When a fossil arrives in a laboratory, it is usually embedded in a chunk of the rock it was found in. The first job for the specially trained technicians, called preparators, is to free the fossil…
Internal anatomyExternal anatomyTeeth for rakingTeeth for combingPillarlike legsProsauropodsThe biggest land animals to have lived on Earth were the sauropods, which means “lizard feet”. These…
Running style of an ostrichHow a Tyrannosaurus stood upNo-one has ever seen a dinosaur in action. However, the bones and the joints of fossilized skeletons can give us clues as to how the animals…
Family lifeHatching outNesting in coloniesBrooding OviraptorFossilized mother and eggsEver since dinosaurs were identified as reptiles, scientists have assumed that they laid eggs, in the same way…
Trapped in a quagmireFamily feastingTactics of modern huntersJust as modern meat-eating animals such as lions combine forces to pull down animals larger than themselves, many flesh-eating theropods…
Assembling the skeletonJoining the neckWelding the frameworkCompleted displayReconstructing a dinosaur skeleton is a complex job as usually only a fraction of the skeleton is recovered.…
Making noisesEye socketsBinocular vision of modern animalsBinocular vision of the dinosaursPeripheral vision of modern animalsPeripheral vision of the dinosaursPerhaps the most difficult part of…
Similarities between Compsognathus and ArchaeopteryxEfficient hunterCompsognathus skeletonFlying dinosaurArchaeopteryx skeletonModern birdThere are dinosaurs flying in our skies today – despite…
Skin printFootprintsCoprolitesSome of the most interesting fossils contain nothing of the dinosaur itself. They are simply the marks the animal left behind as it walked along and take the form of…
