What do we know about dinosaurs? Types of dinosaurs, animals that do not exist Dinosaurs by name

Dinosaurs, which is translated from Greek means - terrible (terrible) lizards (lizards), are a superorder of aboveground vertebrates that existed and led an active lifestyle throughout the Mesozoic era. Dinosaurs are considered to be the first vertebrate animals that settled throughout the planet, while their ancestors, amphibians, were forced to live only near water bodies, to which they were attached due to the specifics of reproduction. The finds of the first representatives of the dinosaurs are dated 225 million liters BC. e. Over the history of its existence, which lasted for 160 million years, this superorder has expanded extremely, giving a huge number of varieties. Scientists suggest that the number of genera of dinosaurs at the peak of their prosperity could reach 3400, although so far, as of 2006, only 500 of them were confidently described. Each genus had an indefinite number of species. In 2008, 1047 species of these ancient vertebrates were described. And at the moment, as a result of new archaeological discoveries, this number is increasing.

On the border of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic, there was a kind of global shock that served the mass extinction of dinosaursafter which only miserable units remained from the reptiles dominating throughout the Mesozoic.

Pelvic bone dinosaur classification

There are many ways to classify dinosaurs. In connection with the specifics of their works and literary works, it is convenient for someone to sort the ancient vertebrates of the Cretaceous period by size, someone according to their habitat, since at that time there were water reptiles, and land and aeronautics. Someone prefers to divide the dinosaurs into bipeds and tetrapods. But the main generally accepted form of classification is dinosaur classification   according to the method of the pelvic bones, proposed back in 1887 by the famous English paleontologist G. Seeley.

Fig. 1 - Classification of dinosaurs

Despite the fact that the group of ancient reptiles is considered the ancestors of all dinosaurs without exception archosaursAt the beginning of the Triassic, their development went in different ways. It is from this time that happened separation of reptiles according to the principle of the structure of the pelvis   on the:

• lizotropic;
• poultry.

But this does not mean at all that it was from the lizards that all lizards evolved, and from the poultry-lazy birds — the birds. These are conditional names, associated only with the fact that in the lizards of the pelvis the pubic bones of the pelvis were primarily directed forward, in the manner of the current crocodiles, while in the poultry ones - back, in the bird's manner.

In appearance, it would be difficult to determine which group a particular dinosaur belongs to. Much more clearly, these groups differ in the structure of the jaws. Lizards possessed jaws, the rows of teeth which were located strictly along the edges in one row, reaching the tip of the muzzle. All teeth had a conical or chisel shape and were each located in its own separate cell. Ptitsetazovye had lower jaws ending in the anterior part of the predental bone. Often had no teeth in the front and upper jaw. Often, the front of the poultry-gaz dinosaurs simply looked like a massive horned tortoise beak.

Lizard-dinosaur dinosaurs

Lizard-dinosaur dinosaurs   (Fig. 2) were divided into:

• Theropodov   - appeared on the borders of the Cretaceous and Jurassic and are the largest representatives of carnivorous carnivorous reptiles that existed until the end of the Cretaceous period and the global cataclysm that caused the mass extinction of species.
• Sauropodomorphs   - also originating in the late Triassic, some of which were the most gigantic creatures in the entire history of the Earth. All of them were herbivorous and were subdivided, in turn, into two further subgroups, namely, the prosauropods living in the Late Triassic - the early Jurassic and replaced by later and developed sauropods closer to the middle of the Jurassic.

Fig. 2 - Lizard dinosaur

Theropods were mainly two-legged predators, but omnivores, for example, such as therizinosaurus or ornithomimid, came across among them. Some of the theropods, such as the spinosaurus, reached 15 meters in height. These predatory representatives of the lizards have three advantages over other dinosaurs, consisting in:

• extreme agility and speed of movement;
• unusually developed vision;
• freedom of the front paws, because they ran on two unusually developed hind legs, and thus could freely perform any other functions of the front ones.

Giant growth often had detrimental effects on theropods. For example, a tyrannosaurus, catching up with its prey, had to be very careful when running, because with its impressive dimensions (one hind limb reached 4 meters height), any wrong step, any bump or uneven ground could cause a fall, which often led to tangible, and sometimes fatal injuries. In turn, theropods are classified   on the:

• coelurosaurs, small and nimble bird-like lizards, such as ornithomimes and velociraptors;
• carnosaurs, large predators, examples of which were the aforementioned tyrannosaurus and allosaurus.

