Welcome to my dino blog. I've had an interest in dinosaurs for many years. Once a day on this thread, I'll post interesting info on either a dinosaur, a prehistoric marine reptile or a pterosaur. Up first is Macroplata, a medium-sized marine reptile from the Early Jurassic.
Pronunciation: Mack-roe-pla-tah Meaning of name: "Big plate". Species: M. tenuiceps Size: 4.5 metres long. Weight uncertain. Family: Rhomaleosauridae. Diet: Piscivore. First fossils found: Known only from a single specimen discovered in the Blue Lias Formation of southern, eastern and western England in 1930. Named in the same year by W. E. Swinton. Lived: 201.3 to 199.3 million years ago during the Hettangian stage of the Early Jurassic in the warm oceans that once covered what is now southern, eastern and western England.
Our Toril is very keen on reptiles, @taliragreycrest . Grommit is her avatar picture.
I donβt think Iβd want a pet dinosaur though. A 4.5ft iguana was enough to contend with. π Can you imagine a T Rex climbing up the curtains? π³
Today I introduce you all to the world's most famous dino....my new kitty's namesake....the King of the Dinosaurs....T-Rex
Pronunciation: Ty-ran-no-sore-us Meaning of name: "Tyrant lizard king" (Rex means 'king' in Latin) Species: T. rex Size: Between 12 and 13 metres long, 6 metres tall and weighing between 8 and 14 metric tonnes. Family: Tyrannosauridae Diet: Carnivore First fossils found: Known from more than 30 specimens, some of which are almost complete. First partial skeleton discovered by American palaeontologist, Barnum Brown, in eastern Wyoming in 1900. In 1902, Mr Brown found a another partial skeleton in the Hell Creek Formation of Montana. Named by American palaeontologist, Henry Fairfield Osborn, in 1905. "Sue", one of the largest and most complete T-Rex skeletons, was discovered on a ranch in South Dakota in 1990. What followed was a legal battle over ownership of the fossil with the courts eventually awarding "Sue" to the ranch owner, who sold her at auction to the Chicago Field Museum for almost $8,000,000. Whilst the exact cause of death is unknown, it's believed "Sue" died from starvation due to a parasitic infection. Lived: 68 to 66 million years ago during the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous in what in now the western United States.