromeus agilis

Pronounced:Dell - ta - Dro - me - us

Diet:Carnivore (Meat-Eater)

Name Means:"Delta Runner"

Length:25 feet (8 m)

Height:8 feet (2.4 m)

Weight:3 tons (2,700 kilos)

Time:Late Cretaceous - 73 MYA

Fact Card: Download a flash card to cut out and quiz your friends

Location:North Africa

Deltadromeus was a fast meat eater, sort of like a very large raptor. It had big claws, strong legs, and lots of sharp teeth. Only one partial skeleton has been found so there is still a great deal about this dinosaur that remains a mystery. To date, a skull hasn't been found, but scientists have uncovered its teeth, and because of this they can only guess at what its head looked like. Much of its body has been found, however, so scientists know how big it was, and by comparing it to similar dinosaurs they can make a good guess as to how it looked when it was alive.

Deltadromeus is known mostly from a single, very fragmented partial skeleton that was found in 1995 by Paul Sereno from the University of Chicago. Bones and sharp, one-inch-long, serrated teeth found in the Baharia Formation have been attributed to this species, but this has yet to be proven as the skull for the species has not been found. Skeletal elements indicate that it was a fast, agile carnivore with many similarities to coelurosaurs like the older Ornitholestes from the Jurassic. Dr. Sereno's National Geographic-sponsored expedition was most successful as he also discovered the only substantial specimen of Carcharodontosaurus.

[frogfish]

Nodosaurus

Nodosaurus textilis

Pronounced: no-do-Saw-rus

Diet: Herbivore (plant-eater)

Name Means: "Knob Lizard"

Length: 20 ft. (6 m)

Height: 9 ft. (3 m)

Weight: unknown

Time: Late Cretaceous - 95 MYA

Location: N. America

Discovered in 1889, Nodosaurus was one of the first armored dinosaurs to be discovered in North America. This dinosaur was first thought to be a member of the family that includes Stegosaurus. Nodosaurus was a plant-eater and was well protected from most meat-eaters with its thick armor. This is an important dinosaur because it helped define one of the two families of armored dinosaurs. Unlike the other family (what is the other family?), the nodosaurs didn't have clubs on the end of their tails.

Like many dinosaurs collected during the Cope-Marsh bone war discoveries, this dinosaur was not collected with great care. Its exact locale was not noted with sufficient attention to detail and scientists can only assume the exact formation that once held this dinosaur

[Jack_of_Blades]

I saw something like this on jurassicparkinstitute.com

[frogfish]

Tsintaosaurus

Tsintaosaurus spinorhinus

Pronounced: ching-Dow-o -Saw-rus

Diet: Herbivore (plant eater)

Name Means: "Qingdao Lizard"

Length: 33 feet (10 m)

Height: 13 feet (4 m)

Weight: 3 tons (2,700 kilos)

Time: Late Cretaceous - 80 MYA

Location: Asia

This strange duckbill is sometimes called the Unicorn Dinosaur because it had a long horn in the middle of its forehead! It was such a strange looking creature that for years some scientists thought that the horn was a mistake until another of these plant-eating duckbills was found with the same feature. Like other duck-billed dinosaurs, Tsintaosaurus had hundreds of teeth packed closely together to form what is called a dental battery. These were used to grind tough plant fiber into mushy pulp.

Tsintaosaurus has caused no small amount of debate among scientists, partly due to the poor preservation of its skull. The exact position and function of its 'horn' are far from being agreed upon, despite the discovery of two partial skulls and remains of at least four individuals.

[Thunderbolt]

Dilophosaurus

Dilophosaurus wetherilli

Pronounced: die-Loaf-o-Saw-rus

Diet: Carnivore (Meat-Eater)

Name Means: "Double Crested Lizard"

Length: 22 feet (7 m)

Height: 10 feet (3 m)

Weight: 1,000 pounds (450 kilos)

Time: Early Jurassic - 190 MYA

Location: Western U.S., China

Dilophosaurus was the largest meat-eater of the early Jurassic. It was made famous by the movie Jurassic Park, but the movie did not present an accurate picture of this dinosaur. Because it was the biggest and most ferocious of its time, it would not have needed to be poisonous (it was probably not a "spitter" like in the movie). It is also much larger than the movie version.

Dilophosaurus gets its name from the two thin crests of bone on the top of its head. These were probably used as a display for courtship purposes (scientists don't believe it had a frill on its neck like the movie version). Dilophosaurus has been found in both the U.S. and China, which, although part of the same huge landmass, were still quite a long distance from each other.

