The origin of dinosaurs has been one of the most pressing mysteries and topics of debate in the last century. But even now very little is known about these lizards. What were they like? Can a dinosaur be considered the “king of nature” and the top of the food chain of its period?
Answers to these and many other questions have never been found. Even those pieces of information that archaeologists and paleontologists have been able to collect are based rather on the analysis of fossils and theories built around the principles of life of similar organisms.
Many species of dinosaurs are still only superficially studied, and therefore there is no need to talk about a sufficient knowledge base on this issue.
Basic classification of dinosaurs
The differences between dinosaur species are dictated by habitat, food preferences, diet, and even class.
Some names come directly from the names of the discoverers, as well as the territories where the skeleton of a particular lizard was first found.
The type of dinosaur also varied significantly depending on which predator was dominant in the region. So, to
for example, huge diplodocus were perfectly protected from small aggressors, for example, deinocheira, but they didn’t just hunt for the young of this subspecies of herbivores, they literally threatened their population.
In general, dinosaurs can be divided into 4 classes:
- Predators.
- Herbivores.
- Flying.
- Aquatic.
However, some dinosaurs managed to combine several classes in their specificity.
Predators
The class of predators includes several subspecies, which can be conditionally grouped into two categories: large and schooling.
The first class, for example, includes the T-rex, or, more simply, the tyrannosaurus. It was one of the most famous predators of its period, which was about 65 million years ago.
This dinosaur, like its fellows, is characterized by a solitary lifestyle, hunting mainly for large game. With fangs 15-19 centimeters long, it was not a problem for this lizard to bite through even the strong shell of a stegosaurus or fight with a triceratops.
Its name even contains a direct reference to the reputation of the lizard - namely the prefix “ti”, the entomology of which is close to “terror”, which translates as “horror”.
The same kind of dinosaurs also include Allosaurus, Dilaphosaurus, Carnotaurus and Megalosaurus.
The latter species is very characteristic, but the complete skeleton of this lizard has never been found.
School predators They were distinguished by considerable intelligence and hunted mainly young animals of large herbivorous dinosaurs and sick loners.
They could not only coordinate their actions within the pack, they were in contact with
other representatives through sound effects. If the brain of an average stegosaurus reached the size walnut, then in Velociraptor it was already the size of a large orange.
A distinctive feature of this type of dinosaur is the large claw on the first toe of the hind paw, through which hunting took place.
The velociraptor jumped onto the back of its prey, after which it tried to break the spine or inflict wounds leading to blood loss. This type of dinosaur is characterized by hunting in a pack, the type of which is similar to the actions of wolves.
Herbivores
The class “herbivores” has several subspecies. Most often they are called according to the names of several of the most famous representatives (Triceratops, Stegosaurus and Diplodocus).
At one time, the last one mentioned was for the entire period of the existence of lizards. Its length from nose to tip of tail reached 30 meters.
Ultrasaurus was supposed to become the new record holder, but, as in the case of Megalosaurus, a complete skeleton of the lizard was not found. This species is characterized by its enormous size, even the “smaller” of them, namely Apatosaurus reached a record 22 meters.
The dinosaur called Triceratops was not in danger of a head-on fight. Like the modern rhinoceros, this dinosaur crushed the enemy with its horns, although there were three of them, and the lizard’s neck was covered with a bone “collar”, which also served to regulate heat exchange.
Stegosaurs and brontosaurs preferred defense to attack. Such dinosaurs simply needed to stay on their feet, huddle in a pack and patiently wait out the attack. Their backs are tightly protected by a horny shell.
The stegosaurus also had spikes at the tip of its tail, with which the lizard skillfully defended itself from small aggressors.
One of the heaviest dinosaurs, namely the brontosaurus, had a heavy bone club at the end of its tail, which could easily break the skull of, for example, a velociraptor.
Water
Aquatic dinosaurs are almost entirely represented by the class of predators. The largest of them, namely the plesiosaur, according to a number of scientists, may well be the one. The length of its neck reached 11-15 meters.
