3 Press out one part of the hanger, marked A.Following the positions shown in the diagrams,assemble the mobile pieces and tie them to A.

The threads that link the mobile pieces should measurebetween 5 and 10 centimetres each.

Lizard-hipped dinosaurs Bird-hipped dinosaurs

Lizard-hipped dinosaurs Bird-hipped dinosaurs

5 Assemble the hanger by fitting A and B together.Following this diagram, slide A into B through thediagonal slit in B.

7 Press out the hook marked D and attach it to thethread from the top of the hanger. You can use thehook to hang up your mobile.

How to make yourmobilesYou will need some thread to hang your mobiles.

1 You will find the mobiles inside this book attachedto pages 6 and 7, and pages 10 and 11. Carefully detachthe mobile pages along the perforated edges.

2 Press out all the mobile illustrations, except thepieces marked A, B, C and D. Cut small lengths ofthread. Tie the thread to the mobile pieces by pushingthe ends into the slits and winding them round at leastthree times.

4 Now do the same with the second part of the hanger,marked B. Tie a thread to the top of B.

6 Press out the ring marked C. Pass the thread fromthe top of B through the centre of it. Press C onto thetop of the hanger until the four points of the X-shapedhole fit into notches cut in the hanger.

AM A Z I N G

At the river’s edgeThe time: 75 million years ago. Theplace: somewhere in NorthAmerica. Gathering at the river’sedge are herds of dinosaurs:Parasaurolophus,CorythosaurusandLambeosaurus.Can you see

JURASSIC PERIOD(210–144 million years ago)

CRETACEOUS PERIOD(144–65 million years ago)

Kentrosaurus5m longAfrica

Stegosaurus9m longNorth America

Triceratops9m long

North America

Carnotaurus28m longSouth AmericaTitanosaurus

12m longIndia

Saichania7m longMongolia

Coelophysis3m longNorth America

The world ofdinosaurs

ABOUT 230 million years ago—long before people existed—the

first dinosaurs lived on Earth. Theywere reptiles, but unlike other reptilesthey walked with their legs heldstraight and tucked underneath theirbodies, just as birds and mammals dotoday. In time, hundreds of differentkinds of dinosaurs spread all over theworld. There were massive beasts thesize of buses and tiny ones smaller thancats. Some grazed peacefully on plants,while others, armed with sharp teethand claws, were savage hunters.

Dinosaurs lived only on land.(Flying reptiles that lived at about thesame time were not dinosaurs, butpterosaurs.) For 165 million years, theywere rulers of the planet. No oneknows why they died out suddenly 65million years ago. Perhaps a cometcollided with Earth, bringing years ofcontinuous dark, cold winter that thedinosaurs simply couldn’t survive. Forwhatever reason, their reign was over.

Scientists call the time when dinosaurs lived theMesozoic Era. It is divided into three periods: theTriassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous. Different kinds ofdinosaurs lived in different parts of the world atdifferent times.

TRIASSIC PERIOD(245–210 million years ago)

PlateosaurusUp to 8m longEurope

Yangchuanosaurus9m longChina

Brachiosaurus24m longNorth America, Europe, Africa

Baryonyx11m longEarly CretaceousEurope and Africa

Allosaurus15m longLate JurassicNorth America,Africa, Australia

Troodon2m long

Late CretaceousNorth America

8-year-oldboy at samescale

DiplodocusUp to 27m longLate JurassicNorth America

Daspletosaurus8.5m longLate CretaceousNorth America

Albertosaurus8m longLate CretaceousNorth America

SkyscraperBrachiosaurusmay havebeen the largest dinosaur ofall. It lived about 150million years ago. If it werealive today it would be ableto look into the top windowof a four-storey building! Itused its extremely long neckto reach up to eat leavesfrom the tops of the veryhighest trees. It breathedthrough nostrils in the topof its head.

‘Tyrant lizards’Giant flesh-eating tyranno-saurs (‘tyrant lizards’)stalked the forests at the endof the Age of Dinosaurs.They all had massive headsand huge, saw-edgedteeth—even the ‘babies’ ofthe family, Albertosaurusand Daspletosaurus.

Tooth and clawTroodon (‘woundingtooth’) was probably thecleverest dinosaur. It had alarge brain and huge eyes,and may have been a night-time hunter. Baryonyx(‘heavy claw’) had a longhead shaped a little like acrocodile’s and strong frontlimbs. It used its hookedclaws for fishing.

