Paleontology: Dinosaurs - Middle School and High School

Dig into this list about dinosaurs and learn to think like a paleontologist. You'll review different types of dinosaurs, fossils, herbivores and carnivores, bipeds and quadrupeds, and more.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. allosaurus
    late Jurassic carnivorous dinosaur
  2. ankylosaurus
    having the back covered with thick bony plates
  3. apatosaurus
    huge quadrupedal herbivorous dinosaur common in North America in the late Jurassic
  4. archosaur
    a group of extinct reptiles including dinosaurs
  5. asteroid
    a small celestial body composed of rock and metal
  6. barosaurus
    a dinosaur that could grow to be as tall as a building five stories tall
  7. biped
    an animal that walks on two legs
  8. carnivore
    any animal that feeds on flesh
  9. cast
    object formed by a mold
  10. ceratopsian
    any of several four-footed herbivorous dinosaurs with enormous beaked skulls; of the late Cretaceous in North America and Mongolia
  11. ceratosaur
    primitive medium-sized theropod
  12. Cretaceous
    relating to the period from about 145 to 66 million years ago
  13. deinonychus
    swift agile wolf-sized bipedal dinosaur having a large curved claw on each hind foot; of the Cretaceous
  14. dimetrodon
    carnivorous dinosaur of the Permian in North America having a crest or dorsal sail
  15. dinosaur
    an extinct terrestrial reptile of the Mesozoic era
  16. diplodocus
    a huge quadrupedal herbivore with long neck and tail
  17. excavate
    recover through digging
  18. extinct
    no longer in existence
  19. fossil
    the remains of a plant or animal from a past geological age
  20. habitat
    the type of environment in which an organism normally lives
  21. hadrosaur
    any of numerous large bipedal ornithischian dinosaurs having a horny duck-like bill and webbed feet; may have been partly aquatic
  22. herbivore
    any animal that feeds chiefly on grass and other plants
  23. ichthyosaur
    an extinct sea-dwelling reptile with a porpoise-like body
  24. ichthyosaurus
    ichthyosaurs of the Jurassic
  25. iguanodon
    massive herbivorous bipedal dinosaur with a long heavy tail
  26. Jurassic
    relating to the period from about 201 to 145 million years ago
  27. megalosaur
    gigantic carnivorous bipedal dinosaur of the Jurassic or early Cretaceous in Europe
  28. Mesozoic
    relating to the era from about 252 to 66 million years ago
  29. ornithischian
    herbivorous dinosaur with a pelvis like that of a bird
  30. oviparous
    egg-laying
  31. paleontologist
    a specialist in fossil organisms and related remains
  32. paleontology
    the earth science that studies fossil organisms
  33. plesiosaurus
    extinct marine reptile with a small head on a long neck a short tail and four paddle-shaped limbs; of the Jurassic and Cretaceous
  34. predator
    any animal that lives by preying on other animals
  35. prehistoric
    belonging to or existing before recorded times
  36. prey
    animal hunted or caught for food
  37. protoceratops
    small horned dinosaur
  38. pterosaur
    an extinct reptile of the Jurassic and Cretaceous having a bird-like beak and membranous wings supported by the very long fourth digit of each forelimb
  39. quadruped
    an animal especially a mammal having four limbs
  40. reptile
    a cold-blooded vertebrate including snakes and lizards
  41. saurischian
    herbivorous or carnivorous dinosaur having a three-pronged pelvis like that of a crocodile
  42. sauropod
    very large herbivorous dinosaur of the Jurassic and Cretaceous having a small head a long neck and tail and five-toed limbs; largest known land animal
  43. scavenger
    any animal that feeds on refuse and other decaying matter
  44. skeleton
    the structure providing a frame for the body of an animal
  45. stegosaurus
    a genus of dinosaur with bony plates on its back and a spiked tail
  46. struthiomimus
    small light-boned toothless dinosaur resembling an ostrich in size and proportions
  47. theropod
    any of numerous carnivorous dinosaurs of the Triassic to Cretaceous with short forelimbs that walked or ran on strong hind legs
  48. titanosaur
    amphibious quadrupedal herbivorous dinosaur with a long thin neck and whiplike tail; of the Cretaceous mostly in the southern hemisphere
  49. Triassic
    relating to the period from about 252 to 201 million years ago
  50. triceratops
    huge ceratopsian dinosaur having three horns and the neck heavily armored with a very solid frill
  51. Tyrannosaurus rex
    large carnivorous bipedal dinosaur having enormous teeth with knifelike serrations; may have been a scavenger rather than an active predator; later Cretaceous period in North America
  52. velociraptor
    small active carnivore that probably fed on protoceratops
Created on Tue Jan 31 19:17:33 EST 2017 (updated Thu Apr 06 11:22:33 EDT 2017)

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