Mosasaurs and ichthyosaurs have been named as the ancestors of modern dolphins.
The Pliosaurus, also known as Predator X, was the most aggressive. This dinosaur is characterized by attacks, including on its own relatives. It is likely that killer whales are the descendants of the pliosaur. Most of these lizards became extinct after average temperature The waters began to fall as a result of the onset of the Ice Age.
Flying
Some flying dinosaurs later evolved into birds, others remained their own subclass, but they were a serious threat in their environment and deserve mention.
He hunted insects (the size of which reached 2 meters during the period of the lizard’s existence) and he himself was far from small. It was in his skeleton that the remains and traces of feather cover were found, after which the origin of modern birds from this subspecies was proven.
The second subclass, represented by the pterodactyl, had a fur coat and huge leathery wings. Dinosaurs of this species have a diet of fish, fruits and insects.
Each type of dinosaur had its own specifics and characteristics. Such a compressed characteristic is not capable of giving a full assessment of them, but is sufficient for the primary one. At one time, dinosaurs were a huge force, but later they lost the battle to nature and even mammals, losing primacy once and for all.
Dinosaurs, which translated from Greek means terrible (terrible) lizards (lizards), are a superorder of above-ground vertebrates that existed and led an active lifestyle throughout Mesozoic era. Dinosaurs are considered the first vertebrates to settle throughout the planet, while their ancestors, amphibians, were forced to live only near bodies of water, to which they were attached due to the specific nature of reproduction. Finds of the first representatives of dinosaurs date back to 225 million BC. e. Over the history of its existence, which lasted for 160 million years, this superorder multiplied enormously, giving rise to a huge number of varieties. Scientists estimate that the number of dinosaur genera at the time of their peak prosperity could reach 3,400, although so far, as of 2006, only 500 of them have been confidently described. Each genus had an indefinite number of species. As of 2008, 1,047 species of these ancient vertebrates had been described. And on this moment, as a result of new archaeological discoveries, this number is increasing.
At the border of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic, a certain global shock occurred, which served mass extinction of dinosaurs, after which only pitiful units remained of the reptiles that had dominated throughout the Mesozoic.
Classification of dinosaurs using the pelvic bone method
Dinosaurs can be classified in different ways. Some are comfortable due to the specifics of their work and literary works sort ancient vertebrates of the Cretaceous period by size, some by habitat, since at that time there were aquatic reptiles, land reptiles and aeronautics. Some people prefer to divide dinosaurs into bipeds and quadrupeds. But the main generally accepted form of classification is dinosaur classification using the pelvic bone method, proposed back in 1887 by the famous English paleontologist G. Seeley.
Rice. 1 - Classification of dinosaurs
Despite the fact that the ancestors of all dinosaurs without exception are considered to be a group of ancient reptiles archosaurs, at the beginning of the Triassic, their development took different paths. It was from this time that it happened division of reptiles based on the structure of the pelvis on the:
- Lizard-pelvic;
- ornithischians.
But this does not mean at all that all lizards originated from lizards, and birds came from ornithischians. These are conventional names, associated only with the fact that in lizards the pubic bones of the pelvis were primarily directed forward, in the manner of modern crocodiles, while in ornithischians they were directed backwards, in the manner of birds.
It would be difficult to determine which group this or that dinosaur belongs to. These groups differ much more clearly in the structure of their jaws. Lizards had jaws with rows of teeth arranged strictly along the edges in one row, reaching to the tip of the muzzle. All teeth had a conical or chisel shape and were each located in its own separate cell. Ornithischians had lower jaws ending in the anterior part with a predentary bone. Often there were no teeth in the front part and the upper jaw. Often, the front part of ornithischian dinosaurs simply looked like a massive, horny turtle beak.
Lizard-hipped dinosaurs
Lizard-hipped dinosaurs(Fig. 2) were divided into:
- Theropods- appeared at the boundary of the Cretaceous and Jurassic and are the largest representatives of predatory carnivorous reptiles that existed until the end of the Cretaceous period and the worldwide cataclysm that caused the mass extinction of species.