The sauropodomorphs were the owners of the sacral brain, which exceeded the head in size by 20 times. Despite their huge weight and size, they became frequent victims of predatory dinosaurs. The sheer size of these ancient reptiles was a consequence of the build-up of intestinal mass necessary for the digestion of hard-leaved plants. As a result, along with the stomach, the rest of the body was forced to increase in size. Examples of such lizards were camarosaurs, giraffatitans, brachiosaurus, etc.

Let's take a closer look at the theropods using the example of one of the most numerous predators of that Middle Jurassic - allosaurus   (fig. 3). On average, these predators reached a 3.5-meter height at the withers and 8.5-meter length from muzzle to tail. Their habitat was the North American, South European and East African parts of the ancient mainland Pangea.

Fig. 3 - Allosaurus

Allosaurus had a fairly large skull, their jaws were equipped with a huge number of sharp teeth. In order to balance the body when moving as opposed to a massive head, there was an equally massive tail, with which the animal often knocked its victims down. For the same, a massive head often served. Compared to other large terraces, allosaurus were relatively small, but this gave them more maneuverability and mobility. There is also evidence that large dinosaurs such as some representatives of sauropods, such as brontosaurs and thyroids, such as the stegosaurus, they hunted in the herd method, like the current wolves. Although many scientists are skeptical that these animals could coexist in packs. In their opinion, for this they had too primitive mental development and extremely strong ferocity and aggressiveness.

Poultry Dinosaurs

Despite their name, the scientists proved that it was not they, namely the lizards and dinosaurs, who later became avian ancestors. But, returning precisely to poultry dinosaurs   (Fig. 4), note that they classified   into two main suborders, namely:

• thyrophors;
• therapies.

Fig. 4 - Poultry Dinosaur

TO thyreophore   include herbivorous dinosaurs such as ankylosaurs and stegosaurs. A distinctive feature of these lizards was that their body was partially covered with shell armor, and on the back there were huge shield-shaped growths.

To discharge therapists   includes marginocephals, such as ceratops and pachycelosaurs and all ornithopods, of which the most widespread representative was iguanodon   (fig. 5).

The iguanodons had their peak in the first half of the Cretaceous, and populated the vast expanses of the European, North American, Asian and African parts of Pangea. The 12-meter and 5-ton iguanodons moved on two massive hind legs, in front of the muzzle they had a massive beak, with which they plucked the plants they needed. Next came the rows of teeth, more similar to the teeth of iguanas, only of much larger sizes.

Fig. 5 - Iguanodon

The forelimbs of iguanodons were a quarter of the size shorter than the hind legs. Thumbs were equipped with spikes, with the help of which the animal defended itself from predators. The most mobile of the fingers of the forelimbs were the little fingers. It should be noted that the iguanodons could not run, their hind limbs were adapted only for leisurely walking, because of which they often became victims of predators such as allosaurs, tyrannosaurs, etc. The hind limbs had three fingers, similar to current hens, and their spine and massive tail were supported by strong tendons.

The problems of classification of dinosaurs in our time

Many scientists insist that a large number of dinosaurs already described did not exist before, because some of the described species were nothing more than doubles of the species already described earlier. The difference between them was supposedly only in that they were either at an earlier or a later stage of development. Also, a fairly large group of scientists insists that about 50% of all dinosaurs found were classified and named incorrectly.

Thus, the current paleontologists were divided into two camps. While some continue to further divide the bulk of the found remains of ancient reptiles into ever new species based on the revealed significant and not very distinctive features, others completely doubt the correctness of the species described earlier.

The beginning of history was the climatic changes that occurred on Earth 300 million years ago. There was a significant increase in average temperature, which contributed to the extinction of some species and the spread of others. In particular, the heyday of reptiles began.

Both the number of individuals and the number of species increased. From them came the ancestors of the dinosaurs - archosaurs. Modern representatives of this group of reptiles are crocodiles. Archosaurs of the Permian period were distinguished by the specific structure of their teeth, as well as a specific protective coating of the skin - scales. Like modern crocodiles, they are eggs.