Among the lizard-hipped dinosaurs were some of thelargest and fiercest creatures that ever lived on land.Allosauruswas one of the most terrifying dinosaurs. Ithad huge, clawed feet and long, powerful legs—but onlyshort arms. Its dagger-like teeth were backward-curving,making it difficult for its victim to escape from its jaws.Allosauruswas big enough to bring down Diplodocus,a leaf-browser and the longest dinosaur known from acomplete skeleton. Its long, powerful tail was probably its

Fight to the death

Longest, largest, cleverest, fiercest

DINOSAURS belong to one of two groups: the lizard-hipped orthe bird-hipped. The lizard-hipped dinosaurs are pictured here.

They had forward-jutting pubic bones (the lower part of thehipbone). Some were flesh-eaters, known as theropods, while otherswere long-necked plant-eaters, or sauropods.

Brachiosaurus24m long, 13m tallLate Jurassic andearly CretaceousNorth America,Europe, Africa

King of dinosaursOf all the great flesh-eaters that terrorized theearth during the Age of Dinosaurs,Tyrannosauruswas the largest and mostpowerful. Using its keen senses of sight, smelland hearing, Tyrannosaurusstalked herds ofhorned and duck-billed dinosaurs, watchingout for a young or sick animal. When thechance came, it charged at its victim, jawsgaping open, bringing down the unfortunatecreature with the sheer force of its attack.Those teeth, some up to 18 centimetres longand as sharp as steak knives, would have madeshort work of its prey.Why did this massive animal, tall enough to

look through an upstairs window, have suchtiny arms? Too short even to bring food toTyrannosaurus?mouth, they were, however,strong and each had two sharp claws. Theymay have been used to pin down its preywhile its teeth tore at the flesh.Tyrannosauruswas among the last

dinosaurs ever to have lived. Despite its greatpower, not even the king of them all couldsurvive the catastrophe that wiped out all thedinosaurs 65 million years ago.

‘Pretty jaw’About the size of a cat, Compsognathuswas one of the tiniest dinosaurs. Like a cat, itwould have carefully stalked lizards, insectsor small mammals through the undergrowthbefore pouncing on its victim. It had thin legsand bird-like feet, and looked quite likeArchaeopteryx,the first-known bird. Infact, the two animals lived in the same place atthe same time, and may have been closelyrelated. Compsognathus?name means‘pretty jaw’, perhaps after the tiny, delicatebones in its skull. Its jaw wouldn’t havelooked too pretty to a lizard about to be

‘Bird mimic’Ornithomimuswas a bird-like dinosaur. Itlooked like an ostrich with a long tail and nofeathers. Like that flightless bird, it wouldroam across the plains, sprinting away fromany danger using its long legs.Ornithomimuswas probably not a fussyeater: small mammals, lizards, insects, eggs,fruits and leaves could all be snapped up in itssharp-edged, but toothless, beak and

Blunt headCamarasauruswas, like Diplodocus,along-necked plant-eating dinosaur. Its headwas shorter and blunter, and it had a shorterneck and tail. Despite the curved claws on itsfront feet, it would have been no match for ahungry flesh-eater like Allosaurus.

Little cousinAnchisauruswas a smaller relative of themighty, long-necked plant-eaters likeDiplodocusand Brachiosaurus.Althoughits arms were shorter than its legs, it probablyspent most of its time on all fours. It mayhave reared up on its back legs when itneeded to crop leaves, to run at speed, or todefend itself with its sharp, sickle-shapedthumb-claws.

‘Terrible claws’For its size, Deinonychuswas probably thedeadliest killer of all known dinosaurs. It hada large head with powerful jaws full of razor-sharp teeth, curved like daggers. But its mostlethal weapons, the ‘terrible claws’ after whichit is named, were on its feet. Deinonychusmay have overcome its prey by leaping intothe attack, tearing gashes in its victim’s fleshwith its toe-claws (see page 13).

SurvivorIn late Cretaceous times, much of lowlandNorth America was a swampy jungle, thedomain of duck-billed dinosaurs—and theterrifying flesh-eaters that preyed on them.The long-necked plant-eaters had mostly diedout, but one, Alamosaurus,lived on. Itsurvived by feeding on the leaves from treesgrowing on higher, drier ground.