- Sauropodomorphs- also originated in the Late Triassic, some of which were the most gigantic creatures in the entire history of the Earth. All of them were herbivores and were, in turn, divided into two more subgroups, namely, prosauropods who lived in the Late Triassic - Early Jurassic and the later and more developed sauropods that replaced them closer to the middle of the Jurassic.
Rice. 2 - Lizard-hipped dinosaur
Theropods were mostly bipedal predators, but there were also omnivores, such as therizinosaurus or ornithomimids. Some of the theropods, such as Spinosaurus, reached 15 meters in height. These predatory representatives of lizards had three advantages over other dinosaurs, which were:
- extreme agility and speed of movement;
- unusually developed vision;
- freedom of the front legs, since they ran on two unusually developed hind legs, and thus could freely perform any other functions with their front legs.
Giant growth often had detrimental consequences for theropods. For example, a tyrannosaurus, catching up with its prey, had to be very careful when running, since with its impressive dimensions (one of its hind limbs reached a height of 4 meters), any wrong step, any bump or uneven ground could cause a fall, which often led to tangible and sometimes fatal injuries. In its turn, theropods are classified on the:
- coelurosaurs, small and nimble bird-like dinosaurs such as ornithomimes and velociraptors;
- carnosaurs, predators large sizes, examples of which were the aforementioned Tyrannosaurus and Allosaurus.
Sauropodomorphs had a sacral brain that was 20 times larger than the brain. Despite their enormous weight and size, they became frequent victims of predatory dinosaurs. The enormous size of these ancient reptiles was a consequence of the increase in intestinal mass necessary for the digestion of hard-leaved plants. As a result, along with the stomach, the rest of the body was forced to increase in size. Examples of such lizards were camarosaurs, giraffatitans, brachiosaurs, etc.
Let's take a closer look at theropods using the example of one of the most numerous predators of the Middle Jurassic - allosaurus(Fig. 3). On average, these predators reached a height of 3.5 meters at the withers and 8.5 meters in length from muzzle to tail. Their habitat was the North American, Southern European and East African parts of the ancient continent of Pangea.
Rice. 3 - Allosaurus
Allosaurs had a fairly large skull, their jaws were equipped with a huge number of sharp teeth. In order to balance the body when moving, in contrast to the massive head, there was an equally massive tail, with which the animal often knocked its victims off their feet. The massive head was often used for the same purpose. Compared to other large terrapods, allosaurs were relatively small, but this gave them more maneuverability and mobility. There is also evidence that such large dinosaurs, like some representatives of sauropods, like brontosaurus and thyreophora, like stegosaurus, they hunted in a herd method, like modern wolves. Although many scientists are skeptical that these animals could coexist in packs. In their opinion, for this they had too primitive mental development and extremely strong ferocity and aggressiveness.
Ornithischian dinosaurs
Despite their name, scientists have proven that it was not they, but the lizard-hipped dinosaurs that later became the avian ancestors. But, returning precisely to ornithischian dinosaurs(Fig. 4), note that they classified into two main suborders, namely:
- thyrophores;
- cerapods.
Rice. 4 - Ornithischian dinosaur
TO thyreophores include herbivorous dinosaurs such as ankylosaurs and stegosaurs. A distinctive feature of these lizards was that their body was partially covered with shell armor, and there were huge shield-like growths on their backs.
In rank cerapods includes marginalocephals, such as ceratopsians and pachycelosaurs and all ornithopods, the most widespread representative of which was iguanodon(Fig. 5).
Iguanodons had their peak in distribution in the first half of the Cretaceous, and inhabited vast areas of the European, North American, Asian and African parts of Pangea. The 12-meter and 5-ton iguanodons walked on two massive hind legs; in the front of their muzzle they had a massive beak, with which they plucked the plants they needed. Next came rows of teeth, more similar to the teeth of iguanas, only much larger.