As an early predatory dinosaur, Dilophosaurus did not have forward facing eyes to give it stereo vision. It may have used scent as an integral part of its hunting technique. It had long and slender, rear-curving teeth in long jaws and strong front arms which would have been effective in grabbing prey. It was fast - probably with a top speed of about 30-mph. It also had a long tail that could have been used as a whip in a fight. Footprints attributed to Dilophosaurus appear in groups, so it may have hunted in small packs. It shares the same overall body configuration as its ancestor the Coelophysis.

[frogfish]

Gallimimus

Gallimimus bullatus

Pronounced: Gal-ih-my-mus

Diet: Carnivore (Meat-Eater)

Name Means: "chicken mimic"

Length: 18 feet (6 m)

Height: 8 feet (3.5 m)

Weight: 1,000 pounds (500 kilos)

Time: Late Cretaceous - 70 MYA

Location: Asia

Gallimimus was a speedy predator, the largest of its type. They were called chicken mimics because they probably moved like modern flightless birds. Unlike other meat-eaters, Gallimimus had no teeth. In fact, it had a very small head. This was probably one of the fastest dinosaurs, with speed like a modern cheetah, it could probably run up to 60 mph.

With its small, toothless head, it is believed that Gallimimus probably had a diet of insects, small animals, eggs and maybe even some plants. They hand very long fingers and long arms, which they could use for digging or grabbing eggs. They had a much longer neck that any other therapod dinosaur. In Jurassic Park they were shown as large flock, but we don't know if that was real or movie behavior.

[Master Sage]

Will the findings ever ceaece?

[SG7]

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Stygimoloch

Stygimoloch spinifer

Pronounced:Stig - ee - Moe - lok

Diet:Omnivore ( Meat &Plant-Eater)

Name Means:"Styx Moloch" (mythology)

Length:10 feet (3 m)

Height:5 feet (1.8 m)

Weight:440 pounds (200 kilos)

Time:Late Cretaceous - 70 MYA

Fact Card: Download a flash card to cut out and quiz your friends

Location:Western U.S

A member of the same family that includes the better-known Pachycephalosaurus , this dinosaur was smaller and had a skull that wasn't quite as thick. In 1995, fossil hunter Mike Triebold found a complete skeleton of this fascinating dinosaur. This was a remarkable find as before his discovery, no member of the pachycephalosaur family had been discovered with both the head and body together. His find showed that this dinosaur could never have butted heads like many had thought. If it did, it would probably have broken its neck!

The ring of horns that encircled its thick skull was probably used for display and it may have been used as a club for hitting others of its own kind during courtship. It is not likely that it could have been used as a serious weapon.

Stygimoloch is an interesting dinosaur for a number of reasons. Although it lived in the late Cretaceous, it had a number of primitive characteristics. It had five fingers, it had teeth similar to Stegosaurus in the back of its mouth, but the front was filled with sharp incisors similar to a carnivore.

Stygimoloch was originally discovered in the late 1800s, but almost 100 years would pass from the discovery of the first fossil elements to the discovery of the definitive specimen by Triebold in 1995. In between, all of the remains that had been found were misidentified as those from a Pachycephalosaurus. In fact, even Triebold's specimen was initially misidentified as Pachycephalosaurus.

[frogfish]

Einiosaurus

Einiosaurusp procurvicornis

Pronounced: ie-nee-o-SAWR-us

Diet: Herbivore (Plant-Eater)

Name Means: "Forward Curving Horn"

Length: 16 Feet (6m)

Height: 5 feet (2.6 m)

Weight: 1 Ton (1,800 kilos)

Time: Late Cretaceous - 70 MYA

Location: Montana, Western United States

Einiosaurus was a member of the Ceratopsian family, highly successful plant-eating animals from the Late Cretaceous. While many members of this family are known for having hard neck frills, spikes, and horns, the Einiosaurus was one of the most remarkable of the ceratopsians with its nose horn that looked like a giant can opener.

Looking at an Einiosaurus from the front, the most impressive feature would have been the horn growing on its short snout. This horn was long and narrow, and curved down and directly ahead of the animal. Behind the head was a bone frill that contained two large spikes sticking up from the top. This would present a formidable appearance for any predators approaching Einiosaurus.

