1. 1. Dino Dinners Now serving dinosaur descendants. Thanksgiving is commonly associated with a celebration including a turkey dinner. There was a day when there were no grocery stores, no restaurants or drive-thrus. Dinosaurs had to seek out their food in order to survive. Paleontologists can speculate what each species might have eaten based on several factors, including their physical build, teeth and claws. What do you think dinosaurs prepared for dinner when they roamed the earth 65 million years ago? And do you know what youre really eating when you sit down for your turkey dinner?
2. 2. Allosaurus Now serving dinosaur descendants. Allosaurus was a large, carnivorous (meat-eating) theropod dinosaur (avg. 8-10m/25-30ft). These features helped them capture and eat their prey: Powerfully clawed hands Recurved, serrated teeth designed for biting and cutting meat It shared its environment with gigantic plant-eating sauropods (such as Apatosaurus, Diplodocus, and Camarasaurus), Stegosaurs, and other potential large prey. We can speculate that Allosaurus would have preyed upon younger (and smaller), or ailing sauropods, as well as other moderate-sized to smaller plant-eaters. It is likely these creatures would have also taken advantage of and scavenged carcasses it came across as well. Click the video to see an animatronic replica of the Allosaurus.
3. 3. Stegosaurus Now serving dinosaur descendants. Stegosaurus was a strict herbivore (plant- eater). These characteristics give paleontologists scientific evidence of the food they ate: Narrow snout and jaws Low, leaf-shaped teeth designed for coarsely chopping and cutting plants into chunks small enough to swallow. Stegosaurus probably spent much of its time browsing at low levels on plants such as ferns and cycads, never feeding too high off the ground. Grasses would NOT have been on the menu though, for they wouldn't evolve for another 100 million years or more after Stegosaurus existed. Click the video to see an animatronic replica of the Stegosaurus.
4. 4. Deinonychus Now serving dinosaur descendants. Click the video to see an animatronic replica of the Deinonychus.Deinonychus was a wolf-sized predator that likely preyed on other small dinosaurs (including the young of much larger dinosaurs species) lizards, early mammals and the like. They were equipped with carnivorous features that allowed them to hunt their prey: Lethal array of meat-hook-like claws on its hands Huge, sickle-shaped claw on the second toe of each foot Deinonychus remains have been found on more than one occasion associated with the remains of Tenontosaurus, a 20ft-long plant-eating dinosaur, fueling speculation that perhaps Deinonychus engaged in group or pack hunting of larger prey.
5. 5. Thanksgiving Turkey Now serving dinosaur descendants. This Thanksgiving, it is likely that you will be sitting down to slice up and devour a steaming, golden- brown, delicious, oven-roasted dinosaur, complete with stuffing and mashed-potatoes. Wait a dinosaur? Birds are descendants (and members) of an evolutionary line of small, carnivorous theropod dinosaurs. Being a descendent of a dinosaur makes birds, including turkeys, a dinosaur no matter how specialized or different looking they may be from that ancestor. Happy Thanksgiving. Savor every last bite of your dinosaur!
6. 6. Hungry for more Dinosaur Information? See these and other dinosaurs in action in the Dinosaurs Unearthed exhibit at the Museum of Nature & Science. Purchase advanced tickets online today! Museum of Nature & Science in Dallas 3535 Grand Avenue and 1318 S. 2nd Avenue in Fair Park www.natureandscience.org
7. 7. Hungry for more Dinosaur Information? See these and other dinosaurs in action in the Dinosaurs Unearthed exhibit at the Museum of Nature & Science. Purchase advanced tickets online today! Museum of Nature & Science in Dallas 3535 Grand Avenue and 1318 S. 2nd Avenue in Fair Park www.natureandscience.org