Dinosaur Quiz - General Knowledge
1. The name ‘ dinosaur’ comes from two Greek words. What do they mean ?
2. How long did dinosaurs live on earth ?
3. What was remarkable about the fast-running predator the Compsognathos ?
4. The dinosaur once known as the Brontosaurus is now known by another name. What is it ?
5. The Europlocephalus had a bony protective layer over its body. What did it have at the end of its tail ?
6. Researchers think that the Diplodocus, the longest land animal known, suffered from a painful disease that often affects humans as they grow older. What was it ?
7. Why was the Stegosaurus, or ‘roofed lizard’ so called ?
8. What was remarkable about the brain of the Stegosaurus ?
9. Was the Brachiosaurus the fastest or slowest of the dinosaurs ?
10. Why was the Iguanodon able to use its forefeet as weapons ?
11. What did the Spinosaurs have on its back, which may have played a part in heat regulation ?
12. Which was the largest carnivore ever known on earth ?
13. What does the name Triceratops mean ?
14. Which London park contains models of dinosaurs created by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins in the last century ?
15. Dinosaurs divide into two main classes: Saurischia and Ornithischia. The Saurischia were lizard-hipped, much like other reptiles. What were the Ornithischia ?
16. How did dinosaurs produce their young ?
17. In 1960 Irwin Allen directed The Lost World, in which a party of scientists encountered living dinosaurs. Which author wrote the book on which the film was based ?
18. The Chinese call fossilized dinosaur teeth ‘dragon’s teeth’. What are they used for ?
19. What ability did the duck-billed dinosaurs share with modern-day hampsters ?
20. The name Deinonychus reflects the ability of this fierce flesh-eater to overcome its prey with a large, sickle-like claw on its inner toe. What does the name mean ?
21. What are the scientists who study dinosaur fossils called ?
22. The first skeleton of the Archaepteryx or ‘ancient wing’ was found in Germany in 1861. What is its claim to fame ?
23. In the film Jurassic Park , how were the dinosaurs supposed to have been created ?
24. Dinosaurs lived in the Mesozoic Era, which is divided into into three periods. Two of them are the Jurassic and Cretaceous. What is the third ?
25. How long ago did dinosaurs die out ?
ANSWERS
1. Terrible Lizard
2. 150 million years
3. it was the smallest known
4. Apatosaurus
5. A large lump of bone with which it could club its enemies
6. Arthritis
7. The bone plates on its back looked like roof tiles
8. It was tiny in relation to the creature’s size
9. Slowest
10. Its thumbs formed powerful spikes
11. A tail fin
12. Liopleurodon
13. Three-horned Lizard
14. Crystal Palace
15. Bird-hipped
16. They laid eggs in hollowed-out nests
17. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
18. Medicines
19. The could store extra food in their cheeks
20. Terrible claw
21. Palaeontologists
22. It was probably the earliest bird
23. From a DNA sample found in a fossil
24. Triassic
25. 64 million years ago
