To date there has been over a thousand different genera of dinosaurs described, with a new dinosaur being discovered on average every 4-6 weeks. Scientists are exploring areas that have not been studied before, parts of India, Madagascar, China, Argentina and Antarctica. The development of CGI and other special effects has enabled prehistoric animals to be depicted in films like the Jurassic Park series and on television with the “Walking with Dinosaurs” compilation. Developments in plastics and other compounds has enabled model manufacturers to produce ever more complex replicas of dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures.

So Many Different Types of Dinosaur

I am amazed at the diversity of Dinosauria. They certainly had the best part of 160 million years to change, adapt and fill every terrestrial niche. Unfortunately, it is very unlikely that we will ever discover all the dinosaur genera. The process of fossilisation and preservation happens only very rarely and certain habitats such as forest environments make the possibility of fossilisation extremely remote. Still this does not stop scientists trying to imagine what other creatures may have existed or indeed speculating on what we may find in the future.

One Hundred Tonne Giants

Considering dinosaur diversity there are many possibilities. Take Titanosaurs (long-necked dinosaurs), for example. Within this group we see incredible diversity and geographic spread, with fossil Titanosaur remains having been excavated from the USA, Europe, Africa and South America. The largest dinosaur yet to be fully described – Argentinosaurus may have exceeded 100 feet in length and weighed more than 100 Tonnes, yet, smaller almost dwarf Titanosaurs are also known. Palaeontologists working in Romania have recovered fossil bones of a relatively small Titanosaur. It has been named Magyarosaurus (full species name M. dacus). This late Cretaceous Titanosaur may have only been about 5 metres long as fully grown adults. Scientists have speculated that at the time this animal roamed about what was to become Transylvania; the area was mostly covered by a shallow sea with small islands dotted about. Dinosaurs living on these isolated areas of land, found resources limited and gradually evolved into dwarf forms in response to the limitations of the environment. Dwarfism in island species is quite common with dwarf mammoths and elephants having been reported in the past.

Tiny Dinosaurs that could Sit in your Palm

Other types of dinosaur were very much smaller. Some of the smallest dinosaurs described to date where no bigger than a common crow and could have sat happily in the palm of your hand. For dinosaur model makers, there is a huge variety of different types of dinosaur to make models of. Indeed, the diversity of the Dinosauria is only just beginning to be reflected in the number of different dinosaur models and dinosaur toys commercially available.

Dinosaurs at the Bottom of the Sea

A number of well-known dinosaurs have been discovered in marine sediments. Fossils of dinosaurs such as Scelidosaurus, a primitive armoured dinosaur, have only been found in rocks associated with being formed under the sea. This does not mean that this herbivore was a marine animal, it is much more likely that the carcases of this terrestrial creature were washed out to sea, perhaps by a river in spate and once offshore the corpse sank to the bottom to become entombed by sediments and eventually fossilised.

However, there are dinosaurs to be found at the bottom of the Atlantic, not just those specimens that remain encased in sediments out of our reach but also there are a number of duck-billed dinosaurs to be found about 400 miles North west of the Azores.

Dinosaur Casualties in the First World War

Before the USA was drawn into the First World War, dinosaur expeditions were still being funded and there were many excavations taking place in the Western USA and Canada. British scientists looked on enviously, especially as many UK- based museums had received a number of high quality fossils in the early part of the 20th Century.

The American fossil hunter Charles H Sternberg had collected a huge number of Cretaceous animal fossils in the area of Alberta now known as Dinosaur Provincial Park. The haul included a number of Hadrosaur fossils, rare turtles and Champosaurs (a type of crocodile). Many of these finds were destined for England as it had been agreed that they would be put on display in London.

The Sinking of the Mount Temple

The fossils were loaded onto the steamship Mount Temple. The year was 1916 and the Great War in Europe had been waging for two years. Whilst on its way to England, the Mount Temple was intercepted by a German ship, the SMS Oldenberg. After firing on the Mount Temple and forcing it to stop the German crew boarded the Canadian merchantman and planted explosives on the hull. The ship was scuttled and its precious 75-million-year-old cargo was sent to the bottom of the sea.

This collection puts together a popular and informative BBC series of dinosaur documentaries. On 3 discs, this set includes “Before the Dinosaurs: Walking with Monsters” , “Walking with Dinosaurs”, “Allosaurs”, “Chased by Dinosaurs” and a bonus program, “Trilogy of Life: The Making of Walking with Dinosaurs, Beasts and Monsters”. The dinosaurs in this set are both computer-rendered and animatronic. The “Walking With” dinosaur documentaries are narrated by expert, Kenneth Branagh and the “Chased” series is narrated by zoologist, Nigel Mavens. The Ultimate Dinosaur Collection is an informative and visually appealing set of dinosaur documentaries, however these discs drop many of the special features released on the original DVD.

