The Importance of Dinosaur Discoveries Essay

In conclusion, we rely on fossils and other scientific findings to help us understand how dinosaurs lived so long ago. The Jurassic Period was one of the more fascinating periods to learn about and one of the more interesting things that I’ve

There are four main groups of reptiles, known as Crocodilians, Squamates, Tuataras, and Turtles. Crocodilians consists of large reptiles which includes alligators, crocodiles, gharials, and caimans. Squamates are lizards, snakes, and worm-lizards. A worm-lizard is a subterranean burrowing reptile that resembles an earthworm, a legless lizard. Tuataras are a group of reptiles that are lizard-like in appearance but are different from squamates because their skull isn’t jointed. Turtles are the most ancient reptiles alive today. They have changed very little since they first showed up 220 million years ago. The first turtle appeared 220 million years ago.(Laura Klappenbach)

The importance of the research being done based on this find is explained within this same article in a quote from Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum, London saying, “A find like this does make us question the trees people have built up of human evolution”(Noble, 2002). Not only is finding this skull phenomenal, but the implications it holds are tremendous. The idea that one fossil such as this can change the way we have thought about human evolution is a huge deal that deserves much research and even much speculation and dispute.

While a theropod “beast-footed” carnivore includes the T. Rex, the ones that likely roamed Wrangel-St.Elias National Park were considerably smaller. The researchers found evidence of a single theropod that was likely a tiny 9 cm long and 7 cm wide due to an impression of the sinusoidal shape. Several ornithopod, medium and large plant-eating dinosaurs, was identified by blunt and rounded digit impressions which are usually 22 cm long and 26 wide. It was the first evidence that dinosaurs roamed this vast region.

The main dinosaurs that died off were Sauropod dinosaurs, long necked, four legged dinosaurs, and stegosauridae, class holding Stegosaurus. Other species that died include ammonites, similar to the living animals called nautilus, many marine reptiles, and bivalves, relatable to modern mollusca. Not much is known about this extinction. It is mainly linked to climate change. So far, no connection to volcanic activity or an asteroid has been made. This extinction gave way to the Cretaceous Period.

Fossil discoveries are extremely significant to science and they help people better comprehend the world they live in. Without these discoveries science wouldn’t of grown like it has and people would not know much about the Earth. The fishapod and the dinomummy are two fossil discoveries that have made a gigantic impact on science. The fishapod helped fill the gap between land animals and water animals and the dinomummy proved that dinosaurs vertebrae are different than scientists have been placing them. However, the most important part is the preservation of these two ancient creatures. If they hadn’t of been preserved like they had, then they would never of been discovered and scientists wouldn’t get to learn from the remains of these creatures.

These dinosaurs were discovered in the Shandong peninsula, which is the exact reason for its name. Also discovered in 1973 by a man named Hu. They were known to be the biggest ornithischian. This dinosaur had over 1,000 teeth and though they only used them toward eating plants. They weren’t the fastest but had the ability to sprint in order to get away from predators. They also spent their time traveling in herds in order to stay safe due to predators always on the prowl. These dinosaurs were smart enough to know that they would have strength in number and due to their size. They were known to stand their ground and had the tools to fight but when a large predator came lurking by like a Tyrannosaurus Rex, they knew their best chance of survival was to vacate the area. These massive dinosaurs stood at 25 feet in height, 54 feet in length, and weighs about 15 tons. Shantungosaurus was a very distinct dinosaur, definitely not like any other dinosaur around. But they were able to defend themselves and did so using teamwork and if they couldn’t win they were able to run away. They were able to go on their two legs and sprint. Also they had a tail that was really long and the biggest purpose of this tail was to keep them balanced, though it was thought this tail was used for aquatic reasons but it was later found that this was not the case due to the structure of the tail. The simple fact is we can only know so much about these dinosaurs; we weren’t there, so how could we really know what these dinosaurs

It is important because it was almost a missing link to evolution. Therefore, it could have falsified evolution. The kind of rock’s we’re very old which was the best place to look for the fossil that was also very old.

The fossils that are yet to be found in this project just very well may double the museum’s collection which is already at 3.5 million fossils. The project contains 16 fossil deposits that were recently unknown which makes us wonder how many more deposits are there left to discover (The Natural History Foundation, 2016). As technology advances and our understanding of these fossils grows it will be interesting to see what the future years will bring to the field of

One fact that was clarified in the book was that Saurapodomorphas didn’t like living in swamping environments but rather dry climate. Some minor details that were interesting were when the characters in the book said that the dinosaurs smell or that they weren’t intelligent. There’s no telling how a dinosaur smelled because no one was already to know. Even though the intelligence of dinosaur weren’t known but many animals learn to adapt and survive. Couldn’t scientist make an estimate of how brain was using the skull of dinosaurs that they discovered?

On planet earth there are great numbers of different species that share similarities in appearance, structure, and behavior. Dinosaurs the creatures from a past time, are considered by many to be quite fascinating. They have often been compared to several species from the animal kingdom. There were correlations between dinosaurs and other predators, lizards, and most interestingly birds. The book, Jurassic Park, by the author Michael Crichton, speaks about a company that has discovered a way to extract and clone dinosaur DNA.

The fossil of Tiktaalik confirmed a major prediction of paleontology in that it showed characteristics of both aquatic animals, such as fish, and land animals, such as reptiles and amphibians. While it had fins and scales, it also had a flexible neck, a flat head, and complex bone structure in its fins that correspond with the structure of the legs of terrestrial animals. Thus, it demonstrates the evolutionary transition between aquatic and terrestrial life.

Dinosaurs come in many different colors and sizes. The lifespan of a dinosaur is 75 to 300 years. Their daily life is hunting, mating, using the bathroom, and migrating. The defense mechanisms helped them repair their injuries 150 mya. The bone structures are the skull, jaws, neck bones, vertebrae, thigh, pelvis, tail, and rib bone. Dinosaur’s average speed is about 27 mph. Dinosaurs find their food by hunting, which is each other and some eat plants. They reproduce by hatching newborns from eggs. Some communicate by their horns or flickering the tip of their tails. Baryonyx stomach contents were found to contain fish scales, is an example of predator-prey relationship. Some animals that are related to dinosaurs are lizards, because of their skin texture.

The reading states that the researchers deliberately broke open the Tyrannosaurus rex's leg bone and found remains of blood vessels, red blod cells, and collagen matrix and provides three reasons of support. However, the professor states that it's skeptical that T.rex has all of structures and refutes each of the authors' reasons.

These techniques led to the discovery of the boundary between the two eras. A single thin layer of clay found within predominantly limestone rocks established this. By comparing the marine life found in, above, and below the clay, the marine life, like the dinosaurs, had been terribly affected by the extinction event. The percentage of life in the upper layers was dramatically lower than that in the lower. This was far more compelling than what was suggested by dinosaur’s fossils.