Rice. 5 - Iguanodon
The forelimbs of iguanodons were a quarter the size shorter than the hind limbs. The thumbs were equipped with spines, with the help of which the animal defended itself from predators. The most mobile of the fingers of the forelimbs were the little fingers. It should be noted that iguanodons could not run, their hind limbs were adapted only for leisurely walking, which is why they often became victims of predators such as allosaurs, tyrannosaurs, etc. The hind limbs had three fingers, like modern chickens, and their spine and massive tail were supported by strong tendons.
Problems of classification of dinosaurs in our time
Many scientists insist that a large number of The already described dinosaurs did not previously exist, since some of the described varieties were nothing more than doubles of previously described species. The difference between them was supposedly only that they were either at an earlier or at a later stage of development. Also, a fairly large group of scientists insists that about 50% of all dinosaurs found were classified and named incorrectly.
Thus, current paleontologists are divided into two camps. While some continue to further divide the bulk of the found remains of ancient reptiles into ever new species based on the identified significant and not very distinctive features, others completely doubt the correctness of the species described earlier.
Eodromaeus
Every year, scientists discover more and more new species of dinosaurs. Among them, for example, Sauroniops, named after the dark magician from The Lord of the Rings, the big-nosed Pinocchio Rex, the terrible Siats Meekerorum, which terrorized the tyrannosaurs, and many others.
If you ask to name a dinosaur, most likely long-known species will come to mind, such as Tyrannosaurus or Triceratops. However, science already knows hundreds of species of ancient lizards, and every year paleontologists discover the fossilized remains of more and more new ones.
Scientists named the predatory lizard the size of a tyrannosaurus, discovered in 2012, in honor of the dark magician from Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” and the film trilogy based on it by Peter Jackson.
What could a dinosaur that hunted in common have in common? North Africa and a book villain?
The fact is that the only surviving bone of the prehistoric beast was its eye socket. This alone was enough to identify the dinosaur as completely the new kind. Naturally, scientists came to mind with the darkly glowing giant eye of Sauron from the fantasy trilogy, which ultimately gave its name to the new species.
Sauroniops Pachytholus dines on a young Spinosaurus. Two other spinosaurs flee for their lives
Eodromaeus
In addition to the giant dinosaurs, which exceeded the length and height of modern land mammals, at one time there were many small species on Earth, no larger than cats or dogs.
These include, for example, Eodromeus, whose body length is approximately 1.2 meters and weighs no more than five kilograms. This carnivorous animal lived 230 million years ago in Argentina and was likely the ancestor of larger predators such as the Tyrannosaurus rex.
Eodromaeus
Anzu Wyliei
Another mythological name was given to a funny lizard that lived in the northeastern United States. Anzu Wyliei is the name of a feathered demon from Mesopotamian mythology.
This three-meter-tall oviraptor dinosaur weighed approximately 225 kg and was an omnivore. The basis of its diet was plants and small animals.
The paleontologist who discovered the well-preserved skeleton of Anzu Wyliei initially dubbed it the “chicken of hell.” In fact, this creature resembles a hybrid of, say, an emu and a tyrannosaurus. But despite its comical appearance, the lizard was a dangerous opponent thanks to its powerful jaws.
Anzu Wyliei as imagined by the artist
Qianzhousaurus sinensis
Another very comical species, discovered a few weeks ago at excavations in China. Thanks to the elongated shape of his skull, he was nicknamed "Pinocchio" in honor of his long-nosed brother Pinocchio.
The muzzle of Pinocchio Rex was long and narrow, and the nose was 35% longer than the noses of any known dinosaur of similar size.
Qianzhousaurus Sinensis is a close relative of the most famous carnivorous dinosaur, Tyrannosaurus rex. Paleontologists believe that Pinocchio's body shape allowed him to run faster than his cousin, making him a more dangerous predator.
Artist's impression of Qianzhousaurus sinensis
Torvosaurus Gurneyi
Torvosaurus, recently discovered in Portugal, was one of the largest animals ever to live in Europe. Its length reached 10 meters, and it weighed about 4-5 tons.
