Dinosaurs. One of the most mysterious creatures that ever inhabited the planet.
Before the beginning of the XIX century, they were almost unknown to man, as if the world in which they lived and ruled, never existed.
I must say that after the verse sensational buzz around the first finds, serious scientists focus on the dinosaurs did not show for many years. It seemed that there was no point in examining these cumbersome reptiles, finally died out millions of years ago.
But today, not only to paleontologists and geologists, physicists, chemists, biologists say excitedly about their discoveries and hypotheses - the dinosaurs were once again in the spotlight.
They lived on Earth from 200 to 65 million years ago. Was then on the planet much warmer. Drifted slowly, changing shape, continents. Born of the river, cutting through valleys, jungles and swamps. And in the warm sea and in the river valleys, covered with lush, full of life. It is hard to imagine how many and varied were the dinosaurs held sway in this world. Today, reconstructed on the found skeletons they received scientific names brontosaurs, tyrannosaurs, stirakozavry, megalosaur, Iguanodons, triceratops ...
And then they were living creatures, often - giant size, with powerful tails, combs, shells.
However, let's look at some of them closer.
That's out of the forest thicket, filling the neighborhood of a mighty roar went Stegosaurus. He looks like ... No, nothing like you and I have never seen. Ten-monster chained to the sun glare on the armor. Stegosaurus moves on four legs while doing it is very awkward - forelimbs much shorter rear. Stretches along the back ridge forked, consisting of separate blades. Finally, weapons stegosaurus - a powerful tail, topped with spurs.
But - triceratops. Striking not so much its size (length - 10 m, weight - 9 tons) as head of dinosaur. Framed by a wide collar bone, she emerged as a high flattened beak, beak resembling a monstrous bird.
But Triceratops looks quite harmless compared to a ankylosaurs, powerful body is covered with shell. And the shell is laid rings, carefully fitted to one another. And each of the rings is equipped with spikes, bumps, growths. We can say that ankylosaurs is a multi-ton mace, studded with spikes. A crowned this "mace" trapezoidal head with two growths similar to slightly deflected back horns.
But Deinonychus dinosaur - a tiny baby. "Only" two and a half meters in length and weighs 45 kilograms. But unlike many of his fellow Deinonychus - predator. He - sharp teeth carnivore, powerful hind legs, grasping forelimbs and long claws on the toes. These terrible claws moving clever predator killed the victim.
Much less mobile ultrazavr. But he was, as they say, took another. Ultrazavr today - the largest of all dinosaurs discovered. It weighed about 80 tons, length is 24 meters.
