Discovering Dinosaurs Trivia Quiz

Answer: Argentinosaurus

The first known argentinosaurus bone was found near Plaza Huincul in Argentina in 1987 by a farmer. Paleontologists who subsequently investigated found other bones from which they were able to reconstruct the dinosaur and in 1993 Jose Bonaparte and Rodolfo Coria named it argentinosaurus after the words 'Argentine' and 'saurus', the Greek word for 'lizard'. The dinosaur is believed to have lived some 90 to 99 million years ago during the late Cretaceous period in what was then a southern part of the supercontinent Gondwana.

The argentinosaurus was one of a number of sauropods, which were slow-moving and herbivorous dinosaurs with comparatively small heads, very long necks and long and very bulky bodies. They also had long, tapering and often very supple tails and walked on four thick, strong legs. Although sauropods were generally big dinosaurs, the argentinosaurus was especially huge, being at least 30 metres (98 feet) from head to tail and weighing about 70,000 kilogrammes (69 tons) or more. Due to its size it has also been classed as a titanosaur, one of a number of very large sauropods that between them inhabited different areas of each of the world's current continents.

Answer: Triceratops

The first remains of a triceratops to be discovered were a pair of horns attached to part of a skull, found by George Lyman Cannon near Denver, Colorado in 1887. Since then more bones and particularly skulls and parts of skulls have been found there and in other parts of what is now western North America, such as Wyoming. The triceratops had three horns on its head, one above its nostrils and the other two situated above its eyes, which in 1889 led palaeontologist Othniel Charles Marsh to name it after the three Greek words 'tri', 'keras' and 'ops' meaning 'three', 'horn(ed)' and 'face' respectively.

This herbivorous dinosaur walked on all four legs and had a large body, a thick tail and a large bony frill around the back of its head/neck. Its head was one of the largest among land dinosaurs and could grow to up to 3 metres (10 feet) long, nearly a third of its total length of some 9 metres (30 feet), while it could reach over 3 metres (10 feet) in height and weighed between 5,000 and 7,000 kilogrammes (5 and 7 tons). It lived some 66 to 68 million years ago during the last part of the late Cretaceous period and has been named as the official Wyoming state dinosaur and as the official South Dakota state fossil.

Answer: Iguanodon

Iguanodon teeth and bones were first found in 1825 in Sussex, England by Gideon Mantell, who was able to identify the teeth as very similar to those of iguanas. Accordingly Mantell gave the name iguanodon to this dinosaur from 'iguana' and 'don', the Greek word for 'tooth'. Remains of many other iguanodons were subsequently discovered in different countries, including over 38 skeletons in a coal mine at Bernissant, Belgium in 1878. Discoveries showed that during the early Cretaceous period some 122 to 126 million years ago this dinosaur not only lived in areas that became England and Belgium, but also in what are now other parts of such as Europe, such as Germany and Spain.

The iguanodon was a large herbivore with a long but narrow head and could grow to some 10 metres (33 feet) long while it weighed between 4,000 and 5,000 kilogrammes (4 and 5 tons). Its back legs were longer than the front ones and it is thought that it could walk on either two or four legs as each front foot had three fused toes which enabled walking, as well as a long flexible 'finger' and a thumb-like spike, possibly used for defence.

Answer: Velociraptor

The first velociraptor bones were found in 1923 by Peter Kaisen from the American Museum of Natural History in part of the Djadochta Formation in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. In 1924 the museum's president Henry Fairfield Osborn gave the dinosaur its name from the Latin words 'velox' and 'raptor' meaning 'swift' and 'robber/plunderer'. Over the years other remains, including almost complete skeletons, were found in the same area and in 1990 remains were also found in northern China.

This carnivorous dinosaur was approximately the same size as a modern turkey and weighed between 15 and 18 kilogrammes (33 and 40 pounds) while its length varied from just below to just above 2 metres (6 feet). It moved quickly on two legs with two toes of each foot on the ground and one, that had a long sickle-shaped claw, held up in the air. It is deemed possible that the velociraptor had a kind of featherlike covering on its body and on its long tail and also had longer feathers on its forelimbs, although it was flightless. It had a long skull and a long snout with many backward-facing teeth, believed to have been replaced throughout its life, and it lived during part of the late Cretaceous era between 70 and 74 million years ago.

Answer: Diplodocus

The first diplodocus bones were found at Caņon City, Colorado in 1877 and since then many bones and nearly complete skeletons have been found in Colorado, Utah, Montana and Wyoming. This dinosaur is believed to have lived in these areas during part of the late Jurassic era some 145 to 155 million years ago. Because the middle part of its tail had double chevron bones or haemal arches on the underside, palaeontologist Othniel Charles Marsh named it 'diplodocus' after the Greek words 'diplos' and 'dokos' meaning 'double' and 'beam'.

The diplodocus was a sauropod and as such had a small head, long neck and body and a long, tapering and whip-like tail. It was at least 20 metres (66 feet) in length and weighed up to 12,000 kilogrammes (12 tons), even though it had a thinner build than other sauropods. Its teeth were peg-like and it is believed to have walked on all four of its legs, despite the front ones being smaller than the back ones and ending in what resembled finger and hand bones.