Bone-bed evidence indicates that Ceratopsae moved in single-species herds, unlike other herbivorous dinosaurs who appear to have traveled in mixed herds. This may mean that Einiosaurus had defensive herd behavior, shielding the young inside the herd by forming a circle whenever danger threatened.

The major controversy concerning the Ceratopsae is the way in which they stood. It is not clear if they had an upright posture like elephants, or a sprawling posture like lizards. The more upright posture would indicate greater speed in relation to predator dinosaurs, but would require the Ceratopsae to have narrow rib cages. A sprawling posture would allow for a bigger rib cage that was more common among herbivores, but would make the animals slower and more vulnerable to attack. The horns and spikes were not of much use as defensive weapons.

[SG7]

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Gastonia

Gastonia burgei

Pronounced:gas-Tone-ee - ah

Diet:Herbivore (Plant-Eater)

Name Means:"For Gaston"

Length:16 feet (5 m)

Height:5 feet (1.8 m)

Weight:1 ton (900 kilos)

Time:Early Cretaceous-130 MYA

Fact Card: Download a flash card to cut out and quiz your friends

Location:Western U.S.

Gastonia was a member of the family of armored dinosaurs that included Ankylosaurus. It was a medium-sized plant eater built low to the ground and its back, neck and head were covered with bony plates.

The Gastonia type specimen was discovered in the same quarry as the better-known Utahraptor. It is known from an almost complete skeleton and several skulls.

[frogfish]

Nanotyrannus

Nanotyrannus lancensis

Pronounced: NAN-oh-tie-RAN-us

Diet: Carnivore (Meat eater)

Name Means: Tiny tyrant

Length: 17 feet (5 m)

Height: 7 feet (2 m)

Weight: 1 ton (900 kilos)

Time: Late Cretaceous - 70 MYA

Location: Western U.S.

Nanotyrannus is known from a single skull and jaw. The skull was originally thought to be that of an Albertosaurus, but significant differences were noticed years after it had been prepared and stored on a museum shelf. The skull was re-prepared, studied and re-described by Dr. Robert Bakker. Nanotyrannus had the honor of being the first dinosaur to be CAT scanned.

Nanotyrannus had forward-facing eyes like T. rex, which gave it very good depth perception. It had sharp, serrated teeth and powerful neck muscles. Combined, these tools would have made it an excellent hunter.

Some paleontologists believe that Nanotyrannus is a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex, partly because some of the skull bones are not fused, indicating an immature animal. A few paleontologists have suggested it may be a type of huge dromaeosaur (raptor).

[Master Sage]

Whoa! Thats a cool looking one!

[frogfish]

Acrocanthosaurus

Acrocanthosaurus atokensis

Pronounced: ak-row-Kan-tho-Sore-us

Diet: Carnivore (Meat-Eater)

Name Means: "High Spined Lizard"

Length: 40 feet (13 m)

Height: 16 feet (5 m)

Weight: 3.5 to 5 tons (3,200 to 4,500 kg)

Time: Early Cretaceous - 110 MYA

Location: Southwestern United States

Called Acro for short, this dinosaur is a Therapod (a two-legged meat-eater) which had 68 long, knife-like teeth in its 5 foot long head. At 40 feet long, this dinosaur ruled the land about 35 million years before there were any T. rex's. Unlike T. rex, this dinosaur had larger, more powerful arms that could grab, hold and crush other dinosaurs. It could probably lift a small car off the ground!

There is one very interesting feature about the Acro, and that is the high spines along its back and neck. In fact the name Acrocanthosaurus means 'high spined lizard' in Greek (the last part of its name, atokensis, refers to Atoka County in Oklahoma where the only full skeleton was discovered). The spines are not nearly as big as those on some dinosaurs that have 'sails' on their back, like Spinosaurus. Instead, Acro's spines, the longest of which is about 2 feet, were anchors to which huge muscles were attached. This made Acro very strong and powerful. And Acros probably needed to be very strong because there is evidence that it hunted huge sauropod dinosaurs. In Texas, there are dinosaur tracks that show a large Acro tracking and hunting a large brachiosaur called Pleurocoelus. Some modern animals have a similar type of spine along their back to give them strength: horses, elephants and buffaloes all have this type of muscle suspension.

