Dino park

The most dangerous inhabitant of the Dino Park greets us at the very entrance, it is the famous T-Rex. Tyrannosaurus (name meaning `tyrant lizard`) emerged during Cretaceous Period, about 75 million years BC, and it inhabited the Earth until the disappearance of non-avian dinosaurs, somewhere around 65.5 million years BC.T-Rex measured from 11.3 meters in length and about 3.3 meters tall at the hips to even 15 meters in length and 4.5 meters tall at the hips. Tyrannosaurus fore limbs were short and undeveloped. However, some newer studies of its muscle formation shows that, despite small size of limbs,it was able to lift the part of weight of atoday`s cow.On a strong and muscular neck stood the huge head with 50 sharp, 30 cm long, teeth in a powerful jaw. Sharp teeth combined with big claws on powerful hind limbs were dangerous weapon of this carnivore.

Charging from the right side on T-Rex is Pterosaur (lat. Pterosauria), the first flying reptile of Jurassic period. Its fore limbs were undeveloped but by formation of a membrane it managed to fly. They are known as pterodactyls. They were flying predators. Pterosaurs are often referred as dinosaurs, but this is not true. The term `dinosaur` is restricted to all types of dinosaurs including birds. Pterosaur bones were hollow which made their body lighter for flight. It glided through the air instead of flapping with its wings in which there was no bone structure. Its wingspan was even 8 meters long. This way of flying (gliding) did not allow them to stay in air for longer periods of time. Pterosaurhad thin skin on wings instead of feathers (birds with feathers evolved later in Jurassic period). It lived on high trees and mountain cliffs which provided a starting point for taking off and in our Dino Park this prehistoric bird stands on a cliff. In search for food Pterosaur also became a prey sometimes. First pterosaurs from Jurassic period had developed teeth which allowed them to hunt for even bigger prey.

Another inhabitant of the Dino Park is an Ankylosaurus (meaning `fused lizard`). Its fossils have been found in geological formations dating to the very end of the Cretaceous Period, from about 66.5 - 65.5 million years ago, in western North America. Although a complete skeleton has not been discovered, some other Ankylosaurusesare familiar from more complete fossils. Ankylosaurus is often considered the archetypal armored dinosaur. It shared the traits with other Ankylosauruses - it was covered in armor plates, with a massive club on the end of its tail, but still it was the biggest member of the family.

Triceratops also have a place in our Dino Park. It is the most famous member of the Ceratopsidae family from the late Cretaceous period (about 65 million years ago). It was a giant among his dinosaur relatives, with body weight of 10 tons and up to 9 meters of maximum length. Only its head was 3 meters long so it could feed on the thickest plants with his huge jaws. Compared to other dinosaurs it had the biggest head. It had three horns on the head because of which Triceraptos gained the name `Three-horned`. Pair of horns, each over 1.5 meters long, stood above his eyes, and a shorter hornwas in the middle, above the nostrils, in the front part of the skull. It had a large bony frill on the rearend of his skull which served to protect his neck. The whole frill was of huge proportions, build out of massive bones. It is possible that, along with horns, giant frill served for thermoregulation when there was need for that. On some skulls of the found fossils, significant wounds can be spotted, which show the possibility of fierce fights, probably between males during the mating season. Triceratops also had thick scale which caused problems to many carnivores. Its tail was very long so he probably did not use it in self-defense.

Plesiosaurus lived in oceans more than 200 million years ago, but now has moved to our Dino Park. Its 4 limbs were similar to wings with which he could `fly` under water. With its sharp teeth it fed on small water animals. Plesiosaurus belonged to the group of extinct carnivores, sea reptiles. Together with Ichtyosauruses, which resembled to porpoises, and other sea reptiles, they are called `sea dragons` which lived 210 to 265 million years ago. Unlike them, dinosaurs ruled the land. Compared to other plesiosaur genera, Plesiosaurus had a small head. Skull is narrow and long, with greatest width behind eyes (postorbital space). The anterior portion is triangular. In lateral view, the skull reaches its highest point at the rear of the skull table.  Exterior nostrils are higher than interior ones. They are not on the top of the snout but more in the back, closer to eyes from top of the skull. Unlike Rhomaleosaurus nostrils they are not adapted for underwater smell. Orbits (eye sockets) are almost round shaped and are close to the middle of the skull on each side of the skull. The two rami of the lower jaw make a `V` shape with an angle of about 45°. The specific region where they meet – symphysis is very strong. The two rami are fused at the symphysis, making a pointed, shallow scoop-like shape.

