CONTENTS Introduction 4 Ready, set... go! 42 Story of life 6 Browsing giants 44 Finding fossils 8 Little and large 46 Fossil hunters 10 Plated stegosaurs 48 Dinosaur science 12 Armored ankylosaurs 50 Mesozoic Era 14 Toothy tales 52 Back to the Mesozoic 16 On the menu 54 Beneath the waves 18 Boneheads 56 Hunters in the sky 20 Top male 58 Soaring pterosaurs 22 Crests and frills 60 Dinosaur family tree 24 Spiky ceratopsians 62 Naming dinosaurs 26 Fine feathers 64 Inside out 28 Success story 66 Super senses 30 Eggs and young 68 Brainpower 32 Bringing up baby 70 Ultimate predators 34 On the move 72 Odd theropods 36 End of an era 74 Escaping the enemy 38 Life after the extinction 76 Battle royal 40 Glossary and index 78 Credits 80 US_002-003_Contents.indd 3 10/09/13 4:41 PM d i nosaurs T h e that livspedec tin the distant past were the most ac S o m e were huge, bigger t ular creatures to ever walk the Earth. rs ha e n a h ny other land ani Some even had f e a t mal that has ever lived. Pachycephal o s a u r u s p i k e s , and frills n s , s for Many had dram a t i c h o r defense and s h o w . Sauropelta Carcharodontosaurus h e t e t g n y i Others had t e r r i f a n d claws for killing their pre y. US_004-005_Intro.indd 4 11/09/13 3:38 PM s A lxasaurus pect S o m e were huge, bigger t acular creatures to ever walk the Earth. rsArcha e o p t e r y x ha e n a h ny other land animal that has ever lived. Some etvoe nk eheapd t fhee iart b o d i e s w arm. Sinornithosaurus osa u r u s pat A i c hthyo r nis t a h t r a e h l aOntdhe crsl ahwad st eforrr ki filyliinng gt hteeire pt rey. Sumucihmos And m onsot tTa am lela zsduiinrngvoliyvs ,ao iurt s ri ssl i avn ero e wa elclx tairn octu.n d u s, as b i r d S. 5 US_004-005_Intro.indd 5 11/09/13 3:38 PM STORY OF LIFE Dinosaurs are just part of the a y m PRECAMBRIAN story of life on Earth, which T 1 T A R 54 For billions of years, the only began about four billion years ago. S – living things were bacteria and E A R TMH S 600 similar simple microbes. During this vast span of time, a F O R 4 dazzling variety of living things have evolved and then died out, Anomalocaris often in mass extinctions. KEY Earth’s timeline is divided into eras, and these are further divided into smaller time spans called periods. GO a Early Earth Mesozoic Era FORWARD my CAMBRIAN 3 SPACES 5 8 Complex animals, which evolved Paleozoic Era Cenozoic Era 4 – about 600 million years ago, became 1 malsong . 54 common in the world’s oceans. Mass extinction 48ORDOVICIAN5–4Many hard-shelled ani43lived in the oceans, al mwith early forms of fishya 1 BSGAPCOAKC E DEVOMoNrIe thofA tahne tNsnh pt rheeec Die-DeereiqsEov uldoi AanvdiriitTeanedngrH s o u t. 358–298 mya CLdsipifAveiLde oeeRrspnresBi , dla wOoandintdheNd n b fdtoIheFrreceoEa nsfitRmsrs,eO t i nrreiUscpehtcSi ltaes,ns .d i P Rolfosteus s e OBAL DISASTERe than half of the specig in the oceans e destroyed. DTfihaEsiphsV pebOereaac Nraiesud Ios Aeifnt eN sntoh ecm aoallcenedya ntnhese.w a tgyep eosf GLMorvinwer li a mya SILURIAN FORGWOA RD ym 8 9 3 SPACES 5 1 Simple green plants such as Cooksonia started 3 GO 4 –9 BACK – growing on land. Meanwhile, fish evolved into 1 2 SPACES 43 forms very similar to those that live today. 4 4 Cooksonia 6 US_006-007_Story_of_life.indd 6 11/09/13 3:38 PM NEOGENE o ent QUATERNARY taes Humans spread around the globe Modern types of birds and mammals yr appeared. The ancestors of humans 2 me p as a series of ice ages gave way h to the modern world. evolved on the plains of Africa. Argentavis t 23–2 mya Uintatherium You will need: • Dice • One or more friends to play with • A small object to use as a counter for each person BITTER END PALEOGENE a CRETACEOUS y m The giant Birds survived and flourished, while 3 The first flowering plants appeared, GO 2 dinosaurs FORWARD mammals evolved rapidly to take 6– vanished. along with some of the most 2 SPACES the place of the large dinosaurs. 