Dinosaurs Quiz

Answer: Sauropods. Sauropods are quadrupedal herbivorous dinosaurs characterized by a long neck, a long tail, and often gigantic size. Diplodocus and Brachiosaurus are famous examples.

Answer: Stegosaurus. Stegosaurus is recognizable by its large bony back plates, whose exact purpose (defense, thermoregulation, display) is still debated, and its tail tipped with spikes known as a "thagomizer".

Answer: Paleontologists. Paleontology is the science that studies fossils and extinct organisms, including dinosaurs. It is distinct from archaeology, which studies the remains of human societies.

Answer: Ankylosaurus. Ankylosaurus was covered in bony plates (osteoderms) and had a rigid tail club it likely used as a defensive weapon against predators.

Answer: North America. Tyrannosaurus rex fossils have mainly been discovered in western North America, notably in the present-day states of Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota, as well as in Canada.

Answer: Euoplocephalus. Euoplocephalus, like other ankylosaurs, had a stocky body armored with bony plates, as well as a tail ending in a heavy club likely used for defense against predators.

Answer: It lived before the dinosaurs and was closer to mammals. Dimetrodon lived in the Permian, about 295 to 272 million years ago, more than 40 million years before the first dinosaurs appeared. It is a synapsid, a group that much later gave rise to mammals.

Answer: A walnut. It was long believed to have a 'second brain' in its hips: it was actually a nerve cavity. That did not stop it surviving for millions of years.

Answer: Triassic. The Mesozoic is divided into the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous. The first dinosaurs were small and walked on two legs.

Answer: Terrible lizard. The word "dinosaur" comes from the Greek "deinos" (terrible, fearsome) and "sauros" (lizard). It was coined by British paleontologist Richard Owen to describe this new group of fossil reptiles.

Answer: Megalosaurus. Megalosaurus, described by William Buckland in 1824, is the first dinosaur genus to be formally named and published in scientific literature, even before the word "dinosaur" was coined.

Answer: About a dozen to several dozen eggs. Fossilized nests found so far, notably from dinosaurs like Maiasaura, show clutches ranging from around a dozen to thirty eggs, arranged in a circle or spiral pattern.

Answer: Styracosaurus. Styracosaurus was a ceratopsian with a frill bristling with long bony spikes, along with a prominent nasal horn, making it one of the most striking frilled dinosaurs.

Answer: Mary Anning. Although best known for her discoveries of fossil marine reptiles in 19th-century England (such as the ichthyosaur), Mary Anning is considered one of the pioneers of modern paleontology, paving the way for the scientific study of dinosaurs.

Answer: Andrew Carnegie. The steel magnate wanted to spread science… and his name. The replica given to the Paris Natural History Museum in 1908 is still on display.

Answer: Antarctica. At the time the continent was not covered in ice and lay further north. Its strange crest earned it the nickname 'Elvisaurus', after Elvis Presley's hairstyle.

Answer: Stones swallowed to help grind plants in the stomach. Like today's birds that swallow grit, these polished stones crushed food, since the animals lacked teeth able to chew.