Discovery Essential Dinosaur Pack. Discovery Channel. (2008)

This combo-pack combines 7 of Discovery channel’s most popular dinosaur documentaries. This is a 2 disc set that includes “Valley of the T-Rex”, “T-Rex: New Science, New Beast”, “When Dinosaurs Roamed America”, “Utah’s Dino Graveyard”, “Dinosaur Planet”, “The Mystery Dinosaur” and ” Dinosaurs: Return to Life?”. Discovery channel uses computer generated animation of dinosaurs. Narration is not done by experts, but by actors—for example, John Goodman, but there are many interviews with scientists and experts. This set of dinosaur documentaries are able to inform a wide audience (children to adults) of the dinosaur research that has occurred, although some of this research has become outdated.

The Complete Walking With…Collection. BBC Video (2000)

BBC provides us with another set of dinosaur documentaries. This one includes the three programs from BBC’s Emmy-award winning series. On 5 discs, the complete collection includes “Walking with Dinosaurs”, “Allosaurus: A Walking with Dinosaurs Special”, and “Walking with Pre-historic Beasts” and also includes many special features such as behind-the-scenes features and interviews with the creators. The DVDs provide more realistic computer generated dinosaurs and uses interesting angles—which usually works well. This series does provide some humor to the narrating scene. This set does not include 2 other dinosaur documentaries that were part of the Walking with…series– “Cavemen” and “Life Before Dinosaurs”

Pre-Historic Earth: Natural History. BBC Video (2008)

This disc-set supplies a historical outlook of pre-historic times in BBC’s total “Walking with…” series. It’s a 6 disc set including “Before the Dinosaurs”, “Walking with Monsters”, “Walking with Dinosaurs”, “Allosaurus”, “Walking with Pre-Historic Beasts” and “Walking with Cavemen”. These dinosaur documentaries aims to recreate the dinosaur world with computer-rendered dinosaurs in a natural environment. They are highly informative and take a scientific outlook. However, it has been said that some of the information in this film isn’t fully accurate such as showing particular animals living together that may not actually have been possible. All in all, Pre-Historic Earth: Natural History is a comprehensive set of dinosaur documentaries and information.

Prehistoric Collection: From Dinosaurs to the Dawn of Man. History. (2009)

An overview of prehistoric times, History provides us with 4 highly popular dinosaur documentaries. On 8 discs, this set includes, “Jurassic Fight Club”, “Prehistoric Mega-storms,” “Journey to 10,000 B.C.”, and “Clash of the Caveman.” Jurassic Fight Club is focused only on dinosaurs and provides really great fight scenes as the name suggests. With decent computer-animation, the exciting fight scenes are also accompanied by expert narration and interviewers who truly love dinosaurs. The other 3 series aren’t exactly dinosaur documentaries but they do relate to the prehistoric era. A broad range of knowledge on the pre-historic timeline is given in this DVD but it does use a common documentary film layout which avid documentary watchers may be familiar with.

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These are some of the most recognized dinosaurs.

Tyrannosaurus Rex

Also known as t-rex, this dinosaur is known to be the king of all predators. It had a massive jaw with huge teeth and powerful legs that can walk long distances. However, its arms were very small. Some scientists believe that t-rex was not a predator. Instead it was just a large scavenger that fed on dead prey. They argue that t-rex’s arms were too small to hold on to prey.

True predators like raptors have long arms with big talons. T-rex’s arms are useless in comparison.

Triceratops

This was probably my favorite dinosaur when I was a kid. It is widely believed that the triceratops used its three horns as a defensive weapon.

But there are also those that believe that the horns were used for courtship rituals similar to deer, goats, and other horned animals. So the horns were just used for display.

This is supported by the fact that torosaursus and triceratops are actually the same animal. Torosaurus has a bigger thrill with holes and is actually shown to be a triceratops that has fully grown.

Velociraptor

When you think of velociraptor, you may remember the film Jurassic park. In the film the velociraptors stood taller than humans and was a fierce predator. However, in reality it actually stood around 2 feet tall and weighed only 33 pounds. The velociraptor was also covered in feathers. Only Utahraptor stood taller than a human and was the largest species of raptor.

Spinosaurus

Many people think that t-rex was the biggest predator. But spinosaurus was actually the largest predator to walk this earth. Some scientists believe that the elongated spines were a hump. Others think that it was a sail designed to cool down the body temperature of the animal.