Scientists initially mistook it for another known species of torvosaurus that lived in North America, Torvosaurus tanneri. However, after careful study, it turned out that this species has fewer than 11 teeth in the upper jaw, but those present are 10 cm longer than those of its American relative.
Artist's impression of Torvosaurus gurneyi
Yongjinglong Datangi
Of course, new species are constantly being discovered among herbivorous dinosaurs. These include the recently discovered difficult-to-pronounce Yongjinglong Datangi in northwest China.
The new lizard belongs to the genus of titanosaurs - the largest land animals that have ever existed on our planet. The bones found most likely belong to a young individual, but, nevertheless, we're talking about about a titanosaur measuring 15-18 meters in size.
This species of titanosaur is considered one of the most evolutionarily advanced of the specimens so far discovered in Asia. By the way, if previously it was believed that most various types dinosaurs were found in the USA, then starting in 2007, China broke this record.
Yongjinglong datangi
Europelta carbonensis
Not one, but two skeletons of a new species of nodosaur were found last year in a Spanish mine. The new dinosaur received the strange name Europelta Carbonensis - “coal shield of Europe”.
Nodosaurs lived almost everywhere on Earth during the Late Jurassic period. Ancient view, found in Spain, is more similar to its European counterparts than to its American relatives. This means that perhaps Europe and North America became separate continents already 110 million years ago, and not 80 million years ago, as previously thought.
An artist's impression of Europelta Carbonensis
Leinkupal Laticauda
This is the first dinosaur from the genus Diplodocus discovered in the territory South America. Leinkupal in the Mapuche language of Patagonia means “disappeared family”; laticauda in Latin means a wide tail. Although it is smaller than its African relatives, it is still a respectable 9 meters long.
Diplodocus, belonging to the group of four-legged sauropods, was distinguished by elongated necks and tails, which were used in defense against predatory relatives. The found remains of Leinkupal Laticauda date back to the Early Cretaceous period, which makes them unique, because until now it was believed that all Diplodocus went extinct in the Late Jurassic.
Leinkupal laticauda as imagined by the artist
Siats Meekerorum
Another predatory dinosaur, which likely terrorized the tyrannosaurs for some time. Siats Meekerorum is the name of a man-eating monster from North American Indian legends in Utah, where his remains were discovered.
This monster lived in the United States 98 million years ago - at that time tyrannosaurs were much smaller. Its length was 10 meters, and its weight was up to 4 tons. Thanks to the found remains of Siats Meekerorum, paleontologists were able to establish the name of the “king of beasts in North America at that time.”
Siats Meekerorum as imagined by the artist
Kryptodrakon Progenitor
Discovered in northwest China, the pterosaur is believed to be the oldest known flying reptile. Judging by the remains found, he lived 160 million years ago.
Although its descendants reached the size of small airplanes, the wingspan of this cryptodragon was only 1.4 m. The ancient pterosaur did not live in coastal areas, like other pterodactyls, but on land.
Artist's impression of Kryptodrakon Progenitor
These giants dominated our planet for more than 160 million years, but at the end of the Cretaceous period they completely disappeared as a species. Scientists are still finding remains of dinosaurs that completely disappeared as a species about 66 million years ago. And even now their size is amazing!
In total, paleontologists count more than 1,000 species of dinosaurs, but only ten of them can be distinguished by a special feature. They do not have outstanding sizes, are not bloodthirsty, but are simply very strange.
10 Amargasaurus
This species was first described in 1991, after José Bonaparte discovered remains in the La Amarga quarry. A distinctive feature of this dinosaur is two rows of spines on the neck and back, approximately 65 centimeters long. Amargasaurus has no other outstanding qualities.
Scientists are still arguing why there were spikes on the back of this lizard. This design significantly reduced the dinosaur's mobility, so protection from predators was in doubt. We can definitely say that the male Amagasaurus had longer spines, which means it used them for mating games.
9 Concavenator
This carnivorous dinosaur was first discovered in 2003, and scientists are still debating its strange skeleton. The concavenator had a small body about 6 meters long and a strange feature - a hump between the 11th and 12th vertebrae of the skeleton.
