Dinosaurs – The Carnivores!

Meat eating dinosaurs were called CARNIVORES. There were about 100 types of dinosaurs who ate meat. Spinosaurus (means Spine Lizard) was the largest meat eating dinosaur, even bigger than the T-Rex. 

A few of the other carnivore dinosaurs –

Albertosaurus, Allosaurus, Coelophysis, Compsognathus, Deinonychus, Dilophosaurus, Eoraptor, Giganotosaurus, Megalosaurus, Suchomimus, Tyrannosaurus rex, Unenlagia, Utahraptor. Velociraptor, Yangchuanosaurus

Meat-eaters (carnivores or theropods) 

• Carnivorous dinosaurs usually had long, strong legs so that they could run quickly in order to catch their prey. 
• They also needed large, strong jaws, sharp teeth, and claws to eat their prey.
• Good eyesight, a keen sense of smell, and a large brain to plan hunting strategies were also very important for successful hunting. 
• Many of the carnivores (like Deinonychus, Coelophysis and Velociraptor) probably  hunted in packs
• Most carnivores are scavengers when given the opportunity. Some dinosaurs were fish eaters, including Baryonyx and Suchomimus. Spinosaurus may have been a good swimmer (it had paddle-like feet similar to those of water birds). A few dinosaurs (including Coelophysis) have been found with small, fossilized animals within their fossil, giving information about their diet. 
• Some of the things the dinosaurs ate were fish, insects, and other dinosaurs.

GREAT INTERACTIVE DINOSAUR WEBSITE

Here is a great interactive website to find out a lot more about dinosaurs.

https://www.dkfindout.com/us/dinosaurs-and-prehistoric-life/dinosaurs/

READ ALOUD BOOK ‘HOW DO DINOSAURS CHOOSE THEIR PETS?’ BY Jane Yolen & Mark Teague

TYRANNOSAURUS REX 

• The T-Rex dinosaur had many similar features to birds. One thought is that they were warm-blooded like birds, rather than cold-blooded like reptiles.
• Its arms were too short to reach its mouth.
• It lived in North America in river valleys and forests.
• It could probably eat as much as 500 pounds of meat in a single bite.
• The Chicago museum purchased the famous Tyrannosaurus Sue fossil for $8 million. 
• Their babies may have been covered in feathers.

Here is a short clip of more T-Rex discoveries

Here is a short song clip to learn a little more about the T-Rex

Activities

1. Can you make one of the meat-eating dinosaurs using recyclable materials?

• Boxes, cardboard, plastic bottles, paper are a few ideas of recycled materials.
• How could you make the body, the teeth, and head? How many legs does your dinosaur need?

2. Journal Question. What would you do if you had a pet T-Rex? Where would you take the T-Rex? Can you draw and write about it in your journal?

3. Meat eating dinosaur word cards and pictures attached if you want to draw and write about dinosaurs. You can write and draw about them on a piece of paper, outside with chalk. (Word cards attached.)

4. If you have some playdough, which dinosaurs can you make?

5. Make a dinosaur diorama – (details and instructions are attached separately).

6. If you have any toy dinosaurs at home, maybe you can put them in a cup, container or some plastic eggs you may have laying around. Then add water to the container with the dinosaur in it, then put them in the freezer. What do you think will happen to them?

7. Attached are 2 activity sheets – print out the dinosaur and labels, decorate the dinosaur and then label the different parts of a T-Rex using the labels provided 

Dinosaurs come in all shapes and sizes. Here are a few examples comparing dinosaurs to humans.