6 spectacular dinosaurs. GO BACK Archaeanthus 2 SPACES 145–66 mya PERMIAN How to Play: Mammal ancwehstioler sr eapptpileesa r ed, The player who rolls the highest number SIC manye theand. fldoryu rdisehseedrt icnl itmhea t e. dgiocee sa finrds tm. Wovhe etnh eit c’so yuonutre rt uarlonn, gro blly t thhee URAS d into becamals on l 298–252 mya nuthme btrear ffiroocln lce otdhn, eef sol.al lsThot wseqi nufigar srtteh pwel aidnyirsee!rc ttoio lnasn do n J aurs evolveorms. They minant anim nosnt fdo Dimetrodon THE BIG HIT Digia A global catastrophe eliminated almost all GO BACK life on Earth. TO START 252–201 mya Peteinosaurus GO BACK 3 SPACES a TRIASSIC RIVALS my DIE OUT 5 As life slowly recovered, the first 4 1 dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and true Most dinosaur 1– Guanlong 0 mammals evolved. competitors were 2 wiped out. 7 US_006-007_Story_of_life.indd 7 11/09/13 3:38 PM finding There are many different types of fossils that provide scientists with important clues about the past. try this maze to find some fossils fascinating fossils yourself. sTART HERE Everything we know about dinosaurs comes from studying their fossils . Some are remains the of body parts like bones and F o ssilized shark tooth teeth , buried so long ago that they have turned to StonE. found by Many fossils are accident . Even scientists who where know to look nd Fossil mold n fro often find fossils er Fossil f surprise Aan f oasnsiiml mal oilsd p froersmsesd w inhteon that them. mud that turns to stone. This one shows a trilobite, a long-extinct sea creature. US_008-009_Finding_fossils.indd 8 10/09/13 4:06 PM Petrified wood Trees that have been turned to stone preserve tree rings that show how they grew. Dinosaurs may have eaten the leaves of these trees. Dinosaur tracks The three toes of this footprint show it was made by a meat-eating theropod dinosaur. Trace fossils such as this one preserve marks made by animals. Trapped in amber This spider got stuck in sticky tree sap millions of years ago. The sap hardened into rocklike amber, so every detail of the spider is preserved. Body fossil Most dinosaur fossils preserve parts of their bodies, such as this Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton. Usually, the bones are scattered, but sometimes 9 they are joined together, as in life. US_008-009_Finding_fossils.indd 9 10/09/13 4:06 PM Fossil hunters Dinosaur fossils survive for millions of years because they are sealed inside rocks. As rocks are worn away by the weather, they reveal the fossils hidden in them. Scientists make special expeditions to dig these out, sometimes finding evidence of dinosaurs that no one knew existed. Discovery In some parts of the world, rocks that date from the dinosaur age contain hundreds or even thousands of dinosaur fossils. These sites are famous, but many others are still hidden underground, waiting to be discovered by keen-eyed fossil hunters. k y l o s a u r f o ssil n A RSretooOoccmcro aukotesrvehtsxl,ceoha eupetkfmftfbreroraula.taysays lesaklF l cs slnhykoeayttir el in afra lssna cerveg ttn uafgfehribfotlwed toee ettr na u ho foamcrftogy neuootlbt.rea mdsctheiaecs nk oen ih ti lennhfsst ea uh oe,edhas pdfayay rattt .en roa w ddr ei t h S tBluaacdcblekyeox Tartaanahthfm toeteueoi yshsxrsnp soeciy opoe, lifmf fmtse otstii ctshcennaeiohistr neeigiueeesl m.m m,n srn bnSte tubaieocececsssnuliownd tetoeds ugu e sns ssmanmek teinlit ezayssodlr..ten ee sft pyoo lirncmsa sst ehe en 10 US_010-011_Fossil_hunters.indd 10 10/09/13 4:06 PM Dental drill C hisels Scraper TCoophofc atilaruopisonan spect cesfv tikibot fnaenthaismrkthrng keauhsce a timtpafses unt,ohmcn l agmdbetsre lh satabeuslwieepy entlett.ras y eo oyws tisS ro r lh ldsa mcmkoouo enoia,wrteyf oa kdn an n, kan m dnwt ocetfi dh htusois ttisssudssh st ere i ellss. t roy Hammer s e h s u r B G o g g le s k y l o s a u r f o ssil n A s e v o Gl Helmet Reconstruction Usually, some of the bones are missing, so scientists use their knowledge of similar animals to fill in the gaps. They can also figure out the position and size of the dinosaur’s muscles. Eventually, they are able to build up a picture of what the dinosaur might have looked like. 11 US_010-011_Fossil_hunters.indd 11 10/09/13 4:06 PM