Dinosaurs Are Dandy 3! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Tyrannosaurus rex

It may surprise you, but T. rex was not the largest dinosaur to have ever lived! There is one appropriately named Gigantosaurus who was a bit bigger. Roaming the earth about 70 million years ago, the T. rex was definitely fearsome. In spite of his size, it is estimated that he could run about 20 miles an hour! His teeth were 12 inches long, perfect for his carnivore (meat eating) lifestyle.

Answer: Triceratops

Triceratops lived about 68 million years ago. Because he was a herbivore (plant eater), you would think he led a peaceful life. But think again! His three horns were probably used for defense - presumably against carnivore dinosaurs - plus he had a bony frill around his neck for protection. No one was going to grab him by the neck!

Answer: Velociraptor

As his name implies, the carnivore velociraptor was a scavenger, but probably killed his food as well. Living about 75 million years ago, velociraptor had a larger brain than most dinosaurs. When the creatures hunted together in groups, as scientists believed they did, it was very difficult to escape them. Recently found fossil evidence suggests that velociraptor had feathers! No, he didn't fly! It is believed that the feathers were used for warmth or perhaps mating rituals.

Answer: Stegosaurus

Living about 150 million years ago, the fossils of the plates on the back of the Stegosaurus reminded its discoverer of roof tiles - hence the name! Scientists still do not exactly know how the plates were used, but they theorize that they were either for defense, mating display, or regulating body temperature. This herbivore had a very small brain, approximately the size of a ping pong ball! It's probably a good thing that he didn't have to work too hard to find food.

Answer: Spinosaurus

Spinosaurus, who lived about 112 million years ago, has the distinction of being the largest carnivore dinosaur found to date. How big was he? Fossils suggest that he was about 59 feet tall and weighed as much as 20 tons. That's the size of three adult elephants put together! He lived on both land and water, and apparently shook his prey to death before devouring it. You may have noticed from pictures that Spinosaurus had a huge sail-type fin that came out of his back. Why? Scientists believe that it might have somehow helped regulate his body temperature.

Answer: Archaeopteryx

Inhabiting the earth about 150 million years ago, Archaeopteryx was about the size of a modern day raven - so not nearly as large as most other dinosaurs. Even though he had wings, scientists are still trying to decide if Archaeopteryx could actually fly.

Some experts think Archaeopteryx was a species that was a link between dinosaurs and birds; however, others believe he was an ancestor of other dinosaurs that were covered with feathers. The presence of sharp teeth and claws has led scientists to believe that Archaeopteryx was a carnivore, eating small animals and maybe even insects.

Answer: Brachiosaurus

Living 154 million years ago, Brachiosaurus was an herbivore. He had a very long neck - like a giraffe - so it seems that he enjoyed eating the tree tops. Why was he called "armed lizard"? His front legs were actually longer than his back ones. In comparison to other dinosaurs, he was huge, growing to an estimated 82 feet in length and weighing up to 62 tons! So could Brachiosaurus actually rear up on his hind legs to pick the highest and best leaves off the trees as shown in "Jurassic Park" (1993)? It is highly unlikely that his hind legs could have supported all that weight for any length of time!

Answer: Allosaurus

So what made Allosaurus different? At the time of his discovery in 1877 his backbone was different - having some vertebrae that were concave and described as being shaped like hourglasses - than other fossils that had previously been found. During the time he existed on earth, about 150 million years ago, Allosaurus was the largest carnivore predator. Like T. rex, he had tiny forelimbs that were probably used to tear meat apart, and lots of large teeth. Apparently he regularly shed his teeth, because a lot of Allosaurus teeth have been found!

Answer: Brontosaurus

And why was Brontosaurus a thunder lizard? This herbivore was a huge 72 feet long and 17 tons in weight! Do you think the earth trembled when he walked on it 150 million years ago? Interestingly, scientists believe that this dinosaur could have lived to be 100 years old! At one time it was decided that a Brontosaurus and Apatosaurus were the same creature, so Brontosaurus was written out of dinosaur history. Now scientists have determined that his neck is different enough to make him his own species, so Brontosaurus is back!

Answer: Pterodactyl

The oldest creature on this list, living 200 million years ago, the pterodactyl was part of a group called Pterosaurs. They were flying reptiles and are not actually considered to be dinosaurs, however, they are more closely related to other dinosaurs than any other reptiles today.

This creature was about 3.5 feet long and weighted between 2-10 pounds. He was a carnivore with a very long beak and sharp teeth that probably ate small animals and fish.