Lizard-hippeddinosaurs mobile

Tyrannosaurus12m longLate CretaceousNorth America

Compsognathus70cm long

Late JurassicEurope

Ornithomimus3.5m longLate CretaceousNorth America

Camarasaurus18m longLate JurassicNorth America

AnchisaurusUp to 2.5m longEarly JurassicNorth America

Deinonychus13m longEarly CretaceousNorth America

Alamosaurus21m longLate CretaceousNorth America

Crests, spikes,horns, clubs

THE SECOND group of dinosaurswas the bird-hipped dinosaurs

(see page 4).They had backward-slanting pubic bones. All bird-hippeddinosaurs were plant-eaters. Many hadsome form of protection from attackby flesh-eating dinosaurs: studs, spikes,horns or clubs on the end of their tails.

Hadrosaurs (the ‘duck-billed’dinosaurs) had no such defences. Theyrelied on their large size and theprotection of the herd. Somehadrosaurs, like Corythosaurus,Lambeosaurus andParasaurolophus,had hollow crestson their heads. These may have helpedthem to boom out loud warning hootswhenever danger was spotted (see

Horned facesThe ceratopsians (‘horned faces’) hadmassive neck frills, horns and parrot-likebeaks. Even Tyrannosaurusmight havehad difficulty overcomingStyracosaurus,a large dinosaur with anumber of enormous spikes on its neckfrill. Male ceratopsians of the same kindmay have fought one another fordominance of their herds, using theirhorns in ferocious head-to-head combat.With its sharp beak and teeth,

Psittacosaurus(‘parrot-lizard’) couldhave eaten plants too tough for otheranimals. It could stand, walk and run onits back legs.

Dangerous tailsTuojiangosauruslived in China during theJurassic Period. The pointed plates runningthe length of its back might have given itsome protection, but one swish of that spikedtail could have finished off any attacker.Euoplocephalus(‘well-armoured head’)

had an appropriate name. Slabs of bonyarmour covered almost all of its body,including even its eyelids. A heavy, bony clubat the end of its tail gave this tank-likedinosaur a lethal weapon with which to

Parasaurolophus10m long

Edmontosaurus12m long

Corythosaurus10m long

Lambeosaurus15m long

Saurolophus9m long

Stygimoloch2m long

Pachycephalosaurus8m long

All Late CretaceousNorth America

Tuojiangosaurus7m longLate JurassicChina

Triceratops9m long

Pachyrhinosaurus5.5m long

Styracosaurus5.5m long

Euoplocephalus5.5m long

Psittacosaurus2m longEarly CretaceousAsia (Mongolia,China, Thailand,Russia)

Thumb spikeIguanodonseemed equally at ease walkingon its two hind feet as well as on all fours. Itsfive-fingered hands were able to grasp things,as well as, with the use of the thumb spike,cause injury to an attacker (see page 12).Herds of these great dinosaurs roamed theswampy Cretaceous landscape, stripping offleaves and chewing ferns as they went.

Quick on its feetLittle Hypsilophodonwas like a gazelle.Large herds gathered on swampy lowlands tonibble at low plants and ferns. Some of thesekeen-sighted dinosaurs may have stood onlookout duty. At the slightest hint of danger,the herd would scatter. Hypsilophodonwasone of the fastest dinosaurs. It could also veereasily from side to side to dodge an attacker.

Plates and studsScelidosauruswas a small, slow-moving,plant-eating dinosaur. How could it defenditself? Its body was covered with a tough,scaly skin, a layer of bony plates and rows ofsharp studs running the length of its back andtail. A flesh-eater might easily damage itsteeth when trying to sink them into its flesh.Scelidosaurusprobably lived close to riversand browsed on leafy twigs.

Rhino dinoThe ceratopsians were the rhinoceroses of thedinosaur world (see page 9).They hadstrong, stocky bodies with quite short legs,and they carried horns on their heads.Anchiceratopshad three horns, all pointingmenacingly forward. It also had a neck frillcomplete with spiky studs set around the topof its rim. The frill was not all solid bone:there were wide openings in the bone coveredwith skin. Anchiceratopsprobably used itsnarrow, horny beak and scissor-like teeth toshear off tough swamp plants.

Tank dinosaurEdmontoniawas the size of an army tankand just as well armoured. Rows of bonyplates covered its head and body. Itsshoulders and sides were particularly wellprotected with spikes sticking out at allangles. Faced with danger, it may have usedits armour as a shield, or gone on the attackitself, jabbing its spikes into its assailant.