The hump did not serve any useful function, just like the bumps in the bones of the concavenator’s forearms. But paleontologists were able to take a fresh look at the theory of the relationship between birds and dinosaurs, because before this, feather rudiments had not been observed in any relative of this dinosaur.
8 Kosmoceratops
Another strange representative of this species belongs to the horned dinosaurs. Perhaps this is where all its advantages end. The name Kosmoceratops does not come from the word cosmos, but means ornate in ancient Greek.
And it is really, very richly decorated! Kosmoceratops had 15 horns, and in terms of their number, it is the most equipped dinosaur. True, there was no point in them, except that the beautiful horns came in handy during mating games.
7 Kulindadromeus transbaikalensis
This miracle animal, as the name implies, was discovered in Russia, in the Kulinda Valley in 2010. Since then, the minds of scientists have not stopped digesting information, because Culindadronius has violated all conceivable theories about dinosaurs.
It belongs to the group of ornithischian dinosaurs, but does not have wings (or their rudiments). All previously found representatives of this group did not even have feather rudiments, which caused discussions in the scientific world. So far, it has been established that feathers were used by this dinosaur to maintain warmth and for mating games.
6 Notronichus
This wonderful dinosaur belongs to the genus of therapods (predators), but is a herbivore. His remains were discovered in 1998 on a ranch in New Mexico. It had a rather impressive weight - 5.1 tons and a height of about 5 meters.
Now imagine a giant sloth standing on the ground. This is exactly what this dinosaur looked like, which greatly surprised paleontologists. Its huge claws were a completely unnecessary adaptation, given its herbivory. Nootronichus was very, very slow because of the claws...
5 Oryctodrome
This ornithischian dinosaur had a very unusual property for its species. Small, only 2.1 meters long and weighing 22 kg, it looked like a modern mole or rabbit.
Yes, oryctodromeus dug holes and hid in them from predators. It looks like a pretty cute wombat, only many times larger. The spectacle was obviously funny - a dinosaur that lives in a hole and digs the ground with its claws!
4 Ganzhousaurus
This species was discovered in the province of the same name in China in 2013. Scientifically it is called Qianzhousaurus, and in everyday life it is called “Pinocchio dinosaur”. In practice, he is a tyrannosaurus, only slightly modified.
The fact is that the Ganzhousaurus has a very long jaw, the structure of which defies explanation. Their cousins, tyrannosaurs, have a very massive skull that could withstand powerful blows. Why would a Pinocchio dinosaur, with the same body structure, have a long jaw that cannot withstand the load is a real mystery.
3 Rhinorex
This species belongs to the genus of herbivorous hadrosaurids, but differs from them in one feature in the structure of the skull. Rhinorex simply has a huge nasal plate that defies any explanation.
The purpose of this dinosaur's nose has been debated by scientists for many years. Like his relatives, he did not have a special sense of smell, so such a growth on the nose is meaningless from the point of view of convenience. The duck-billed dinosaur is still being studied and researched by paleontologists.
2 Stygomoloch
Oh, his name already inspires fear - translated it is “horned demon from the river of hell.” This herbivorous dinosaur had a domed skull with horns located at the back.
The name stygimoloch comes from mythology - Moloch (a Semitic deity) and Styx (a nymph in Hades). Scientists are still arguing why he needed such a strange skull and have come to the conclusion that these are again mating games. Stygomoloch fought his opponents with the help of his convex forehead and horns.
1 Yutyrannus
This type of dinosaur was related to the Tyrannosaurus rex, although the difference is immediately visible. It was covered with short, chicken-like feathers, about 15 centimeters long. He was a predator, although at first glance he did not look at all intimidating in these feathers.
Moreover, it weighed quite a lot, about two tons. Findings of such dinosaurs increasingly lead scientists to believe that all representatives of this species first had feathers, and then lost them during evolution.
Humanity is lucky that these powerful creatures became extinct many millions of years ago. Even the strangest and most absurd of them could destroy a person with one blow.
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