Acro had relatively small feet for a large dinosaur. This was because it lived in a drier climate and did not need a large surface area to keep it from sinking in mud. Although similar in size and weight to T. rex, its feet were only about half the size. T. rex lived in a much wetter environment and probably spent a lot of time walking through marshy ground. The teeth of an Acro were typical of the large meat-eaters of the late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous. They were long (as much as 9 or 10 inches if you include the root) and fairly thin, curving slightly inward with serrations along the front and back edges. This means that Acro did not necessarily use its teeth as a killing tool. Teeth like this were most likely used to rip big pieces of flesh from prey which it was holding with its powerful arms and feet. Unlike T. rex, Acro teeth could not have been used to crunch bone as they would break too easily. When its teeth did break, Acro had new teeth waiting. Like many dinosaurs, it was constantly shedding old teeth and replacing them with new.

Acrocanthosaurus is in the same family of dinosaurs as the Allosaurus, which was a very successful family of dinosaurs. It was most likely the dominant North American predator of the Early Cretaceous. It is known primarily from one specimen, nicknamed 'Fran' which was discovered in Atoka County, Oklahoma by Cephis Hall and Sid Love in 1983. The specimen showed a number of interesting pathologies, including a hole in the right scapula (shoulder blade) that had become infected. The ribs beneath and in front of this scapula appear to have been broken and healed, indicating that the animal had been injured. Scattered remains of Acrocanthosaurus have been found in Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Arizona.

[frogfish]

Supersaurus

Supersaurus vivianae

Pronounced: Sue-per-Sore-us

Diet: Herbivore (Plant-Eater)

Name Means: "Super Lizard"

Length: 98 feet (30 m)

Height: 54 feet (17 m)

Weight: 56 tons (50,000 kilos)

Time: Early Cretaceous - 135 MYA

Location: SW United States

Supersaurus was definitely one of the largest plant eaters of all time, and probably the largest member of the family that included Diplodocus . At just under 100 feet long, it was as long as three school buses! Its neck alone was 40 feet long.

Supersaurus is known from only a few bones, but these bones are enormous. The first bone found, a scapulacoracoid (shoulder bone) was over eight feet (2.4 m) long. James Jensen, one of North America's most prolific dinosaur hunters, discovered this creature in 1973 and excavated it in 1979. The bones are so large that some are still unprepared. Bones that were originally assigned to Ultrasauros have now been identified as being from Supersaurus.

[Master Sage]

I've acctulay heard of tht one.

[Jack_of_Blades]

Acrocanthosaurus

Acrocanthosaurus atokensis

Pronounced: ak-row-Kan-tho-Sore-us

Diet: Carnivore (Meat-Eater)

Name Means: "High Spined Lizard"

Length: 40 feet (13 m)

Height: 16 feet (5 m)

Weight: 3.5 to 5 tons (3,200 to 4,500 kg)

Time: Early Cretaceous - 110 MYA

Location: Southwestern United States

Called Acro for short, this dinosaur is a Therapod (a two-legged meat-eater) which had 68 long, knife-like teeth in its 5 foot long head. At 40 feet long, this dinosaur ruled the land about 35 million years before there were any T. rex's. Unlike T. rex, this dinosaur had larger, more powerful arms that could grab, hold and crush other dinosaurs. It could probably lift a small car off the ground!

There is one very interesting feature about the Acro, and that is the high spines along its back and neck. In fact the name Acrocanthosaurus means 'high spined lizard' in Greek (the last part of its name, atokensis, refers to Atoka County in Oklahoma where the only full skeleton was discovered). The spines are not nearly as big as those on some dinosaurs that have 'sails' on their back, like Spinosaurus. Instead, Acro's spines, the longest of which is about 2 feet, were anchors to which huge muscles were attached. This made Acro very strong and powerful. And Acros probably needed to be very strong because there is evidence that it hunted huge sauropod dinosaurs. In Texas, there are dinosaur tracks that show a large Acro tracking and hunting a large brachiosaur called Pleurocoelus. Some modern animals have a similar type of spine along their back to give them strength: horses, elephants and buffaloes all have this type of muscle suspension.

Acro had relatively small feet for a large dinosaur. This was because it lived in a drier climate and did not need a large surface area to keep it from sinking in mud. Although similar in size and weight to T. rex, its feet were only about half the size. T. rex lived in a much wetter environment and probably spent a lot of time walking through marshy ground. The teeth of an Acro were typical of the large meat-eaters of the late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous. They were long (as much as 9 or 10 inches if you include the root) and fairly thin, curving slightly inward with serrations along the front and back edges. This means that Acro did not necessarily use its teeth as a killing tool. Teeth like this were most likely used to rip big pieces of flesh from prey which it was holding with its powerful arms and feet. Unlike T. rex, Acro teeth could not have been used to crunch bone as they would break too easily. When its teeth did break, Acro had new teeth waiting. Like many dinosaurs, it was constantly shedding old teeth and replacing them with new.

