Dinosaurs – The Terrible Lizard
The word ‘dinosaur’ means ‘terrible lizard’, but dinosaurs were not lizards. They were reptiles. Reptiles are animals that have skin covered with scales and not fur or feathers. Dinosaurs looked very different from the reptiles like crocodiles, lizards, turtles and snake that we see today.
Not ell dinosaurs looked similar, as there were many different types of dinosaurs. Their shapes and sizes were different. Their tails, legs, neck, hands and scales were not very same. It is interesting to know that some of them had spikes on their bodies, horns over the eyes and on the nose. However, as no one has actually seen them, it is difficult to imagine what colours they were and whether they had spots, stripes or any other specific markings over their bodies.
Dinosaurs lived on the Earth many millions of years ago. Then about 70 million years ago, all the dinosaurs on the Earth extinct. None could survive.
Different information about the existence of the dinosaurs that men have today, is based on the skeletons that were found buried deep under the thick layers of soil. Men have collected many facts about these massive reptiles from their remnants discovered deep inside the Earth.
Based on the structure of the hipbone, dinosaurs are classified into two groups. These groups are bird-hipped dinosaurs and lizard-hipped dinosaurs. The lizard-hipped dinosaurs were meat-eaters as well as plant-eaters. Some of the meat-eater dinosaurs were small, swift and alert while others were huge, very heavy and fierce. Such dinosaurs moved on two legs. The ‘Wannanosaurus’ was the smallest dinosaur, which was of the size of a chicken. The Tyrannosaurus’ was the most fearsome meat-eater. It was about 49 feet long. It had a very big skull and powerful jaws.
Plant eating dinosaurs had a long neck and a long tail. These parts supported their huge bodies. They moved on four legs. However, some could also move on two legs. The ‘Seismosaurus’ was a plant eating dinosaur that was about 40 meters long. It is believed that it was longer than a big aeroplane.