Dinosaurs Day 15: Cretaceous Carnivore Dinosaurs

Cretaceous Carnivore Dinosaurs

Discuss: As you learn each dinosaur on this day look up the Dino Dictionary to see you to correctly pronounce their names, and find each dinosaur on the dinosaur classification chart that we made earlier. 

Dinosaur Flashcards:

Albertosaurus read The Albertosaurus Mystery by T.V. Padma

Baryonyx read/do pages page 7 in Dinosaurs:Diggin' Discovery (A+ Let's Grow Smart!).

Carnotaurus read/do pages page 20 in Dinosaurs:Diggin' Discovery (A+ Let's Grow Smart!).

Deinonychus

Dromaeosaurus

Elasmosaurus

Oviraptor read Oviraptor by Wil Mara and read/do pages page 14 in Dinosaurs:Diggin' Discovery (A+ Let's Grow Smart!).

Pteranodon read Pteranodon by Daniel Cohen and read/do pages page 30 in Dinosaurs:Diggin' Discovery (A+ Let's Grow Smart!).

Spinosaurus read Spinosaurus Susan H. Gray and read/do pages page 21 in Dinosaurs:Diggin' Discovery (A+ Let's Grow Smart!).

Velociraptor read/do pages page 9 in Dinosaurs:Diggin' Discovery (A+ Let's Grow Smart!).

Dinosaur Journal: Draw a picture of your favorite Cretaceous Carnivore Dinosaur.

Review:

1. Watch Dinosaur Train ABC Song.
2. Play Dinosaur Spelling Game.

Albertosaurus Information
Translation: Alberta Lizard

Diet: Carnivore

Period: Late Cretaceous

Family: Tyrannosauridae

Height: 15 feet
Length: 30 feet
Weight: 6,000 lbs

Physical Appearance: It had a huge head with long, sharp, saw-toothed teeth and two-fingered hands on arms that were longer than Tyrannosaurus's stubby forelimbs.

Lifestyle: With its sleek build and long hind limbs, it was one of the fastest runners among the tyrannosaurids.

Discovered by: First discovered in Alberta, Canada, Albertosaurus stalked its prey almost 8 million years before Tyrannosaurus, a close relative. A jaw and teeth belonging to an Albertosaurus were identified by Joseph Leidy, who named the first American dinosaurs.

Directions:

Write a descriptive essay about being a Albertosaurus living in a particular region. What would the eat dinosaur eat; would it be a meat eater or a plant eater? How big would it be? What would it look like? What kind of plants and other animals/dinosaurs would be there? What would the weather be like? Would it be warm, hot or cool? Would the climate be wet or dry? What other details would you like to add?

J is reading his essay to us.

 

Baryonyx Information

Translation: Heavy claw

Diet: carnivore

Period: Cretaceous period

Family: Spinosauridae

Height: 8 feet
Length: 32 feet
Weight: 4,000 lbs

Physical Appearance: Baryonyx was an unusual theropod with huge 1-foot long claws on its hands, and long, narrow, crocodile-like jaws with 96 small, serrated teeth. It had a small crest on its snout. Baryonyx had a long, straight neck and a long tail. Its low-slung body was supported by 2 large rear legs and 2 slightly smaller arms.

Lifestyle: Baryonyx was a theropod, whose intelligence was high among the dinosaurs. Baryonyx was a large predator that ate fish. A fossilized Baryonyx was found with a fossilized meal in its stomach; this stomach contained fish scales, fish bones, and some partially digested bones of a young Iguanodon.

Discovered by: Baryonyx was found in 1983 in a clay pit in Surrey, England, by the British amateur fossil hunter William Walker. It was found about 30 miles south of London, England.

Directions: I printed out the following questions for J to answer as a comprehension drill.
 

