dinosaurs of the jurassic period

Brachiosaurus, one of the largest land animals to ever roam the earth, lived during the middle to late Jurassic period.

Dinosaurs, one of the most successful groups of animals (in terms of longevity) that have ever lived, were found in many diverse sizes and shapes, with many diverse modes of living. The term Dinosauria was invented by Sir Richard Owen in 1842 to describe these fearfully great reptiles, specifically Megalosaurus, Iguanodon, and Hylaeosaurus, the only three dinosaurs known at the time. The creatures that we normally think of as dinosaurs lived during the Mesozoic Era, from late in the Triassic period (about 225 million years ago) until the end of the Cretaceous (about 65 million years ago). But we now know that they actually live on today as the birds.

Firmly planted between the Triassic and the Cretaceous periods of geologic time, the Jurassic period lasted for approximately 70 million years, beginning 206 mya (million years ago) and lasting until 144 mya.

Great plant-eating dinosaurs roamed the earth, feeding on lush, green ferns and palm-like cyads and bennettitaleans, Smaller, but vicious, carnivores stalked the great herbivores. Oceans teemed with fish, squid, coiled ammonites, great ichthyosaurs and long-necked plesiosaurs.

Today, when you think Jurassic, images of the incredibly successful book and movie “Jurassic Park” probably come to mind. Although it is true that dinosaurs dominated the land animals of that period, many of the dinosaurs featured in “Jurassic Park”, such as the Triceratops and the Tyrannosaurus rex, did not emerge until after the Jurassic was over. The largest land animals of the Jurassic period were the gigantic sauropods, such as the Diplodocus, Brachiosaurus and Apatosaurus. Other herbivorous dinosaurs of the Jurassic included the plated stegosaurs. Fearsome predatory dinosaurs included carnosaurs such as Allosaurus, small, fast coelurosaurs, and ceratosaurs such as Dilophosaurus. The first birds, such as the Archaeopteryx, appears during the Jurassic as well.

Guanlong

Guanlong (wucaii)

Name means: Crested dragon or five colored crown dragon

Length: About 10 feet ( 3 m)

Weight: Unknown ( I couldn't find out the weight so if anyone finds it tell me).

Diet: Meat

When: 160 mya

Where: Dzungaria, China

Prey: Mammals/small or young dinosaurs

Basic info: This is supposedly the oldest known ancestor of T-Rex (If you believe in evolution). This dinosaur was first discovered by scientists from the George Washington university, and named by Xu Xing in 2006. The only real difference between Guanlong and other Tyrannosaurids is the crest on it's head. It may have been used during a mating season to attract a mate, But was too fragile to be used for fighting. Scientists also don't know if this is a feature only found on males, since not many have been found. Also unlike other Tyrannosaurids, Guanlong had three-fingered hands instead of the usual two.

Rhamphorhynchus (pterosaur)

Rhamphorhynchus was a long-tailed pterosaur of the Jurassic period. Its name means 'beak snout'. Only 17.5 cm (7 in) long but with a wingspan of 100 cm (3 ft), it was less specialized than the later pterodactyloids. It had a long tail stiffened with ligaments which ended in a diamond-shaped vane.

Rhamphorhynchus ate fish, frogs,and insects and it is believed that one of the ways it hunted was by dragging its beak in the water, catching fish and tossing them into its throat pouch, a structure similar to that of pelicans, which has been preserved in some fossils. This method of catching fish is found today in skimmers.

Although fossils have been found in England, the best preserved come from the Solnhofen quarry in Bavaria; many of these fossils preserve not only the bones but impressions of soft tissues such as the wings and tail.

Rhamphorhynchus laid eggs instead of giving birth to its young. It belongs to the Suborder Rhamphorhynchoidea.
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Pterosaurs, often referred to as pterodactyls, were flying reptiles. They existed from the late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous Period (228 to 65 million years ago). Pterosaurs were the first vertebrates to fly. Their wings were formed by a membrane of skin, muscle, and other tissues stretching from the thorax to a dramatically lengthened fourth finger. Earlier species had long, fully-toothed jaws and long tails, while later forms had a highly reduced tail, and some lacked teeth.

Pterosaurs are sometimes referred to as dinosaurs, but this is incorrect. The term "dinosaur" is properly restricted to a certain group of terrestrial reptiles with a unique upright stance (superorder Dinosauria), and therefore excludes the pterosaurs, as well as the various groups of extinct aquatic reptiles, such as ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, and mosasaurs.
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Dakota: the hadrosaur mummy

The discovery of a mummified hadrosaur was recently made public. The dinosaur, named Dakota, was found in North Dakota in 1999 by a then-16-year-old boy, Tyler Lyson. The hadrosaur is not a mummy in the King Tut sense of the word. It has been fossilized, complete with uncollapsed skin enveloping the arm, legs and tail indicating the preservation of muscular tissues. The chest cavity was not preserved presumably due to scavenging before mummification.

Initial study of this specimen indicates that hadrosaurs were bigger and faster than first imagined . . . 3.5 tons and up to 40 feet long. The preserved ligaments and tendons has provided researchers with enough information to estimate muscle mass of the hadrosaur, and therefore allowing them to estimate the top speed of this animal at 45 km per hour (about 15 kph faster than the T. rex -- a predator of the hadrosaur).

A pattern of banding on the larger and smaller scales of Dakota indicate stripes, which is often associated with color change, like a chameleon.

Stegosaurus

Stegosaurus

Name Means: Plated Lizard

Length: 30 feet (9 meters)

Weight: 5.5 tons (5,000 Kg)

Diet: Herbivore

When: Late Jurassic

Where: Colorado, the western U.S., and parts of Europe

Threats: Allosaurus and possibly Ceratosaurus

Basic Info: This has been my favorite herbivore ever since I saw it, and a lot of other peoples' favorites. The plates on it's back were probably used for cooling the Stegosaur off. It could have also been used for defense, flushing it's plates with blood to make itself seem more frightening. It could have also been used during the mating season to attract mates. It's brain was the size of a walnut... Well at least one of them is... There is a section in the hip region of the spinal chord that may have actually been used for a second brain! If there was a second brain in it's hip it would have probably only been used for controlling reflexes in the rear part of the body. There is now doubt what the tail spikes were used for... Defense. The Stegosaur, when alarmed, would turn sideways and swing it's tail at whatever would try to attack it. The Pangaea theory was virtually proven when the same exact genus of Stegosaur was found in Europe and North America.

Coelophysis

Coelophysis

Name Means: Hollow form

Length: 9 feet (1.2 meters)

Weight: Around 100 pounds (45.5 Kg)

Diet: Carnivore

When: Late Triassic

Where: New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah

Prey: Small mammals, lizards, Dinosaurs, and Insects

Basic Info: Coelophysis was first named by Edward Drinker Cope in 1889 during the famous "Bone Wars" era against his competition Othniel Charles Marsh. An amateur fossil collector named David Baldwin found the first specimen of the creature in 1881 on a New Mexico ranch. Coelophysis are proven cannibals. Some skeletons were found of it with baby Coelophysis in it's stomach. A graveyard of Coelophysis were found at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico in 1947, possibly swept away by a flash flood.

Trivia: Coelophysis was the second fossil to be taken into space (Miasaura was the first).

Coelophysis is the state fossil of New Mexico.

I'm back, With vengeance!

OK folks, I know that I haven't posted in a while, but that is about to change. I'm in school so I can't blog much, but Christmas is coming. I'll try to make up for my lost time during the break.