Carnivorous dinosaurs fed mainly on small mammals. There were also herbivorous dinosaurs with plant diets.

After the Mass Permian, only 5% of previously existing species, and the ancestors of the dinosaurs managed to survive this ecological upheaval. Dinosaurs themselves arose 230 million years ago. The earliest dinosaur species known to scientists is the stavricosaurus. It was about 2 m long, and its weight reached 30 kg. The stavricosaurus was a predator and moved on its hind legs.

The era of dinosaurs and their decline

Gradually, dinosaurs became an increasingly diverse group of creatures, capturing ever new habitats. Dinosaurs could live in the water, competing with large predatory fish. Gradually flying dinosaurs appeared. Also, over time, the sizes of reptiles became more diverse - their weight could reach 200 kg or more.

The heyday of the dinosaurs came in the Cretaceous and Jurassic periods, when the species of dinosaurs accounted for more than half of all species of fauna of the Earth. In total, the remains of about 500 species of dinosaurs were found, but scientists believe that there were significantly more - up to 2000 for the entire existence of this squad.

The largest dinosaurs were herbivores or lived in water.

The exact cause of the extinction of the dinosaurs remains unknown. One theory suggests that dinosaurs died due to a meteorite falling and the resulting tsunami and other disasters. Other scientists believe that the reason was a gradual climate change, which led to the extinction of not only dinosaurs, but also a number of other species - up to 20% of the species of flora and fauna disappeared. It is only known for certain that dinosaurs disappeared at the end of the Cretaceous - about 65 million years ago. The dominance of reptiles has been replaced by widespread mammals.

Species of dinosaurs of this group lived in the late Jurassic period in the territory of modern North America about 150 million years ago. Paleontologists consider diplodocus one of the most easily recognizable dinosaurs. Moreover, this species is the largest of all dinosaurs known for its found complete skeletons. Diplodocus were herbivores, and their enormous size was a deterrent to predatory dinosaurs of those times - ceratosaurs and allosaurs.

Allosaurus is a thunderstorm of diplodocus!

In the framework of this article, we will not be able to consider all types of dinosaurs with names, so we turn only to the most striking and famous representatives of these legendary giants. One of them is the allosaurus. This is a representative of the genus of carnivorous dinosaurs from the theropod group. Like diplodocus, allosaurus existed in the Jurassic period about 155 million years ago.

These creatures moved on their hind legs and had very small forelimbs. On average, these lizards reached a length of 9 meters and a height of 4 meters. Allosaurus were considered large bipedal predators of the time. The remains of these insidious creatures were found on the territory of modern Southern Europe, East Africa and North America.

Ichthyosaurs - legendary fish hunters

They represent an extinct squad of large marine reptiles, reaching a length of 20 meters. Outwardly, these lizards resembled modern fish and dolphins. Their distinguishing feature was large eyes, protected by a bone ring. In general, at a short distance, ichthyosaurs could well be mistaken for fish or dolphins.

The origin of these creatures is still in question. Some paleontologists believe that they are natives of diapsids. This version is confirmed only by conjectures: apparently, the escape of ichthyosaurs somehow branched off from the main stem of the diapsid even before this subclass was divided into archosaurs and lepidosaurs. Nevertheless, the ancestors of these fish farmers are still not known. Ichthyosaurs became extinct about 90 million years ago.

Dinosaurs rise in the sky

At the end of the Triassic period, the first flying dinosaur species appeared on the planet, which unexpectedly appeared in the fossil record. It is curious that they were already fully formed. Their direct ancestors, from whom they developed all this time, are unknown.

All Triassic pterosaurs belong to the group of ramphorinchs: these creatures had huge heads, jagged mouths, long and narrow wings, a long and thin tail. The size of these "leather birds" varied. Pterosaurs - as they were called - possessed mainly the size of both gulls and hawks. Of course, among them were 5-meter giants. Pterosaurs became extinct about 65 million years ago.

Tyrannosaurs are the most famous dinosaur species.

The list of ancient dinosaurs would be incomplete if we did not mention the most magnificent dinosaur of all time and time - the tyrannosaurus. This insidious and dangerous creature fully justifies its name. This creature represents a genus from the group of coelurosaurs and theropod suborder. It includes one single species - the tyrannosaurus rex (from the Latin language “rex” is the king). Tyrannosaurs, like allosaurs, were two-legged predators with massive skulls and sharp teeth. The limbs of a tyrannosaurus represented a continuous physiological contradiction: massive hind legs and tiny hook-shaped forelegs.