Baryonyx Quiz

1. What does the name Baryonyx mean?_______________________

2. Was Baryonyx a plant-eater or a meat-eater?__________________ 
 
3. Baryonyx was found with something unusual in its stomach. What
was it?_________________________________________________
 
4. Did Baryonyx have a toothless beak or sharp teeth? ____________


5. How long was Baryonyx?_________________________________


6. What geologic period did Baryonyx live in? ___________________


7. Was Baryonyx a relatively intelligent dinosaur or a relatively
unintelligent dinosaur? ____________________________________


8. When was the first Baryonyx fossil found? ____________________


9. Baryonyx was found near a major city. What city was it? _________ 
 
10. Were Baryonyx's jaws more like those of a lion or like those of a crocodile?_______________________________________________

Carnotaurus Information

Translation: Meat-eating Bull

Diet: Carnivore

Period: Cretaceous period

Family: Abelisauridae

Height: 13 feet
Length: 24 feet
Weight: 2,000 lbs.

Physical Appearance: A dinosaur with a short snout, two bull-like horns and a weak jaw.

Lifestyle: Skin like reptiles of today.

Discovered by: There was found a skin cast in Argentina that reveals that Carnotaurus had pebbly, reptile like skin.

Directions: Fill out the Dinosaur Research Report with the information you learned about the Carnotaurus.

Deinonychus Information

Translation: Terrible Claw

Diet: Carnivore

Period: Cretaceous period

Family: Dromaeosauridae

Height: 5 feet
Length: 9 feet
Weight: 175 lbs

Physical Appearance: Deinonychus was a lightly built, fast-moving, bird-like dinosaur.

Deinonychus had a curved, flexible neck and a big head with sharp, serrated teeth in very powerful jaws. Each of its three fingers on each hand had large, sharp, curved claws. It had four-toed feet; the second toe had a 5-inch sickle-like claw, and the other toes had smaller claws.

Lifestyle: Its long tail had bony rods running along the spine, giving it rigidity; the tail was used for balance and fast turning ability. Deinonychus had a relatively large brain and large, keen eyes. It was deadly and intelligent wtiha huge toe-claw. Deinonychus may have hunted in packs.

Discovered by: Deinonychus was first found by Grant E. Meyer and John H. Ostrom in southern Montana (in the western United States) in 1964.

Deinonychus Charades

Directions:

Act out how you think Deinonychus walked, ran, jumped, slept, etc... What noises do you think Deinonych made when he was talking, sad, angry, etc...

Dromaeosaurus Information
Translation: Swift Lizard

Diet: Carnivore

Period: Cretaceous period

Family: Dromaeosauridae

Height: 2.5 feet
Length: 6 feet
Weight: 100 pounds

Physical Appearance:It had razor-sharp teeth and 3 inch eagle-like claws on the inner toe of each foot.

Lifestyle: Intelligent and aggressive, they would chase after their prey before jumping onto them to kill by biting and stabbing. They could live in groups, but preferred to hunt alone; they were capable of killing from a young age.

Discovered by: The first known Dromaeosaurus remains were discovered by paleontologist Barnum Brown during a 1914 expedition to Red Deer River. 

Dromaeosaurus Measurement 

Materials:

1. Tape measure
2. Information about each dinosaur you want to measure

Procedure:

1. Have children measure out the length and height of the Dromaeosaurus.
2. Discuss with the children how big the dinosaur truly was. 
   

Elasmosaurus Information

Translation: Thin-plated lizard

Diet: Carnivore

Period: Cretaceous period

Family: Elasmosauridae

Length: 46 feet
Weight: 2 tons

Physical Appearance: Elasmosaurus was a long-necked marine reptile. Half of its length was its neck, which had as many as 75-76 vertebrae in it. Elasmosaurus had four long, paddle-like flippers, a tiny head, sharp teeth in strong jaws, and a pointed tail.

Lifestyle: Elasmosaurus lived in the open oceans and breathed air. Some Plesiosaurs have been found with small stones in their stomachs; these may have been used to help grind up their food, or as ballast, to help them dive.

Discovered by: Elasmosaurus was named by paleontologist E. D. Cope in 1868 from a fossil was found in Wyoming, USA. (Find Wyoming, USA on the world map).