Answer: Allosaurus

Remains of this dinosaur were first discovered in Middle Park near Granby, Colorado in the late 1860s and more remains were found soon afterwards. Paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh named it 'allosaurus', not because it may have said 'allo' (hello) to its prey (as per the clue) but because its vertebrae were concave and so were different from those of other dinosaurs found up to that time. Consequently he named it after the Greek words 'allos' meaning 'different' and 'saurus' meaning 'lizard'.

Allosaurus was a large carnivorous dinosaur that walked on two strong back limbs and had comparatively smaller forelimbs like arms. Its large head had two small horns above its eyes and it had sharp teeth, a short neck and a long and strong tail. This dinosaur grew to over 4 metres (13 feet) high and between 8 metres and 10 metres (26 feet and 33 feet) in length and weighed an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 kilogrammes (2 to 3 tons). It lived during part of the late Jurassic age some 144 to 156 million years ago in the mid west area of the USA in states such as Wyoming and Utah, as well as Colorado, and also lived in Portugal and Tanzania.

Answer: Tyrannosaurus Rex

Beginning in 1874, when Arthur Lakes found what became recognized as a tooth of a tyrannosaurus in Colorado, many bones and partial skeletons have been found there and in other areas, for instance in Montana and Wyoming and in Canada and New Mexico. As this suggests, it is believed that these carnivorous dinosaurs lived in large parts of western North America, possibly including Mexico, some 66 to 68 million years ago in part of the late Cretaceous period.

The tyrannosaurus could grow to some12 metres (39 feet) in length and 4 metres (13 feet) high at the hips and weighed up to 7,000 kilogrammes (7 tons). It is estimated to have been capable of moving at between 16 and 32 kilometres (10 and 20 miles) per hour when running on its two large powerful legs. In contrast, it had only very small forelimbs with clawed digits but had a long, strong tail and a very large skull with powerful jaws that contained some 60 large teeth. In 1905 Henry Fairfield Osborn named these very large dinosaurs after the Greek words 'tyrannos' and 'saurus' meaning 'tyrant' and 'lizard', and added 'rex' from the Latin word for 'king'.

Answer: Sinraptor

The existence of sinraptors was only discovered in the late twentieth century when in 1987 a joint Chinese and Canadian excavation in Xiangiang in north west China found some remains of this genus of dinosaur. Philip J Currie and Xian Zhao created the name 'sinraptor' for it from the Latin words 'sino' meaning 'chinese' and 'raptor' meaning 'robber/plunderer'. Other specimens, some nearly complete skeletons, have since been found in China.

A sinraptor could grow to approaching 8 metres (26 feet) in length and nearly 3 metres (10 feet) in height while its weight was likely to have been over 1,000 kilogrammes (1 ton) and it lived in the middle to late part of the Jurassic era between 142 and 169 million years ago. It was one of a number of carnosaurs, carnivorous dinosaurs that had long back legs, on which they walked, and much smaller forelimbs. In common with other carnosaurs, a sinraptor had large jaws with long, dagger-shaped teeth, which is believed to indicate that it could have preyed on reasonably large herbivores.

Answer: Stegosaurus

The first stegosaurus remains were discovered in Colorado in 1877 and since then bones and fairly complete skeletons of over 80 individual animals have been found in the Morrison Formation - a well-known fossil site in Wyoming and Colorado. Remains have also been found in other parts of Wyoming, for instance a complete skeleton in the Red Canyon Ranch site in 2003, as well as in what is now Portugal. This dinosaur is believed to have lived in these areas between 150 and 155 million years ago during part of the late Jurassic period.

The stegosaurus was a large herbivore that could grow up to 3 metres (10 feet) high and up to 9 metres (30 feet) long and is thought to have weighed some 5,000 kilogrammes (5 tons). It walked on four legs, although the hind ones were longer than the front ones, while a number of large and powerful spikes, which were believed to have been used in defence, grew at the end of its tail. The dinosaur had a small head and a body with two rows of triangular bony plates running from behind its head along its back and part of its tail. Because of these plates, Othniel Charles Marsh coined the name 'stegosaurus' after the Greek words 'stegos' and 'saurus' meaning 'roof' and 'lizard' respectively.

Answer: Atlascopcosaurus

The multinational Atlas Copco company provided equipment for an excavation at Dinosaur Cove East in Victoria, Australia in 1984 that resulted in many fossil bones of hitherto unknown dinosaurs being discovered there. Among these dinosaurs was one that in 1989 was named 'atlascopcosaurus' by palaeontologists Tom Rich and Patricia Vickers-Rich after the name of the company and 'saurus', the Greek word for 'lizard' . Over the next ten years Atlas Copco and other companies helped in the excavation and investigation of about 60 metres of tunnel in a cliff wall at the Cove.

Although a complete skeleton was not found, palaeontologists were able to reconstruct atlascopcosaurus and concluded it was a herbivorous ornithopodal dinosaur. As such it would have moved on its two long back legs while its two front legs were smaller and it had a comparatively light body with a long neck and tail. It was a fairly small dinosaur with an estimated length of 2 to 3 metres (7 to 10 feet) and weight of about 125 kilogrammes (275 pounds) and it lived between 100 and 125 million years ago during part of the early Cretaceous period.