The tyrannosaurus is the largest species within its own family, as well as one of the largest land predatory dinosaurs in the history of our planet. The remains of this animal were found in the west of modern North America. According to scientists, they lived about 65 million years ago, that is, it was precisely their century that the death of the entire dynasty of ancient dinosaurs occurred. It was tyrannosaurs that crowned the whole great era of dinosaurs, which ended during the Cretaceous period.

Feathered heritage

For many people, it is no secret that birds are direct descendants of dinosaurs. Paleontologists saw a lot in common in the external and internal structure of birds and dinosaurs. It should be remembered that birds are descendants of land dinosaurs - dinosaurs, and not flying dinosaurs - pterosaurs! Currently, two subclasses of ancient reptiles are "hanging in the air" because their ancestors and their exact origin have not been established by paleontologists. The first subclass is ichthyosaurs, and the second is turtles. If we have already dealt with ichthyosaurs above, then nothing is clear with turtles!

Are turtles amphibians?

And therefore it is clear that, considering a topic such as "Types of dinosaurs", one cannot fail to mention these animals. The origin of the subclass of turtles is still shrouded in mystery. True, some zoologists still believe that they came from anapsids. However, they are opposed by other pundits who are sure that turtles are the descendants of some ancient amphibians. And do not depend on other reptiles. If this theory is confirmed, then a major breakthrough will take place in the science of zoology: it may happen that turtles do not have the slightest relation to reptiles, because then they will become ... amphibians!

Eodromaeus

Every year, scientists discover more and more new species of dinosaurs. Among them, for example, sauroniops, named after the dark magician from The Lord of the Rings, the nosed Pinocchio Rex, the scary Siats Meekerorum, terrorizing tyrannosaurs, and many others.

If you ask for a dinosaur, most likely long-known species will come to mind, such as a tyrannosaurus or triceratops. However, science already knows hundreds of species of ancient dinosaurs, and annually paleontologists discover fossilized remains of more and more.

Discovered in 2012, a predatory dinosaur the size of a tyrannosaurus was dubbed by scientists in honor of the dark magician from The Lord of the Rings Tolkien and the film trilogy of Peter Jackson filmed by him.

What could be common with a dinosaur hunting in North Africa and a book villain?

The fact is that the only remaining bone of the prehistoric beast was its eye socket. It turned out to be enough to identify the dinosaur as a completely new species. Naturally, a giant eye of Sauron from the fantasy trilogy, which ultimately gave a name to a new species, came to mind.

Sauroniops Pachytholus dines with a young spinosaurus. Two other spinosaurs flee

Eodromaeus

In addition to giant dinosaurs exceeding the length and height of modern terrestrial mammals, many small species were found on Earth at one time, no larger than cats or dogs.

These include, for example, an eodromeus, whose body length is approximately 1.2 meters, and weight - not more than five kilograms. This carnivorous animal lived 230 million years ago in Argentina and was probably the ancestor of larger predators such as the tyrannosaurus.

Eodromaeus

Anzu wyliei

Another mythological name was given to a funny pangolin that lived in the northeastern United States. Anzu Wyliei - the so-called feathered demon from Mesopotamian mythology.

This three-meter dinosaur from the genus oviraptor weighed approximately 225 kg and was omnivorous. The basis of his diet was plants and small animals.

The paleontologist, who discovered the well-preserved skeleton of Anzu Wyliei, first dubbed him the “hell of a hen”. In fact, this creature resembles a hybrid, say, an emu with a tyrannosaurus rex. But despite its comical appearance, the lizard was a dangerous opponent due to its powerful jaws.

Anzu Wyliei as a representation of the artist

Qianzhousaurus sinensis

Another very comical view, discovered a few weeks ago at an excavation in China. Due to the elongated shape of the skull, he received the nickname "Pinocchio" in honor of the long-nosed fellow Pinocchio.

The Pinocchio Rex snout was long and narrow, and the nose was 35% longer than the noses of any of the famous dinosaurs of similar sizes.

