Dinosaurs

prehistoric · evolution · reptiles · fossils

Ruled for millions of years. Dinosaurs dominated Earth throughout the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, which lasted for over 150 million years. They were the biggest and most powerful animals on land during this incredible time.

Warm-blooded like us. Unlike most reptiles today, dinosaurs were warm-blooded, meaning their bodies stayed warm on their own. This helped them stay active and powerful in any climate.

Appeared early, ruled later. Dinosaurs first showed up during the Triassic period, but they didn't become the top animals until after a big extinction event 201 million years ago. Then nothing could stop them.

Birds are dinosaurs. Here's the wild part: birds didn't just live alongside dinosaurs, birds actually ARE dinosaurs. They evolved from feathered theropods and are the only dinosaur lineage that survived when a giant asteroid hit Earth 66 million years ago.

Fossils tell the story. We know about dinosaurs because scientists study their fossils, which are bones and remains preserved in rock. These fossils show how dinosaurs changed and evolved over millions of years.