Pachycephalosaurus

This dinosaur had a thick skull covered in dull spikes. The thick skull lead to the idea that these dinosaurs engaged in head butting combat. However, the dinosaur’s skull was not designed or shaped to withstand impact. Thus, this theory has been dismissed.

Facts like these can be very interesting for your kid. There are tons of species of Dinosaurs for kids to look up.

Sending children back home with some dinosaur goodies as a thank you will make them extremely satisfied and come back for more. Moreover, when kids come to dinosaur parties, they come with expectations of great party favors which they can enjoy. Give them something that they can have and remember for a long time. Buy things related to dinosaurs which are made of good quality material which is not unhealthy, and more importantly is soft. Let us take a look at a few party favors which kids will love.

A good idea when you think about dinosaur party favors is to give them something that combines dinosaurs with things they use daily. Dinosaur stickers, for example, are a great idea for small kids since they can stick it anywhere on their walls or doors and adore them all day. Of course, you can also give them stickers which they can stick in their books, bags etc.

Giving dinosaur replicas as dinosaur party favors. This is a great idea since children will be able to take them anywhere they want to. Let them create their own characters and watch them at the creative best making their own movies. Organize a game around the replicas and make the kids’ party ever more enjoyable. Dinosaur replicas can be simple or sophisticated. Instead of plain vanilla dinosaur replicas, you can gift children toys that glow in the dark.

Kids also love dinosaur tattoos very much. It is something that they can show each other and be happy about. This is another great party favor for dinosaur themed parties. Dinosaurs glowing in the dark create a whole new dimension for creativity for the kids. It is not even necessary that you provide them any one of the above party favors. An innovative combination of the above and even more will thrill the kids even more. Combine dinosaur key chains with dinosaur bags and so on and so forth, there is no end to what you can produce.

Of course, you can always get dinosaur party kits from the shop, but come on, be more creative and create kits of your own at home. These are just a few ideas for dinosaur party favors to get you started. You can do the same with any other theme. Go to the drawing board, get creative and you will come up with thousands of ideas for many more parties to come.

Recently, researchers found an interesting detail about the tuatara. David Lambert and his colleagues at the Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology and Evolution analysed DNA sequences they found in the bones of tuatara estimated to be 8000 years old.

They published their findings in the journal Trends in Genetics. As reported by EurekAlert and LiveScience, their discoveries were astounding: they found that the tuatara is the fastest evolving animal. “What we found was that the tuatara has the highest molecular evolutionary rate anyone has measured,” professor Lambert says according to EurekAlert. Lambert’s study suggests that the tuatara has been evolving faster that animals like the cave bear, lion, ox or horse.

So how can an animal that has shown no signs of change for aeons be changing faster than many others? Professor Lambert says, “the rate of molecular evolution was uncoupled from the rate of morphological evolution.” In other words, inner change or change at the molecular level does not correspond to what we see on the outside.

Yet evolutionary theory predicted that slow change or no change would have corresponded to slow change or no change at the molecular level. Far from supporting the neo-Darwinian theory of molecules-to-man evolution, the “living dinosaur” shows that there are grave problems with the view.

Like other living fossils such as the crocodile, army ant, cockroach, Coelacanth and horseshoe crab, the tuatara is evidence for resistance to the type of change that Darwinian evolution desperately needs.

Some animal species have a history of incredible change. The dog (Canis lupus familiaris), which according to Linnean classification belongs to the same species as the gray wolf (Canis lupus), is capable of an enormous amount of variety, brought about by artificial selection. But this is not the kind of change that evolution in its neo-Darwinian sense requires.

And neither is the variety evident in the DNA of a reptile that has resisted change for a very long time.

Good guidance for younger children is to decorate around a theme that interests them and then add color schemes and maybe other furniture from there. There a number of different ways to go and movie characters or cartoon favorites have a lot of merchandise available for purchase, but can become dated very quickly. Generally, unless you love re-decorating yourself you want to guide the child top a theme that will last several years, not only is one of the television season.

Nature or science themes are a popular choice and dinosaur bedding seems to stand the test of time. Dinosaurs themselves have been extinct for millions of years that they still conjure up dreams of living with dinosaurs and have provided the basis for several very popular movies. Dinosaur bedding for boys, like any bedding for boys, may suffer a hard life as the rest of the things in the room, but if it spurs on an interest in science than it is worth it.

Sports or animal subjects are always a good choice too as many children have favorite pets and love playing sports. Again bedding decorated after these themes should be widely available and hopefully stand up to the wear and tear that children will give it, before they outgrow it.