Acrocanthosaurus is in the same family of dinosaurs as the Allosaurus, which was a very successful family of dinosaurs. It was most likely the dominant North American predator of the Early Cretaceous. It is known primarily from one specimen, nicknamed 'Fran' which was discovered in Atoka County, Oklahoma by Cephis Hall and Sid Love in 1983. The specimen showed a number of interesting pathologies, including a hole in the right scapula (shoulder blade) that had become infected. The ribs beneath and in front of this scapula appear to have been broken and healed, indicating that the animal had been injured. Scattered remains of Acrocanthosaurus have been found in Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Arizona.

My favorite!

[SG7]

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Baryonyx

Baryonyx walkeri

Pronounced:Bear - ee - On - ix

Diet:Carnivore (Meat-Eater)

Name Means:"Heavy Claw"

Length:40 feet (12 m)

Height:16 feet (5 m)

Weight:4 tons (3,600 kilos)

Time:Early Cretaceous - 120 MYA

Fact Card: Download a flash card to cut out and quiz your friends

Location:Northern Europe, Africa?

Baryonyx was first discovered in a clay pit in England in 1983 by an amateur fossil collector named William Walker. He found its one-foot-long hand claw and took it to the British Museum in London for help in finding out just what he had discovered. Like its relative, Spinosaurus, this dinosaur seems to have eaten mainly fish. It is thought that the huge claw on its hand would have been used to reach into the water and hook the fish.

The body and back legs of Baryonyx are similar to other theropod dinosaurs, but from there it gets a little peculiar. The arms were long and powerfully built. They had three fingers, one with an enormous claw. The skull was long and low with twice as many teeth - 128 - as most other theropods. Even more strangely, the nasal openings were located on top of its head, just in front of the eyes. It had teeth similar to Spinosaurus, long and conical with small serrations, which was also very unlike most theropods. Baryonyx's neck was long and relatively slender. It is no accident that its skull and teeth are very similar to those of a crocodile as they probably both had a diet consisting primarily of fish. Imagine them as huge reptilian grizzly bears, fishing with those terrible foot long claws.

Scientists are still studying the curiosities this dinosaur presents. It seems to combine some very primitive characteristics with more advanced dinosaurian design. As the only known specimen seems to have been a sub-adult, the upper limits of its size are still theoretical.

[frogfish]

Edmontonia

Edmontonia longiceps

Pronounced: ed-mon-Toe-nee-uh

Diet: Herbivore (plant-eater)

Name Means: "Of Edmonton"

Length: 22 ft.(7 m)

Height: 9 ft (3 m).

Weight: 4 tons (3,200 kilos)

Time: Late Cretaceous - 75 MYA

Location: N. America

Edmontonia is a member of the armored dinosaur family that includes Ankylosaurus. It did not have a clubbed tail like the better-known Ankylosaurus, but it had long, nasty spikes on its sides and thick, bony armor on its back and head. It also had a very long tail for this kind of dinosaur.

Edmontonia is one of the better-known nodosaurs, with several nearly complete specimens. Discovered in 1924, the genus was not named until many years later. Some material attributed to this genus is being debated as belonging to a new genus called Denversaurus. However, this is not yet widely accepted.

[frogfish]

Unenlagia

Unenlagia comahuensis

Pronounced: U-nen-Lah-gee-ah

Diet: Carnivore (Meat-Eater)

Name Means: "Half Bird"

Length: 10 feet (3 m)

Height: 5 feet (1.6 m)

Weight: Unknown

Time: Middle Cretaceous - 90 MYA

Location: South America

Unenlagia is the most bird-like dinosaur found so far - it even had arms that were designed so they could flap like a bird's wings! However, this dinosaur was much too large to fly, but it clearly shows how some dinosaurs were evolving to look and act like modern birds. Some scientists think that Unenlagia is actually a young Megaraptor, as the fossils were found in the same area.

Unenlagia is from the same general family that also includes many of the dinosaurs that exhibited bird-like traits, including those falling into the popular raptor category. It had a very pronounced backward-pointing pubis, and it appears as though its shoulder was designed to allow for flapping movements.