Pachycephalosaurus (meaning `thick-headed lizard`) is a genus of pachycephalosaurid dinosaurs. It lived during the Late Cretaceous Period of what is now North America. Fossils were found in Montana, South Dakota and Wyoming. It was an herbivorous creature or omnivore creature. Pachycephalosaurus was one of the last dinosaurs before the extinction. Like other pachycephalosaurids, Pachycephalosaurus was a bipedal omnivore with an extremely thick skull roof. It possessed long hind limbs and small fore limbs. The thick skull domes of Pachycephalosaurus and related genera gave rise to the hypothesis that pachycephalosaurs used their skulls for head clashing combat. In our Dino Park we demonstrate a fight between two members of this species of dinosaurs. The anatomy of Pachycephalosaurus is poorly known, as only skull remains have been described. Pachycephalosaurus is famous for having a large, bony dome atop its skull, up to 25 cm thick, which protected its tiny brain. The dome's rear aspect was edged with bony knobs and short bony spikes projected upwards from the snout. The spikes were probably blunt, not sharp. The skull was short, and possessed large, rounded eye sockets that faced forward, suggesting that Pachycephalosaurus had binocular vision. Pachycephalosaurus had a small muzzle which ended in a pointed beak. The teeth were tiny, with leaf-shaped crowns.

Stegosaurus (meaning `roofed lizard`), also an inhabitant of our Dino park, was dinosaur genera that lived during late Jurassic period. The fossils found in Portugal in 2006 are proof that they lived also in today’s Europe. It has a distinctive tail and spikes. The name Stegosaurus means `lizard-roof`. It lived 155 to 145 million years ago in the area with huge Sauropod genera dominance. Body was, on average, 9 meters long with 4 meters in height. The body was covered in scales. Along the curved backs were two rows of triangular plates. The function of this array of plates was probably for thermoregulatory functions, but, they were not, opposed to general belief, used for combat against predators because they could easily break. Plates were full with blood vessels, and they could change colors, so they could maybe frighten the predators, but most likely they were used for display during mating season. On their tale there were spikes that could give a painful blow to the enemy.  

Amargasaurusis a genus of sauropod dinosaur. The only known skeleton was discovered in 1984 and is virtually complete, including a fragmentary skull, making Amargasaurus one of the best-known sauropods of its epoch. Amargasaurus was first described in 1991. It was a large animal, but small for a sauropod, reaching 9 to 10 meters in length (30 to 33 feet). Most distinctively, it sported two parallel rows of tall spines down its neck and back, taller than in any other known sauropod. In life, these spines most likely could have stuck out of the body as solitary structures that supported a keratinous sheath. Alternative hypothesis, now less unfavored, postulates that they could have formed a scaffold supporting a skin sail. They can be used for display, combat, or defense. Amargasaurus was discovered in the sedimentary rocks of the La Amarga formation, which dates to the Barremian through later Aptian period of the early Cretaceous. Amargasaurus probably fed at mid-height, as shown by the orientation of its inner ear and the articulation of its neck vertebrae, which suggest a habitual position of her body of about 80 centimeters (31 inches) above the ground and a maximum height of 2.7 meters (8.9 feet).

Oviraptor is a genus of small Mongolian theropod dinosaurs, first discovered by paleontologist Roy Chapman Andrews, and first described by Henry Fairfield Osborn, in 1924. Its name is Latin for 'egg taker' or ‘egg seizer’, referring to the fact that the first fossil specimen was discovered atop a pile of what were thought to be Protoceratops eggs. Second part of the name means "lover of ceratopsians", also given as a result of this discovery. In 1924, Osborn explained that the name was given due to the close proximity of the skull of Oviraptor to the nest (it was separated from the eggs by only 4 inches of sand). However, Osborn also suggested that the name Oviraptor"may entirely mislead us as to its feeding habits and belie its character". In the 1990s, the discovery of nesting oviraptorids like Citipati proved that Osborn was correct in his doubtsabout the name. These finds showed that the `Protoceratops eggs` probably belonged to Oviraptor itself, and that the specimen was actually lying on them. Oviraptor lived in the late Cretaceous period, 75 million years ago, only one definitive specimen is found (together with eggs), from the Djadokhta Formation of Mongolia, though a possible second specimen (also with eggs) was found in the northeast region of Mongolia, in an area called Bayan Mandahu. As for Oviraptor in our Dino Park, he also carries an egg with him.

Diplodocus is a type of a dinosaur whose fossils were first discovered in 1878. Its name comes from Greek διπλός (diplos) which means `double` and δοκός (dokos) which means ` wooden beam`, `pole` or `branch`. It is believed that it lived in herds like today’s elephants. The name was given because of the structure of its tail. Under every vertebrae it had a chevron bones that spread forth and back. Role of this chevron bones was not only to protect blood vessels in tail but also to give it strength. It is possible that it defended from attackers by using the tail as a whip. It had a body of about 27 meters long and weighted between 10 and 16 tons. For long it was a longest dinosaur known. It size was what frightened big predators. It head was very small (half a meter in size), while neck and tail were very long and made 60% of body length. It walked on four thick and huge legs which were quite small compared to the body length. Some scientist believe that it moved with head and tail almost in complete horizontal posture, but it also appeared that it could stand up on his hind legs so it could feed on the leaves of high trees. Like its relatives it had teeth only in the anterior section of the jaw and they were small `peg` like. It lived in western parts of today’s North America at the end of the Jurassic period. Diplodocus was found in the upper Morrison Formation, between about 150 and 147 million years ago.