Non-avian dinosaurs went extinct 65 million years ago. Since then, there have been no other creatures quite like the dinosaurs. The following article explores interesting facts about dinosaurs and other animals that lived alongside.
- Modern-day birds are the sole surviving lineage in the dinosaur family tree
- A species of Titanosaur which was unearthed in Argentina in 2014 is the largest animal to ever walk to earth. From its fossil fragments, the animal was estimated to be over 65 feet tall and 130 feet long. It also weighed a colossal 77 tons – as much as 14 African elephants.
- Lesothosaurus is the smallest fully-grown dinosaur to be ever found. It was slightly larger than a chicken and was believed to have had an omnivorous diet.
- Micropachycephalosaurus is a dinosaur that lived 245 million years ago. Its name meant “tiny thick-headed lizard”. It also has the longest name of any dinosaur.
- Stegosaurus was a very unique dinosaur, with a giant, leaf-like plate on its back. However, its brain size was ridiculously small – no larger than 3 cms long and weighing no more than 75-100 grams.
- The tallest ever dinosaurs belonged to the Brachiosaurid group of sauropods. The animals under this group had their forelegs significantly longer than their hind legs – which gave them a giraffe-like stance. The most well-known member of this group was brachiosaurus – growing more than 13 meters tall.
- One of the fastest dinosaurs to ever have existed belonged to the ornithomimids. Most members under this group could run at speeds of up to 60 kilometres per hour.
- Pterosaurs were animals that lived alongside dinosaurs but were not technically dinosaurs. What made them special was that they could fly. The largest among them was Quetzalcoatlus – with a wingspan of 13 meters. For reference, the wingspan of the Cessna-182 aircraft is 10.9 meters.
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