THE SANTA MONICA MUSEUM OF
NATURAL HISTORY
DINOSAUR FOSSIL IDENTIFICATION PRESENTATION
DINOSAUR FOSSIL IDENTIFICATION PRESENTATION
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Fossil Identification, Hands-On Project
Fossil Identification Presentation
Dinosaur Fossil Identification, Hands-On Project
Internship Programs
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Participants will view several dinosaur fossil fragments found from around the world. Herbivorous and carnivorous dinosaurs will both be displayed.
Dinosaurs come in many different forms. The two major group of dinosaurs according to bone structure are SaurischiaBudapest hôtels ("lizard-hipped", forward-jutting pubic bone) and Ornithischia ("bird-hipped", pubis slanted back). Dinosaurs are also classed by how many legs they walked on: bipedal (two-legged) and quadrupedal (four-legged). One other form of grouping dinosaurs is by what they ate: Carnivore (meat-eater) and Herbivore (plant-eater).
Dinosaurs lived during the Mesozoic Era (250- 65 million years ago). The Mesozoic Era is divided into three different periods including the Triassic (250-202 million years ago), the Jurassic (202-141 million years ago), and the Cretaceous(141-65 million years ago). It is important to note that each segment of geologic time represents a period of either major geologic change, mass extinction, and/or major evolutionary changes.Triassic Period (250-202 million years ago)
During the Triassic Period, due to plate tectonics, the land above sea level had moved together to form the supercontinent Pangea. Most of the land was dry and arid with more vegetated areas in the coastal regions. The main forms of vegetation were palm-like cycads, conifers, gingkos, and ferns. These plants ranged in size from very small to tree-like.
Along with the dinosaurs, many of the same phyla existed as they do today (e.g.; mammals, insects, bacteria). Animals like the crocodile and tiny mammals existed throughout the Mesozoic Era. Reptiles ruled the land in the early Triassic and in the later part of the Triassic, dinosaurs began to evolve. Dinosaurs of the Triassic Period include: Carnivores- Staurikosarus and Coelophysis Herbivores- Mussaurus, Melanorosaurus, Technosaurus, and PlateosaurusJurassic Period (202-141 million years ago) In the Jurassic Period Pangea was splitting up. Rifts in the continental crust formed the area known as the Atlantic Ocean. These changes gave rise to climate changes in the inland deserts. The climate around the Earth was turning more humid. The increase of rain fall helped to make the plant life more green and lush. In the early Jurassic, the majority of plant eating animals were Prosauropod and Ornithischian dinosaurs. In the later part of the Jurassic, huge Sauropods dominated the land.
Dinosaurs of the Jurassic Period include: Carnivores- Camptosaurus and Allosaurus Herbivores- Hadrosaurus and Stegosaurus
Cretaceous Period (141-65 million years ago) In the Cretaceous period, land masses looked similar to how they look today. The land mass known as Laurasia split up to form parts of North America, Europe, and Asia. And the land mass known as Gondwanaland split up to form parts of South America, Africa, and Australia. Animals from land masses that did not touch other land masses (ie. Australia) began to evolve separately from one another. In the equatorial region the climate was getting drier and throughout the world, forests were becoming thinner. The Cretaceous Period still had some of the same plant life found in the Triassic and Jurassic periods, but the first flowering plants were evolving during this time.During the late Cretaceous small mammals were rising in population and snakes evolved from the lizards. The Cretaceous Period was known for some of the most diverse and interesting forms of dinosaurs that later died out in the end of the Mesozoic Era.
Dinosaurs of the Cretaceous Period include: Carnivores- Deinonychus and Tyrannosaurus Herbivores- Saltasaurus and Triceratops
No one knows for sure as to why the dinosaurs became extinct. Some theories include: gradual extinction, depletion of food source, new poisonous plant life, plate tectonic movement, volcanic eruptions, or a giant meteorite from outer space. These theories are all viable and all may have lead to the dinosaurs' demise.
Arrange fossils onto a large table. Be creative, you can design your display by geologic periods or maybe by what they ate. Name tags identifying the species helps out a lot.
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Fossil Identification, Hands-On Project
Fossil Identification Presentation
Dinosaur Fossil Identification, Hands-On Project
Internship Programs
| Back to In-Class Main Page |