World Book Trivia Challenge Advanced--3/5-dinosaurs

Explanation
Dinosaur is the name of a group of prehistoric reptiles that ruled Earth for about 160 million years. These animals died out millions of years ago, but they have fascinated people ever since they were first described in the early 1800's.

Explanation
However, dinosaurs also differed from present-day reptiles in many ways. For example, no modern reptiles grow as large as the biggest dinosaurs. In addition, many kinds of dinosaurs were bipedal—that is, they walked on their hind legs. Dinosaurs also had a different kind of leg posture. Lizards, turtles, and most other modern reptiles hold their legs out to the sides of their body in a low, sprawling posture. But dinosaurs held their legs under their body, much like those of a bird, a horse, a dog, or a person. This upright posture enabled dinosaurs to walk on all four legs without dragging their bellies on the ground.

Explanation
Dinosaurs lived throughout most of the Mesozoic Era, which is divided into three periods—Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous. The Triassic Period lasted from about 251 million to 200 million years ago. The Jurassic Period lasted from about 200 million to 145 million years ago, and the Cretaceous Period from about 145 million to 65 million years ago.

Explanation
Iguanodon was one of the first dinosaurs discovered. Mary Ann Mantell found Iguanodon teeth in Sussex, England, in 1822. Her husband, amateur geologist Gideon Mantell, gave the dinosaur its name in 1825. Iguanodon means iguana tooth.

Explanation
One ceratopsian, Pentaceratops «PEHN tuh SEHR uh tahps», had the largest known head of any animal ever to live on land.

Explanation
Most dinosaurs were plant-eaters. They probably fed on a wealth of leaves, small fruits, and seeds from Mesozoic plants. Some sauropodomorphs browsed on the leaves of trees and tall shrubs, while hadrosaurs chewed on the foliage of lower branches, shrubs, and ferns. Pachycephalosaurs, ankylosaurs, ceratopsians, and stegosaurs fed on low vegetation that grew along the edges of streams and rivers or on open plains.

Explanation
Maiasaura, «MAY uh sawr uh», was a large plant-eating dinosaur noted for its nesting behavior. Its name means good mother lizard, though dinosaurs were not lizards. Evidence suggests that its hatchlings were completely dependent on their parents for food and protection.

Explanation
The first Archaeopteryx fossils were found during the 1860's in Bavaria, a state in Germany. They provided the first solid evidence that birds descended from reptiles.

Explanation
Compsognathus, «komp SOG nuh thuhs», was one of the smallest known dinosaurs. It grew to about the size of a chicken or turkey, measuring around 21/2 feet (0.8 meter) long and weighing approximately 6 to 7 pounds (2.7 to 3.2 kilograms). The animal lived from 155 million to 145 million years ago, during the Late Jurassic Period.

Explanation
Today, most dinosaur discoveries are made in China, Mongolia, Argentina, and various parts of Africa. Many also occur in the United States and Canada. During the late 1900's, extensive research and fossil discoveries greatly increased the number of known dinosaurs. Scientists discover and describe an average of seven new kinds of dinosaurs every year.