Webosaurs Blog

Yeah, I'm a carnivore, but what I REALLY want is a grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich.

How big was the crest on Cryolophosaurus’s head? – sherepta1

Cryolophosaurus (CRY-oh-LOAF-oh-SORE-us) was a theropod that lived in Antarctica in the Early Jurassic (190-185 million years ago). It was about 6 to 8 meters (20 to 26 feet) long. What sets it apart from other dinosaurs is the strange crest on its head that runs from side to side rather than front to back. I was not able to find out anything about the size of the crest, but the skull itself was 65 centimeters (25 inches) long.

After the skull was discovered, some scientist with a sense of humor decided that the crest looked like Elvis Presley’s pompadour hairstyle in the 50’s. That’s why the Cryolophosaurus is sometimes called (jokingly) Elvisarus! Thank ya, thank ya very much!

~ModCeno

Each February the other dinos eagerly await the moment the little groundinohog emerges from his burrow - will he see his shadow?? (Just kidding lol)

Brrrrr! It’s been so cold lately that all I’ve wanted to do is burrow under some covers and keep warm. Apparently, some dinosaurs had the same idea, as I found out when researching the answer to today’s Daily Dino Fact

Did dinosaurs ever build burrows? – shadowflyer

I must admit, the idea of a dinosaur building a burrow never crossed my mind. It doesn’t seem like a very dino-like thing to do. But in 2005 the first known dinosaur burrow was discovered in Montana. It is 95 million years old and had the bones of a few small dinos called Oryctodromeus cubicularis. Then, just last year, scientists found fossilized burrows in southeastern Australia that date back 110 million years.

Why did dinosaurs burrow? Probably for the same reasons animals burrow today: protection from predators, a place to care for their young, and the main reason that’s on MY mind right now – a place to keep warm during the cold winter! Toss me another blanket, will ya?

~ModCeno

Looks like he needs to mow his tail!

Happy Monday, dinos! You know I like my ceratopsians, so here’s another question about them:

Did ceratopsians have tail feathers?  – Regisaurus

Surprisingly enough, the answer appears to be yes – sort of!  In 2002 paleontologists announced that they had discovered a specimen of Psittacosaurus with a series of hollow, tubular bristles arranged in a row down the top of its tail, in a plume formation. Psittacosaurus (Greek for “parrot lizard”) was a small ceratopsian from the Early Cretaceous Period, one of the earliest ceratopsians.

On a related note, you may remember from Pterry’s True Science last month that we now have evidence of dino color from the recent discovery of a dinosaur called Sinosauropteryx that was found in China. They found a reddish-orange color in tail feathers of one of the specimens.

Thanks for that interesting question, Regisaurus! I learned something new! Keep ‘em coming!

~ModCeno

Git along little dogies...umm...dinos

Hi there dino pals! ModCeno here again today, with an answer to another of your DINOmite questions!

Nara wants to know “Which species of dinosaurs had the highest population?”

Well, looking at the amount of fossils found, it would appear that the HADROSAURS were responsible for the biggest crowds during the late Cretaceous period, beating out tyrannosaurs, ceratopsians, and raptors. Herds of hundreds or thousands of hadrosaurs could be found roaming the woodlands of North America, Europe, and Asia, nibbling on low-lying plants. You could almost think of these duck-billed dinosaurs as prehistoric cattle! (Just don’t try to milk one!!)

Thanks for the question, Nara! Everyone, keep those dinosaur questions coming!

You'd be slow, too, if you had to haul this around behind you!

Hey dinos! Rex is out of town so ModosaurCeno is here, taking a stab at a Daily Dino Fact!

Q: Wait a minute! Wasn’t the ankylosaur one of the slowest dinosaurs to ever live? No wonder they are so slow! They have so much armor! :p -Hornstrkier

A: Our friend Hornstrkier was right when he remembered that the ankylosaur was one of the slowest dinos that ever lived.  Sauropods were pretty slow, too, but given the ankylosaurs’ short legs, we’re going to give the Slowpoke Prize to them! Besides, who needs speed when you are practically an armored tank!

Unicornosaur?

Q: Which dinosaur most closely resembled a unicorn? -Unicornosaur

A: LOL, what a great question! Honestly, I didn’t think I was going to be able to answer this one (though I certainly wanted to). Turns out there is actually a dinosaur whose nickname is “The Unicorn Dinosaur.” The dinos name is Tsintaosaurus, a hadrosaur found in China.

Tsintosaurus was one of the strangest dinosaurs ever found. Unlike other hadrosaurs that had a long crest protruding backward, Tsintosaurus had a long, blunt horn sticking straight out of the forehead. No one knows what it was used for and the theories about it vary widely. What we do know is that it had very powerful jaws and teeth and could have eaten from the toughest of trees.

Unfortunately, Tsintaosaurus lived during the Late Cretaceous. Liopleurodons lived during the Middle Jurassic which means you couldn’t name a Tsintaosaurus “Charlie” and have it meet a “Magical Liopleurodon.”

High five to anyone who gets that reference.

-Rex

I'd say cuddle with it but those claws might get in the way...

Q: Were there any dinosaurs that ate both plants and meat? -Sathvik

A: There are actually only a small handful of dinosaurs that were omnivores (ate both plants and meat). You may know of the Oviraptor or Ornithomimus, but what do you know about the Therizinosaurs?

These were perhaps some of the strangest dinosaurs ever to walk the Earth. These dinosaurs have characteristics from many different kinds of dinosaurs and paleontologists were very confused about them for a long time. Originally they were pretty straight forward theropods, being fierce hunters.

Then…. over time they evolved into lazy sloth dinos. They got bigger over a period of 30 million years and decided they’d just hang out and eat plants. Who needs to hunt when you look this cute and don’t have to?

-Rex

Mei may look small to you, but it isn't to that rodent

Q: What dinosaur has the longest name? What Dinosaur has the shortest name? -Liefdrag

A: Thanks for the question Liefdrag. I was interested in this one myself and I’m actually a little surprised by what I found. I decided to keep the shortest and longest to just the genus name (genus and species would get a little hectic). What is surprising about what I found is that both the longest and shortest names belong to really small dinosaurs!

The dinosaur picture about is Mei, sometimes known as Mei Long. Mei Long means “soundly sleeping dragon” in Chinese. These dinosaurs have been seen in the television show “Prehistoric Park” attacking the documentary group! While they were small, they were probably very fast little scavengers and hunters who could take down small prey easily like the raptors do.

"I don't know how to say your name but you sure are cute"

The picture above shows an artist’s rendition of Micropachycephalosaurus, the longest genus name of any dinosaur. Remember when we talked about the Pachycephalosaurs? These guys were just like them except teeny tiny. Micropachycephalosaurus was about 1.2ft (0.4m) tall and about 1.6ft (0.6m) long. Can you imagine the adorable little head butts these guys would produce if they squabbled? Funny that the dinosaur with the longest name is also one of the smallest ever!

-Rex

PrimaryGames and Nitro are coming back to the island for another super awesome quiz party. PG and Nitro will be asking questions taken from the Daily Dino Facts. First person to answer a question will receive a shiny WeboPedia trophy to show off in their cave.

Be prepared for the quiz! We’ll be taking questions from ANY Daily Dino Fact that was ever published on the blog, so you might want to check out some oldies!

Party starts at 18:00 WST in the Jurassic server this Friday. To get to the party spot, you’ll have to do some hiking and make your way into the heart of the volcano. Quiz party is going down at the Carnivorous Cavern!

-Rex