Elasmosaurus Charades

Directions: Act out how you think Elasmosaurus walked, ran, jumped, slept, etc... What noises do you think Elasmosaurus made when he was talking, sad, angry, etc...

Oviraptor Information

Translation: Egg Stealer

Diet: Omnivore

Period: Cretaceous

Family: Oviraptoridae

Height: 3 feet
Length: 5 feet
Weight: 80 pounds

Physical Appearance: Oviraptor was lightly built, fast-moving, long-legged, and bipedal (walked on two legs). The claws on its large hands were about 3 inches long. Its fingers were long and grasping. Oviraptor's strangely-shaped, parrot-like head had a short, toothless beak and extremely powerful jaws, built for crushing action. It had a small, stumpy, horn-like crest on its head.

Lifestyle: It probably ate meat, eggs, seeds, insects, and plants with its beak and powerful jaws.

Discovered by: Oviraptor was first found in the Gobi desert (in Mongolia) in 1924 and was described and named by Henry F. Osborn. (Find the Gobi Desert on your world map).

Directions:

Write a descriptive essay about being a Oviraptor living in a particular region. What would the eat dinosaur eat; would it be a meat eater or a plant eater? How big would it be? What would it look like? What kind of plants and other animals/dinosaurs would be there? What would the weather be like? Would it be warm, hot or cool? Would the climate be wet or dry? What other details would you like to add?

Pteranodon Information

Translation: Winged and Toothless

Diet: Carnivore

Period: Cretaceous

Family: Pteranodontidae

Height: 6 feet
Length: 30 feet wingspan
Weight: 55 pounds

Physical Appearance: Pteranodon was a flying reptile that lived during the time of the dinosaurs. Pteranodon's wing-span is longer than that of any known bird or pterosaur. It had a crest on its head, no teeth at all, and a very short tail.

Lifestyle: Pteranodon probably ate fish.

Discovered by: Many Pteranodon fossils have been found. The first Pteranodon skull was found on May 2, 1876, in Smoky Hill River, Wallace County, Kansas, USA. by S. W. Williston, a fossil collector working for Othniel Marsh.

Directions:  J filled in the Pteranodon Information Page to review what he learned.

3-D Pteranodon Puzzle

I found this Rose Art 3d Create N' Color Wooden Dinosaur Series at our local Goodwill store.  We put together to Pteranodon dino today.

Spinosaurus Information

Translation: spiny lizard

Diet: Carnivore

Period: Cretaceous

Family: Spinosauridae

Height: 14 feet
Length: 45 feet
Weight: 6 tons

Physical Appearance: Spinosaurus may have been the largest of theropods, larger even than Tyrannosaurus.

Lifestyle: Spinosaurus' sail may have been for heat dissipation. The sail may have also been used to attract mates or seem bigger than it was.

Discovered by: Ernst Stromer von Reichenbach in 1915 in Egypt. (Find Egypt on a world globe).

Directions:  J filled in the Spinosaurus Information Page to review what he learned.

Velociraptor Information

Translation: Speedy Thief

Diet: Carnivore

Period: Cretaceous

Family: Dromaeosauridae

Height: 2.5 feet
Length: 6 feet
Weight: 200 pounds

Physical Appearance: This meat-eater had about 80 very sharp, curved teeth in a long, flat snout; some of the teeth were over an inch long. This predator had an s-shaped neck, arms with three-fingered clawed hands, long thin legs, and four-toed clawed feet.

Lifestyle: Velociraptor was a fast-running, two-legged (bipedal) dinosaur. Velociraptor may have been able to run up to roughly 40 mph for short bursts. Velociraptor's brain was relatively large in comparison to its body size.

Discovered by: Velociraptor was first found and described by paleontologist H. F. Osborn in Mongolia, Asia in 1924. In 1971, fossils of a Velociraptor and a Protoceratops were found together. They died together; the Velociraptor was attacking the Protoceratops with its claws and the armored head of the Protoceratops had apparently pierced the chest of the Velociraptor. (Find Asia on the globe).

Directions:  I found this Velociraptor Activity Sheet for J to brush up on his listening skills.