From the towering T-Rex to the turkey-sized Velociraptor, travel 200 million years back in time. 10 questions to test your knowledge.
10 questions on dinosaurs: the famous species, how they lived, why they vanished, and what science has uncovered about the reptiles that once ruled the planet.
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Dinosaurs first appeared around 230 million years ago and dominated land ecosystems throughout the Mesozoic Era, which is split into three periods: the Triassic, the Jurassic and the Cretaceous. The word 'dinosaur', coined in 1842 by British palaeontologist Richard Owen, comes from Greek and means 'terrible lizard'. Despite the name, they were not lizards at all, but a distinct group of reptiles, some of which reached staggering sizes.
Around 66 million years ago, an asteroid nearly 10 kilometres wide struck near present-day Mexico, wiping out every non-avian dinosaur. But one lineage survived: the birds we see today are the direct descendants of theropod dinosaurs. In other words, dinosaurs never fully disappeared. They are still singing in your back garden.
All ten easy level questions, with the answer and the reasoning behind it.
Correct answer: Meat
Meat, in very large bites.
Correct answer: Barney
Barney, who loved you, and you loved him.
Correct answer: Rex
Rex, who is rather worried about his small arms.
Correct answer: Dino
Dino, who behaves a lot like a big, excited dog.
Correct answer: Yoshi
Yoshi, with a very long tongue and a big appetite.
Correct answer: Brachiosaurus
Brachiosaurus, in the scene that makes everyone's jaw drop.
Correct answer: No, never
No, never. Whatever The Flintstones may tell you.
Correct answer: Eggs
Eggs, some of them about the size of a football.
Correct answer: Fossils
Fossils, often turned to stone over millions of years.
Correct answer: Jurassic World
Jurassic World, and it was a terrible idea from the start.
Want to warm up before playing or double-check something? Open any question to reveal the correct answer and a short explanation.
Correct answer: The Mesozoic
Dinosaurs ruled during the Mesozoic Era, often nicknamed 'the age of dinosaurs', spanning roughly 252 to 66 million years ago. It is divided into three periods: the Triassic, the Jurassic and the Cretaceous.
Correct answer: Terrible lizard
The term was created in 1842 by Richard Owen from the Greek 'deinos' (terrible or fearfully great) and 'sauros' (lizard). Oddly enough, dinosaurs were not true lizards at all, but formed their own distinct group of reptiles.
Correct answer: Tyrannosaurus rex
Tyrannosaurus rex, one of the largest land predators ever, had surprisingly short forelimbs compared with its massive body. Despite their size, those little arms were extremely muscular.
Correct answer: Its three horns and bony frill
Triceratops, whose name means 'three-horned face', had two long brow horns, a shorter horn on its snout, and a large bony frill protecting its neck. It was a plant-eater from the Late Cretaceous.
Correct answer: A giant asteroid impact
The widely accepted theory is a roughly 10 km asteroid that struck near today's Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, forming the Chicxulub crater. The impact devastated the global climate and led to the extinction of around 75% of all species.
Correct answer: Theropods
Today's birds descend from theropods, the group of bipedal carnivorous dinosaurs that also included the T-Rex. Many fossils show that some theropods were covered in feathers, confirming this evolutionary link.
Correct answer: Sauropods
Sauropods, such as Diplodocus, Brachiosaurus and Argentinosaurus, were the largest land animals to have ever lived. Their extremely long necks let them reach the tops of trees to feed.
Correct answer: The size of a large turkey
Unlike its movie image, the real Velociraptor stood under a metre tall, about the size of a large turkey, and was covered in feathers. The giant 'raptors' on screen are actually closer to Deinonychus.
Correct answer: The Devonian
The Mesozoic is made up of three periods: the Triassic, the Jurassic and the Cretaceous. The Devonian belongs to the much older Palaeozoic Era, the time when the first four-legged vertebrates began moving onto land.
Correct answer: A palaeontologist
A palaeontologist studies extinct life forms through their fossils. An archaeologist, by contrast, studies human civilisations, which means they never actually dig up a single dinosaur.
Stuck on one, or just curious how nasty it gets? Every hard mode question is here with its answer and the reasoning behind it.
Correct answer: Chicago
Chicago, at the Field Museum. It was sold at auction in 1997 for over 8 million dollars.
Correct answer: Cope and Marsh
Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh, in the late 19th-century American West.
Correct answer: Deinonychus
Deinonychus, much bigger than a true Velociraptor.
Correct answer: Pangaea
Pangaea, which broke up during the Mesozoic.
Correct answer: Triassic
The Triassic, around 230 million years ago.
Correct answer: Egg thief
Egg thief, an unfair name: it was later found sitting on its own eggs.
Correct answer: Liaoning
Liaoning, whose fine volcanic ash preserved feathers in great detail.
Correct answer: Iridium
Iridium, found in a thin layer of clay around the world.
Correct answer: The Alvarezes
Luis and Walter Alvarez, and the crater was found later.
Correct answer: Microraptor
Microraptor, which may have glided between trees.