Qianzhousaurus Sinensis is a close relative of the most famous predatory dinosaur - Tyrannosaurus rex. Paleontologists believe that the body shape allowed the Pinocchio tyrannosaurus to run faster than its cousin, and therefore, he was a more dangerous predator.

Qianzhousaurus sinensis as an artist

Torvosaurus gurneyi

Torzosaurus, recently opened in Portugal, was one of the largest animals that ever lived in Europe. Its length reached 10 meters, and it weighed somewhere around 4-5 tons.

Initially, scientists took it for another well-known species of torzosaurs living in North America, Torvosaurus tanneri. However, after careful study, it turned out that this species has less than 11 teeth in the upper jaw, but the existing ones are 10 cm longer than that of an American relative.

Torvosaurus gurneyi as a representation of the artist

Yongjinglong datangi

Of course, among herbivorous dinosaurs, new species are constantly opening up. These include the newly discovered Yongjinglong Datangi, recently discovered in northwestern China.

The new lizard belongs to the genus of titanosaurs - the largest terrestrial animals that have ever existed on our planet. The found bones most likely belong to a young individual, but, nevertheless, we are talking about a titanosaurus 15-18 meters in size.

This species of titanosaurus is considered one of the most evolutionarily developed among specimens still found in Asia. By the way, if earlier it was believed that the most different types of dinosaurs were found in the United States, then since 2007, China has also closed this record.

Yongjinglong datangi

Europelta Carbonensis

Not one, but two skeletons of a new type of nodosaurus were found last year in one of the Spanish mines. The new dinosaur received the strange name Europelta Carbonensis - "the coal shield of Europe."

Nodosaurs lived almost everywhere on Earth in the late Jurassic era. The ancient species found in Spain is more similar to its European counterparts than to its American relatives. This means that, perhaps, Europe and North America became separate continents already 110 million, and not 80 million years ago, as previously thought.

Europelta Carbonensis as a painter

Leinkupal laticauda

This is the first dinosaur of the genus of diplodocus found in South America. Leinkupal in Mapuche language, inhabiting Patagonia, means “disappeared family”, laticauda in Latin - wide tail. Although it is smaller than its African relatives, but still its length is a solid 9 meters.

Diplodocuses belonging to the group of four-legged sauropods were distinguished by elongated necks and tails, which were used in defense against predatory relatives. The found remains of Leinkupal Laticauda belong to the early Cretaceous period, which makes them unique, because until now it was believed that all diplodocuses became extinct in the Late Jurassic.

Leinkupal laticauda as a representation of the artist

Siats meekerorum

Another predatory dinosaur, which probably terrorized tyrannosaurs for a while. Siats Meekerorum is the name of a cannibal monster from the legends of the North American Indians in Utah, where its remains were discovered.

This monster inhabited the United States 98 million years ago - while tyrannosaurs were much smaller. Its length was 10 meters, and weight - up to 4 tons. Thanks to the remains of Siats Meekerorum, paleontologists were able to establish the name of “the king of animals in North America at that time.

Siats Meekerorum as an artist

Kryptodrakon progenitor

Discovered in northwestern China, the pterosaur is considered the oldest of all known flying reptiles. Judging by the found remains, he lived 160 million years ago.

Although its descendants reached the size of small aircraft, the wingspan of this cryptodragon was only 1.4 m. The ancient pterosaur did not live in coastal areas like other pterodactyls, but on land.

Kryptodrakon Progenitor as an artist

The origin of dinosaurs was one of the most acute mysteries and topics for discussion in the last century. But even now, very little is known about these dinosaurs. What were they like? Can a dinosaur be considered the “king of nature” and the top of the food chain of its period?

Answers to these and many other questions were never found. Even those pieces of information that archaeologists and paleontologists managed to collect are based more on the analysis of fossils and theories built around the principles of vital activity of similar organisms.

Many dinosaur species are still only studied superficially, and therefore it is not necessary to speak of a sufficient knowledge base on this issue.

The main classification of dinosaurs

The difference in species of dinosaurs is dictated by the habitat, food preferences, diet features, and even class.

Some names come directly from the names of the discoverers, as well as the territories where the skeleton of a particular lizard was first found.

The dinosaur species also varied significantly from which predator dominated the region. So to

for example, huge diplodocus were perfectly protected from small aggressors, for example, deinocheirs, but he didn’t just hunt for the young of this subspecies of herbivores, he literally threatened their population.

