Dinosaurs: Glossary

A

Argentina

a country in South America

adaptation

physical structures, characteristics or behaviors that allow an organism to survive and reproduce in its particular environment

amber

tree sap which has hardened into rock

ancient

very old

asteroid

space rocks that orbit the sun between Mars and Jupiter

atmosphere

the blanket of air around the earth

B

biped

a word that means walking on two feet

bird-hipped dinosaurs

see Ornithischia dinosaurs

bison

an ox-like mammal, incorrectly called a buffalo

blue whale

a baleen whale with blue skin, largest mammal ever known

bogs

wet, spongy ground of decayed plants

C

Cretaceous

the last and final period of the Mesozoic era

carnivore

an organism that feeds on the flesh of other animals

climate

the historical record of average weather conditions in a certain place or certain season. weather may change from day to day, but climate changes only over hundreds or thousands of years

continental drift

movement of continents resulting from the motion of earth's plates

D

decay

to rot away

dinosaur

the English version of dinosauria

dinosauria

" fearfully great lizard", from the Greek, deinos - "fearfully great" and sauros - "lizard."

disease

illness or sickness

drought

a period of prolonged dry weather leading to a shortage of water

E

embedded

buried or stuck in a another object such as a rock

erodes

to wear away

erosion

the act of wearing away as in rocks by the wind or water

exposing

to uncover

extinct

when none of a species exist anymore, they are said to be extinct

extinction

the complete disappearance of a type of organism

F

footprint

mark left by a foot in mud, soil or sand

fossil

remain, impression, or trace of an ancient animal or plant that has been preserved in earth's crust and is older than about 10,000 years

H

Hagerman horse

a small horse-like mammal from the Pliocene era

herbivore

an animal that eats plants

herding

moving together as a group which may be a means of protection

I

impressions

a mark produced on a surface by pressure

investigate

to look at something closely in order to learn about it

J

Jurassic

the middle time period of the Mesozoic era

L

lizard-hipped dinosaur

see Saurischia (lizard-hipped) dinosaur

M

Madagascar

an island off the Southeast coast of Africa

Mesozoic

the middle period of earth's history, 248-65 million years ago - the era of earth's history dominated by the dinosaurs

mammoths

a elephant- like prehistoric mammal

mummified

to dry or shrivel up to preserve

O

Ornithischia

also known as bird hipped dinosaur where the hips closely match that of a bird

ostrich

a large flightless bird capable of running at high speeds

P

Pliocene

a period of time approximately 10 to 2 million years ago

paleontologist

a person that studies fossils

paleontology

the study of ancient life

prehistory

before history was recorded

Q

quadruped

an animal that walks on four feet

quicksand

soft or loose sand saturated with water which can suck objects under its surface

R

reptile

cold-blooded animals with backbones

S

Saurischia

also known as lizard hipped dinosaur where the hips closely match that of a lizard

sediments

material that settles to the bottom of a liquid, often sand or soil, ground rock

species

a group of creatures related in some way

supernova

the explosion of a star

T

Triassic

the first (earliest) period of the Mesozoic era

tar pit

a puddle of natural tar

temperature

the measure of molecular motion or the degree of heat of a substance

theories

ideas about how something might have taken place

U

unearthed

to remove dirt, soil and rocks in order to uncover something

V

volcanic ash

ash which comes from a volcano's eruption

volcano

a break in the earth's crust where lava oozes