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Characteristics Of Dinosaur

Good Essays

Dinosaurs are a group of reptiles that first appeared during the Triassic period (around 225 million years ago) and were extinct in the Cretaceous period (about 65 million years ago). Dinosaur are a diverse species ranging in different shapes and sizes and were able to survive in a variety of ecosystems (Australian Museum, 2016) (Natural History Museum, 2017) (Dinosaur Jungle, 2015).

The fundamental physical features of a dinosaur are:
Diapsid (animal with two holes in skull behind eye socket)
Vertebrates (animal with a spinal cord surrounded by cartilage or bone)
A hole in the skull between the eye socket and nostril
Ankle that bends in single plane
A secondary palate that allows dinosaurs to eat and breathe at the same time
A large hole in the hip socket
Limbs held directly under the body
Three or more sacral vertebrae

Part B: Dinosaurs Example

Australovenator

The Australovenator is the most completed skeleton of any Cretaceous carnivorous dinosaur ever found in Australia with approximately 25% of the bones recovered and prepared. The skeleton consists of two nearly complete forelimbs and hind limbs, along with isolated ribs, gastralia and both dentaries. The fossils were discovered at the bottom of a Billabong near the town of Winton, Queensland. The Australovenator was a 5-6m swift predator that stood about 1.6m high and unlike most theropod dinosaurs, the Australovenator had massive arms and hands with two of its three hand claws being razor sharp weapons (Age

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