Loud bellowsParasaurolophuswas a duck-billeddinosaur. We can tell it apart from its manyrelatives by the great, backward-pointing creston the top of its head. This crest, measuringup to two metres long, contained hollowtubes linked to the creature’s nostrils. WhenParasaurolophusbellowed its call, the tubesworked like organ pipes, making very loud,

Massive platesNo one knows for sure why Stegosaurushad a double row of wide, diamond-shaped,bony plates sticking up all the way down itsback. They may have protected it from attack,or perhaps they helped in some way tocontrol the dinosaur’s body temperature.What is certain is that the spikes on the tailwould have seriously injured any attackerunlucky enough to catch a blow to the bodyor head. Stegosauruswas not the cleverestof beasts: its brain was the size of a sausage!

Bone-headedNot to be confused with Stegosaurus,Stegoceraswas a much smaller beast whichstood on two legs and had a thick-boned,dome-shaped head. It must have used its headfor ramming—usually rival males competingwith one another to dominate the herd, just assheep and goats do today.

Bird-hipped dinosaurs mobile

Anchiceratops6m longLate CretaceousNorth America

Hypsilophodon2m longEarly CretaceousEurope and North America

Edmontonia7m longLate CretaceousNorth America

Scelidosaurus4m long

Early JurassicEurope, Asia andNorth America

Stegosaurus9m longLate JurassicNorth America

Stegoceras2m longLate CretaceousNorth America

Parasaurolophus10m longLate CretaceousNorth America

Iguanodon9m longEarly CretaceousEurope, Africa andNorth America

How dinosaurs lived

WHENwe think of a dinosaur, perhapsthe first image that comes to mind is

an enormous, long-necked creature likeApatosaurus(once known by the nameBrontosaurus).With its massive, elephant-like legs, it would have been far too slow toflee from attackers. Instead, it roamedaround in herds, relying on strength innumbers as a means of defence.Apatosaurusprobably had to eat all thetime to nourish its massive body. It mayeven have slept standing on its feet, restingbetween breaks from browsing on leaves andferns.

Many other kinds of dinosaurs were nolarger than animals living in the world today.Some quite small and light dinosaurs werecapable of running very fast on two legs. Incontrast to Apatosaurus,Dromiceiomimuswas a lightly builtdinosaur, about the size of a human, andwith the sprinting speed of an ostrich. Agile

Good parentsLike other reptiles, dinosaurs laid eggs.Their young hatched out in nests, and, insome cases, the parents stayed with theiryoung for several weeks. Maiasaura(whose name means ‘good motherlizard’) females would gather together tomake nests close to one another asprotection from roaming, flesh-eatingdinosaurs. They scooped out two-metre-wide basins in mounds of mud, laid upto 25 long, oval eggs in them, andcovered them over with rottingvegetation to keep them warm. Whenthe eggs hatched, the parents wouldbring their babies food and do all theycould to protect them from attackers.

Offence and defenceMany dinosaurs spent theirdays peacefully croppingleaves and shoots. But noplant-eater could afford to beoff its guard. A flesh-eatingdinosaur might launch anattack at any time. Great size,a whip-like tail, a covering ofbony armour or spikes, or theability to sprint away were alldifferent methods of defence.Iguanodonhad a spike for athumb, and could have jabbedit in the neck of any dinosaurthat dared to attack it.

Hunting packsLarge flesh-eaters likeTyrannosaurusmay havebeen quite rare. Small, agilekillers like Deinonychuswereprobably more of a commonthreat. Hunting in packs, theycould have brought downmuch larger animals thanthemselves. Here, a gang ofthree Deinonychushavelaunched themselves at anunfortunate Tenontosaurus.

Apatosaurus21m longLate JurassicNorth America

Dromiceiomimus3.5m longLate CretaceousNorth America

Iguanodon9m longEarly CretaceousEurope, Africa andNorth America

Deinonychus3m long

Early CretaceousNorth America

Tenontosaurus7m longEarly CretaceousNorth America

Maiasaura9m long

Late CretaceousNorth America

Flyers and swimmers

WHILE DINOSAURS ruled the land, otherreptiles dominated the seas and skies. Flying

reptiles, or pterosaurs, first appeared at about the sametime as the dinosaurs. Sheets of skin between thefourth finger and the body made up their wings. Manyhad powerful, toothed beaks, perfect for seizing fish.

But reptiles were not the only flying animals oftheir day. Besides insects, birds also made theirappearance during the Age of Dinosaurs. The first birdknown to us, Archaeopteryx,was closely related tothe dinosaurs. This pigeon-sized creature had feathersand was probably able to fly.