In general, dinosaurs can be divided into 4 classes:

• Predators
• Herbivores.
• Flying.
• Water.

However, some dinosaurs managed to combine several classes in their specificity.

Predators

The predator class includes several subspecies that can conditionally be grouped into two categories: large and pack.

For example, “Tirex”, in other words, a tyrannosaurus, can be attributed to the class of the former. He was one of the most famous predators of his period, and this is about 65 million years ago.

For this dinosaur, as well as for its counterparts, a solitary lifestyle is characteristic with the hunt mainly for big game. With a fang length of 15-19 centimeters, for a given lizard it was not a problem to bite through even a stegosaurus robust carapace or converge in a battle with triceratops.

Its name even indicates a direct reference to the reputation of the pangolin - namely, the prefix “tee,” whose entomology is close to “terror,” which translates to “horror.”

Allosaurus, dilafosaurus, carnosaurus and megalosaurus should also be referred to the same kind of dinosaurs.

The latter species is characterized by absolutely, but the full skeleton of this lizard was never found.

Flock predators   They were distinguished by considerable intellect and preyed mainly on young growth of large herbivorous dinosaurs and sick loners.

Could not just coordinate their actions within the flock, they made contact with

other representatives through sound effects. If the middle stegosaurus brain reached the size of a walnut, then the Velociraptor was already the size of a large orange.

A distinctive feature of this type of dinosaur is a large claw on the first finger of the hind paw, through which the hunt took place.

The Velociraptor jumped onto the back of its prey, after which it tried to kill the ridge or inflict wounds, resulting in blood loss. This type of dinosaur is characterized by a pack flight, the type of which resembles the actions of wolves.

Herbivores

The herbivore class has several subspecies. Most often they are called according to the names of several of the most famous representatives (triceratops, stegosaurus and diplodocus).

At one time, the last of the mentioned was for the entire period of the existence of the dinosaurs. Its length from nose to tip of tail reached 30 meters.

The Ultrasaur was supposed to be the new record holder, but, as in the case of the megalosaurus, the full skeleton of the lizard was not found. This species is characterized by enormous size, even the "smaller" of them, namely the apatosaurus reached a record 22 meters.

A dinosaur called Triceratops was not threatened by a head-on battle. Like the modern rhinoceros, this dinosaur crushed the enemy with horns, although they were present in the amount of three pieces, and the neck of the lizard was covered by a bone “collar”, which also served to regulate heat transfer.

Stegosaurs and brontosaurs preferred defense to attack. Such dinosaurs just needed to stand on their feet, stray into the flock and patiently wait out the attack. Their backs are tightly protected by a horn shell.

The stegosaurus also had spikes at the tip of its tail, with which the lizard skillfully defended itself against small aggressors.

One of the heaviest dinosaurs, namely the brontosaurus, had a weighty bone club at the end of the tail, which could easily break through a skull, for example, a velociraptor.

Water

Aquatic dinosaurs are almost entirely represented by the predator class. The largest of them, namely the plesiosaurus, according to a number of scientists, may well be that way. The length of his neck reached 11-15 meters.

The Mozasaurus and Ichthyosaurus are called the ancestors of modern and dolphins.

The pliosaurus, also known as the X-predator, was the most aggressive. This dinosaur is characterized by attacks, including on its own kin. It is likely that killer whales are the heirs of the pliosaurus. Most of these lizards died out after the average water temperature began to fall as a result of the onset of the ice age.

Flying

Some flying dinosaurs later evolved into birds, others remained their own subclass, however, they posed a serious threat to their habitat and deserve mention.

He hunted insects (the size of which reached 2 meters for the period of the pangolin existence) and he was far rather big. It was in his skeleton that the remains and traces of feather cover were found, after which the origin of modern birds from this subspecies was proved.

The second subclass, represented by pterodactyl, had a woolen coat and huge leathery wings. Dinosaurs of this species have a diet of fish, fruits and insects.

Each dinosaur species was distinguished by its own specificity and features. Such a concise characterization is not able to give a full assessment thereof, but sufficient for the primary. At one time, dinosaurs were a huge force, but later lost the battle to nature and even mammals, losing the championship once and for all.