Tag Archive | Cretaceous

Zhejiangopterus

Yes, more dinosaurs… or rather not dinosaurs… enjoy my continuing deflation of any sort of pride in how caught up my blog is! But once it is… bam I will be on top of the world!!!

 

Now there is a mouthful! Pronounced ZHE-zhang-OP-ter-us (does that even really help much either?), this is not a dinosaur but a pterosaur found in the late Cretaceous period. Found in the coastal area of Asia (specifically China), this flying lizard subsisted mainly on a diet of fish. It was toothless and had an usually long head and neck without any sort of crest. Moderately large in stature it had extra long legs as well.

This flying reptile was impressive in size and number of unearthed portions as well as pretty much full skeletons. Quite the interesting character!

We have a few links of interest to share with this one:

  • Dinosaurs.about.com HERE
  • Prehistoric-Wildlife.com HERE
  • My Dino’s (title straight from site) HERE
  • Dino Dominion HERE
  • DinosaurFact.net HERE
  • Open Caching Beta HERE
  • Dinosaur Train Field Guide, just put the rather difficult to spell name into the search engine HERE
  • Dinosaur Train Wiki HERE
  • Wikipedia HERE
  • Our Google search for the images HERE
  • Our pictures is from deviantArt HERE thanks to Xezansaur called Zhejiangopterus Linhaiensis

Enantiornithine… Not a Dinosaur!

Back to rather old saved posts before I face the October resize. Enjoy this NOt dinosaur!

But a bird found during the age of dinosaurs. The enantiornithine died out at the end of the Cretaceous period but was common during the Mesozoic era. With feathers and teeth, this omnivore has been found as small as a sparrow and as big as a turkey. Toted as the possible origin of feathers and birds… this prehistoric bird has been a creature of interest for some time. They are thought to be found everywhere but Antarctica, virtually all over the Pangea.

We came across the enantiornithine on Dinosaur Train so of course we had to hunt more. This bird was a wonderful creature to restart our dinosaur odyssey. We had one good video that both Emanuel and Gavin enjoyed. PL3_Bird_Enantiornithine Birds by Walter Jahn.

Our second video was more a peek at a rendering on the Dinopedia for Walking With Dinosaurs. An image from their opening HERE. Of course this bird is also featured on Dinosaur Train. You can watch them on PBSkids.org. Or Netflix of course. We found our best images on Google WERE Dinosaur Train. I simply did a Google search for enantiornithine  or enantiornithine  dinosaur train and clicked images.

We had a few links. Some were too advanced for my current learners but I have included them here all the same out of interest sake.

  • Random Thoughts has a… random thought about our bird HERE.
  • Dinosaur Train’s Field Guide… click search and find our bird HERE.
  • Dinosaur Train Wikia HERE.
  • Answers in Genesis has an article HERE.
  • Phys.Org HERE.
  • Wiki article HERE.
  • A Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology HERE
  • Our colouring page came from deviantArt. We used it to trace out our dinosaur and paste it on a scene the boys drew… Thanks to Albertonykus HERE.

Pachyrhinosaurus

A taste of my own… if you start it finish it philosophy. Waaaaay delayed!!! Well, it keeps you humble. Enjoy!

Edit: For a video that is current check out this video to hear how this dinosaur got its name. Thanks to the Royal Tyrrell Museum.

I must admit our 2013-2014 school year has been light on the dinosaurs. It just seems like learning to read and external forces have held us at bay… but no longer! We are planning to go up to AT LEAST 2 a week if not back to our original 5. This means LOTS of hunting for mommy for those more obscure dinosaurs. But first… the Pachyrhinosaurus.

This Cretaceous period herbivore was found in what is now Alberta and Alaska. Believed to have moved in herds, it was a rather unintelligent dinosaur with less hearing and scent capabilities. Being a plant eater its teeth were constantly worn down and replaced and included cheek teeth. Without brow or nasal bones this 4 legged dinosaur had a rather unique look. Definitely a traditional plant eater though!

Our video today was from the documentary March of the Dinosaurs. (part 5) All thanks to Clubpenguindino.

And now for our links. Sadly we are finding less links now that we are going more obscure but they ARE helpful nonetheless.

  • Walking With Dinosaurs site (BBC) HERE
  • Dinosaurs.about.com HERE
  • Walking With Wikis HERE
  • Animal Planet HERE
  • Wiki HERE
  • And our colouring page found on Caw. HERE