‘Fish lizards’Just as on land, an enormous range ofreptiles lived in the seas during theAge of Dinosaurs. The ichthyosaurs,whose name means ‘fish lizards’,looked more like dolphins. They hadstreamlined bodies with high back(dorsal) fins, long snouts and paddle-like flippers. They used their fish-liketails for powering themselves throughthe water and their large eyes for

seeking out their prey.Mosasaurs, like Platecarpusand Tylosaurus,were giantsea lizards with vastappetites. They fed on fish,

ammonites (soft-bodied animalsenclosed within coiled shells), squid,seabirds and even other mosasaurs.Plesiosaurs, such as Elasmosaurus,cruised the waters, using their long,snaky necks to snatch fish. Archelon,a giant prehistoric turtle, flapped itspaddles like wings to move through

Giants of the airMany pterosaurs flew near the sea,swooping to snatch fish from thesurface of the water. Some, likeQuetzalcoatlus,grew toenormous sizes. Pteranodonhadno teeth in its beak. It probablycaught fish as pelicans do, scoopingthem up and swallowing them

Archaeopteryx61cm longLate JurassicEurope

PteranodonWingspan 7mLate CretaceousNorth America

QuetzalcoatlusWingspan up to 12mLate CretaceousNorth America

Temnodontosaurus (ichthyosaur)9m longEarly JurassicEurope

Platecarpus4m long

Tylosaurus9m long

Elasmosaurus14m long

Archelon3.6m long

Ammonite60cm long

Xiphactinus (fish)5m long

All Late CretaceousNorth America

IndexAAlamosaurus7Albertosaurus5Allosaurus4-5, 6ammonites 15Anchiceratops10Anchisaurus6Apatosaurus(Brontosaurus)12

Archaeopteryx7, 14Archelon15

BBaryonyx5birds 14Brachiosaurus2, 4, 6BrontosaurusseeApatosaurus

CCamarasaurus6Carnotaurus3ceratopsians 9, 10Coelophysis2Compsognathus 7Corythosaurus3, 9Cretaceous Period 3

DDaspletosaurus5Deinonychus6, 13dinosaursAfrican 2, 4, 10, 12Asian 2-3, 8-9, 10bird-hipped 8-9, 10-11duck-billed 7, 8-9, 11end of the 2, 7

European 2, 4-5, 7, 10, 12flesh-eating 2-3, 4-5, 6-7,8, 10, 12-13

lizard-hipped 4-5, 6-7North American 2-3, 4-5,6-7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-13

plant-eating 2-3, 4-5, 6-7,8-9, 10-11, 12-13

what they are 2when they lived 2-3

Diplodocus4-5, 6Dromiceiomimus 12

EEdmontonia11Edmontosaurus8Elasmosaurus15Euoplocephalus9

Fflying reptiles seepterosaurs

Hhadrosaurs 8Hypsilophodon10

Iichthyosaurs 15Iguanodon10, 12

JJurassic Period 3

KKentrosaurus3

LLambeosaurus3, 8MMaiasaura13mosasaurs 15

OOrnithomimus6

PPachycephalosaurus8Pachyrhinosaurus9Parasaurolophus3, 8, 11Platecarpus15Plateosaurus2plesiosaurs 15Psittacosaurus9Pteranodon14pterosaurs 2, 14

QQuetzalcoatlus14

SSaichania3Saurolophus8Scelidosaurus10Stegoceras11Stegosaurus3, 11Stygimoloch8Styracosaurus9

TTemnodontosaurus15Tenontosaurus12-13Titanosaurus3Triassic Period 2

Triceratops3, 9Troodon 4-5Tuojiangosaurus8-9Tylosaurus15tyrannosaurs 5, 7Tyrannosaurus7, 13

XXiphactinus15

YYangchuanosaurus2

Pictureacknowledgements©John Sibbick 2-3, 4-5, 6tr, br, 7tl(from Tyrannosaurus Rexpublished by Tango Books), br, 8b,

KINGFISHERAn imprint of Larousse plc

New Penderel House, 283-288 High Holborn,London WC1V 7HZ

First published by Kingfisher 199810 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Copyright © 1997 Orpheus Books Ltd

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrievalsystem or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise,

without the prior permission of the publisher.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 0 7534 0262 9

Created and produced by Orpheus Books Ltd

Text and design:Nicholas HarrisIllustrator:John Sibbick

Consultant:Dr Michael Benton, Reader in Palaeontology,University of Bristol, EnglandProduction:Joanna Turner

Printed and bound in Singapore