Fossils
What do you already know about how we found out about dinosaurs?
The dinosaurs ruled the Earth for millions of years. But they were gone long before humans began living here. So how do we know about them at all?
The discovery of dinosaur fossils gave us clues to the amazing creatures that once lived here. A bit like a jigsaw puzzle, humans have pieced together information to discover lots about the dinosaurs.
Dinosaur fossils tell us lots about what the dinosaurs looked like, but also gives us clues as to how they behaved and lived too. Fossils found close together might tell us a particular dinosaur lived in herds or packs. Bite marks and other damage on the bones tells us who their predators might have been. Injuries discovered might give clues to how a dinosaur died. Lots of fossilised dinosaur footprints have also been discovered which also gives us information about them.
The first ever dinosaur bone that we definitely know about was found in this country in 1676, near Chipping Norton in the Cotswolds. No one knew at the time what they had found. It took 150 years before it was known that it was a Megalosaurus dinosaur bone. It is very likely other bones were discovered before this but they never realised what they were!
In 1841, a man called Sir Richard Owen first used the name Dinosauria to describe the fossils being discovered. The name dinosaur comes from two Greek words, deinos meaning terrible and sauros meaning lizard.Â
Did you know...
Fossils are the remains of dinosaurs that once were alive (you can also find fossils of other animals, sea creatures, plants, eggs and even footprints that were created and then hardened to rock). When the dinosaurs died most of the time they just rotted away. But very occasionally something special happened to save them forever!
Most fossils are found in rock that once was underwater. Many fossils are found on the coast, or where there there was once a lake or river that might have flooded the land around it.
To create a fossil, after a dinosaur died sometimes layers of earth, such as mud or sand built up over it quite quickly, maybe caused by water flowing over it. Over time, these layers then built up and turned hard into rock and put a lot of pressure on what was underneath. Water then seeps into the dinosaur bones and minerals in the water replaces the bone, and creates a hard fossil. This is not a quick process and would take thousands or even millions of years!
We have then found these fossils as the land has worn away, or we have dug down into the ground. Imagine, there could be a dinosaur fossil deep underground around where you live and it just hasn’t been discovered yet!
Models have been created using these fossils, so if you go to a museum and see a dinosaur skeleton, it is probably based on a fossils that have been discovered.
Since the first official fossil discovery, over 11 000 dinosaur fossils have been found. Lots of fossils have not been full dinosaurs but some have! The most complete dinosaur fossil ever found is Sue, the Tyrannosaurs Rex fossil, found in America in 1990.
There have been more fossil discoveries in America, China and Argentina than anywhere else. But dinosaur fossils have been found in every continent in the world. Many dinosaur fossils have been found in this country, particularly in the Isle of Wight and the South West of England. Fossils of theropod, sauropod and ornithopod dinosaurs have been found here. The most complete was Comptonatus chasei, an ornithopod dinosaur found in Compton Bay on the Isle of Wight in 2014.
What we've learnt...
We know that dinosaurs existed because of dinosaur fossils that have been found.
Palaeontologists have used the information they have found out from fossils to tell us what the dinosaurs looked like.
Amazingly they have also used fossils to try and work out how the dinosaurs behaved and lived too.
Most of the dinosaurs died and were gone forever. But some got saved for us to find.
Dinosaur fossils were created when a dinosaur died, got buried quickly and then the bones over a long time turned into rock.
Test your knowledge...
Fossils Quiz
If you click the correct answer the box will turn green. If its the wrong answer it will turn red and then show you what the correct answer was. Make sure you read/listen to the questions carefully!
#1. Would we have known dinosaurs existed without their fossils?
#2. Where was the first recorded dinosaur bone found?
#3. Where are fossils found?
#4. What was one of the most complete dinosaur fossils ever found?
#5. Did all dinosaurs become fossils after they died?
#6. Are skeletons in museums based on real dinosaur fossils?
Results
I really hope you have enjoyed learning
all about fossils, with me Flash!
Question Time...
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Some of the photos on this page are of dinosaur models and computer generated images. They are used to give you an idea of what the dinosaurs would have looked like, but I can’t guarantee they are 100% accurate!
Photos and illustrations on this page are Whizzbots, Shutterstock or Public Domain Images.