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Dinosaur Gully

Get up close to life size Dinosaurs.
 

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Here's some interesting facts about some of  the Dinosaurs on display in Dinosaur Gully.

Tyrannosaurus Rex (T-Rex)

  • The Tyrannosaurus had a thick, heavy skull with a 4-foot-long (1.2-meter-long) jaw, which was designed for maximum bone-crushing action.
  • Fossil evidence shows that the Tyrannosaurus Rex was about 40 feet (12 meters) long and about 15 to 20 feet (4.6 to 6 meters) tall.
  • Tyrannosaurus Rex's serrated, conical teeth were most likely used to pierce and grip flesh, which it then ripped away with its brawny neck muscles.
  • Scientists believe this powerful predator could eat up to 500 pounds (230 kilograms) of meat in one bite. Fossils of Tyrannosaurus Rex prey including Triceratops and Edmontosaurus, suggest Tyrannosaurus Rex crushed and broke bones as it ate, and broken bones have been found in its dung.

Stegosaurus

  • The Stegosaurus is the most famous dinosaur from a group of dinosaurs known as Stegosauria. They were all herbivores (plant eaters) and featured rows of unique bones that developed into plates and spines along their back and tail.
  • The name 'Stegosaurus' comes from the Greek words 'stegos' meaning roof and 'sauros' meaning lizard.
  • Stegosaurus fossils have been found in western North America and more recently in Portugal, indicating that they lived in Europe as well.
  • In terms of size, the Stegosaurus was large and heavily built. On average, a fully grown Stegosaurus was around 9 metres (30ft) in length, 4 metres (14ft) in height and up to nearly 5 metric tons in weight. Although the Stegosaurus body was large, the size of their brain was only around the size of a dog's. Researchers believe that due to the nature of Stegosaurus legs, they had a maximum speed of around 7kph (5mph).
  • The 17 plates found along the back of the Stegosaurus arose from the skin rather than being attached to the skeleton. The largest plates were around 60cm (2ft) tall and 60cm (2ft) wide.
  • The Stegosaurus also featured tail spikes that reached around 60cm (2ft) to 90cm (3ft) in length. Along with Tyrannosaurus rex and Iguanodon, Stegosaurus was one of three dinosaurs that inspired the appearance of Godzilla.
  • Stegosaurus was represented in the popular Transformers toy line and animated series as Snarl, an Autobot that could transform into a Stegosaurus form.
  • The US state of Colorado lists the Stegosaurus as its state dinosaur.

Brachiosauras

  • The Brachiosaurus is a type of dinosaur known as a Sauropod, they are famous for reaching incredible sizes. Other members of the Sauropod family include theDiplodocus and Apatosaurus.
  • The name Brachiosaurus comes from Greek words meaning 'arm' and 'lizard'. The name refers to the interesting nature of Brachiosaurus legs which were longer at the front than the back.
  • Brachiosaurus lived in North America. The first fossils were found in the Colorado River of the United States of America in 1900 Elmer Riggs first described the giant dinosaur in 1903, calling it "the largest known dinosaur". The Brachiosaurus had a long neck, a small head and a relatively short tail compared to other Sauropods. The Brachiosaurus walked on all four legs. The weight of Brachiosaurus has been estimated between 30 and 45 metric tons. The length of Brachiosaurus is believed to have been around 26 metres (85 feet). The Brachiosaurus was a herbivore that feed on foliage high above the ground. It is estimated that Brachiosaurus ate between 200 and 400 kilograms (440 and 880 pounds) of plants every day!
  • It wasn't until 1994 that the original Brachiosaurus fossils found by Elmer Riggs were shown in a museum.