Dinosaur

Dinosaur
Scientific classification
Kingdom Information
Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum Information
Phylum	Chordata
Class Information
Class	Sauropsida
Sub-class	Diapsida
Infra-class	Archosauromorpha
Order Information
Superorder	Dinosauria
Order	Ornithischia; Saurischia
Population statistics

Dinosaurs are extinct animals usually believed to be ranging in size from a few ounces to some of the largest land animals ever to exist. The word dinosaur was coined in 1841 by Richard Owen, from the Greek words for "terrible lizard", and reflected the creatures' large size and fearsome appearance to the early paleontologists.

Highlights of the history of dinosaur paleontology

Henry Fairfield Osborn

In the United States during the 1900s, the public imagination was caught by the discoveries of Henry Fairfield Osborn (1857-1935) and the great competitive dinosaur hunters, Edward Drinker Cope (1847-1897) and Othniel Charles Marsh (1831-1899). Exploring in Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico, they found numerous fossil dinosaurs. Their museums worked out the techniques for mounting and displaying them.

Dinosaur Species

Dinosaurs were immensely varied, and included both herbivores and carnivores. Although many have been found in the fossil record, paleontologists expect that they have barely scratched the surface of the vast superorder that the dinosaurs encompassed.

History of dinosaurs

The Flood, by Michaelangelo, detail from the Sistine Chapel, 1509.

Creation science asserts that the biblical account, that dinosaurs were created on day 6 of creation approximately 6,000 years ago, along with other land animals, and therefore co-existed with humans, thus debunking the Theory of Evolution and the beliefs of evolutionary scientists about the age and creation of the earth.this is of course all creation science which is proved to be completley false with no proveable evidence to support it.

Creation science shows that dinosaurs lived in harmony with other animals, (remember this is creation science therefore, in scientific terms, completley false) eating only plants(this again has been proven to be false by REAL science with REAL scientists) </ref>; that many of the fossilized dinosaur bones originated during the mass killing of a Flood According to this view, the dinosaurs did not survive this cataclysm. A layer of rock containing high concentrations of Iridium, a metal that is extremely rare on earth but common in asteroids, is said to be due to the vaporization and then fall of dust from the meteorite's impact, and its compression within the subsequent geological record.The evidence of a large impact crater can be found in rocks of the Yucatán Peninsula of the supposed age of this layer. Creationists assert that the assumptions underpinning the methods used by modern geologists are incorrect, and even though the validity of a large impact is accepted, this does not constitute proof that the impact caused the extinction of the dinosaurs.^{[Citation Needed]}

An Explosion of new species

Evolutionists speculate that a mass extinction of the dinosaurs removed a major food competitor, and predator, of smaller animals. As a result of a new "vacancy" in the food chain, following the K-T Event, it is theorized that vast speciation occurred, as the evolutionary pressure of a new cold age propelled animal species to adapt or die out. According to this view, mammals were some of the main beneficiaries of this explosion: their fur allowed them to adapt to the cold, and their small size allowed them to conserve energy relative to the huge dinosaurs of the previous age.

Dinosaurs and Birds

As a number of feathered fossils (claimed to be dinosaurs) have been discovered, and evolutionary scientists claim the similarity in the bone structure between birds and dinosaurs show that modern birds are a descendants of dinosaurs. This is often cited as an example of macroevolution.

Dinosaur fossils and Human Fossils and Geological Strata

Some evolutionary scientists assert that if human bones aren’t found with dinosaur bones, then dinosaurs and man didn’t live together. Creation scientists point out that this is a false assumption; if human bones aren’t found buried with dinosaur bones, it simply means they weren't buried together.

Evolutionists speculate that radiometric dating of rocks containing dinosaur bones indicates them to have formed between 65 million years ago and 250 million years ago, whereas rocks with human bones in them are dated as being much newer (less than 5 million years old). Creation science shows that those methods of dating rocks provide false results, and therefore reject this argument.

Creation science points out that the fossil record contains mainly marine organisms and that a small sliver of the fossil record contains vertebrates and thus shows that we shouldn't expect to find many human fossils at all. Moreover, as the biblical Flood would be a marine catastrophe, it would be expected that marine fossils would dominate the fossil record. This is in fact what we find.

Approximately 70% of the Earth is covered in salt water which would also explain the dominance of marine fossils. In addition, creation scientists show there may have been a small pre-flood human population and that massive amounts of flood sediment are why we haven’t found human fossils in pre-biblical flood sediments. Also, creation scientists point out that we don't find human bones buried with coelacanths yet humans and coelacanths coexist today.

Description

Saurischia

Herbivorous species were almost all quadrupedal. They carried peg-like teeth which cut, rather than chewed, plant material; grinding of food was aided by gastroliths. Carnivorous species were exclusively bipedal.

• Sauropoda

Species of this infraorder are characterized by long necks and tails, barrel-shaped bodies, and column-like legs. In three families (notably Diplodocidae, Brachiosauridae, and Titanosauroidea) there are species which are of extreme size, in excess of 125 feet in length and 100 tons, making them the largest animals to have walked the earth.

Apatosaurus

Brachiosaurus

Ultrasaurus

Seismosaurus

Argentinosaurus

Diplodocus

• Theropoda

Exclusively bipedal; forearms meant for grasping or holding. Fossil evidence for several species indicate pack hunting.

Coelophysis

Ornithomimus

Allosaurus

Tyrannosaurus

Deinonychus

Velociraptor

Giganotosaurus

Ornithischia

Species of this group were all herbivorous; most were quadrupedal. Front teeth were lacking, while a predentary bone was present in the front of the lower jaw. Several species (mainly within Ceratopsia) had a distinctive parrot-like beak.

• Ceratopsia

Species of this infraorder carried one or more horns on their heads, as well as a shield-like frill to protect the neck.

Triceratops

Pachyrhinosaurus

Torosaurus

Protoceratops

Styracosaurus

• Stegosauria

Large dinosaurs with a row of bony plates on top of their backs, and several spikes used as a defensive weapon at the end of their tails.

Stegosaurus

Huayangosaurus

Kentrosaurus

• Ankylosauria

Heavily-armored dinosaurs, some with a row of spikes along each side, and possessing a bony tail club.

Ankylosaurus

Euoplocephalus

Edmontonia

• Ornithopods

Large, herd-dwelling dinosaurs that could run bipedaly. Several species had a "boss" of bone on their heads (Pachycephalosaurs) which may have been used for head-butting similar to bighorn sheep; others a crest of bone (hadrosaurs) which may have been sound resonators.

Camptosaurus

Iguanodon

Pachycephalosaurus

Parasaurolophus

Edmontosaurus

Bactrosaurus

Maiasaura

In Popular Culture

Dinosaurs have been a fixture of popular culture since their discovery. It is theorized that some of the myths of fantastical creatures stem from the accidental discovery of dinosaur fossils. More recently, dinosaurs have featured in popular stories including books, movies, television, video games, even music.

Dinosaurs were introduced to a wide modern audience when movies like the Jurassic Park series were released.

See also

• Evolution
• Theory of Evolution and Cases of Fraud, Hoaxes and Speculation
• Irreligion and superstition
• Young earth creationism