Dinosaur: Book Review :: Weird & Wonderful

Nearly 2,000 different types of dinosaurs may have walked the earth at one time or another, and they came in a variety of shapes and sizes – just like us! Some had pretty weird features, like elaborate crests or uncommonly large claws. Check out the following freaky dinos – maybe you can guess why they looked the way they did!?

Parasaurolophus

This wacky dinosaur was a herbivore with a beak shaped like a duck’s. At up to 39 feet long, it could walk on two legs or four. On its head was a crest that was shaped and sounded like a horn. It used its horn to call out to warn of danger or declare its superiority over rivals. Every horn was slightly different, giving each parasaurolophus its own unique call.

Pachycephalosaurus

This strange dinosaur had a domed head up to three-quarters of a foot thick, which it may have used to head butt other pachycephalosaurus to determine rank (like buffalo do).

Deinocheirus

The only complete limbs of this mysterious beast ever found are its gigantic arms – an incredible 8 feet long each! And, with claws almost a foot in length, this dinosaur may have been the most terrifying predator that ever graced the earth.

Amargasaurus

This herbivore’s most impressive feature was the two rows of enormous spins that lined its back, possibly covered with skin to form elaborate sails. These may have been used to cool it down, for displays of courtship or to make it look bigger than it actually was.

Therizinosaurus

This dinosaur was a real oddball. It measured 23 to 40 feet in length, weighed up to 7 tons and had horrible sharp claws that were more than 3 feet long each. The problem is, it was a herbivore, not a meat-eater. Scientists think its gigantic talons weren’t for slashing flesh, but for ripping open termite nests like an anteater does, or for stripping foliage from trees. Its eggs were almost 20 inches long – the largest eggs of any animal on the planet.

Incisivosaurus

This strange-looking dinosaur had a mouth crammed full of different teeth, possibly for eating meat as well as plants. It actually belonged to a birdlike group of dinosaurs and had well-developed feathers on its tail and wings for display and to keep it warm. It used its two enormous bucked teeth to gnaw at tough vegetation like a beaver.

Related stories:

Corythosaurus

Stegosauru

Ankylosauru

Velociraptor

Read more: The Lab