paleontologists

If you’ve been doing the Summer Reading Adventure then you might have hunted around your local library to find hidden dinosaurs as part of the Library of Adventure challenge. Or if you’ve been hanging out in Pōneke then you might have seen ads for the new Dinosaurs of Patagonia exhibition at Te Papa. So let’s dive into the wonderful, weird, and even a little bonkers world of dinosaurs.

What are dinosaurs?

Assembled skeleton of a tyrannosaurus rex, focused on the skull.

A scary T-Rex has been humbled by the passage of time.

While dinosaurs are famous from movies like Jurassic Park and iconic childhood shows like The Land Before Time there is more to them than how they are pictured on the big screen. For example, dinosaurs get a bad rep for being carnivorous monsters in movies but most of them (65%) were actually herbivores who had plant-based diets long before veganism became cool. And, even though The Land Before Time features some cool dinosaurs, some of them didn’t even exist at the same time! (Littlefoot is an apatosaurus, a species which lived nearly 80 million years before the saurolophus species that Ducky belonged to).

Anyway, dinosaurs are extinct (that means they aren’t around anymore) reptiles which roamed the earth between 251 and 65 million years ago! The three main periods when dinosaurs lived are: the Triassic period (251 – 200 million years ago), the Jurassic period (200 – 145 million years ago) and the Cretaceous period (145 – 65 million years ago) which are collectively known as the Mesozoic Era. Defining characteristics of dinosaurs include that they had tails, laid eggs, lived on land, had two holes in the skull behind each eye, and the term dinosaur does not include the animals which flew or swam during the same period.

How do we learn about dinosaurs?

Thankfully no mad scientist can use these to reincarnate dinosaurs, but they look cool.

Scientists called palaeontologists study fossils (the preserved remains of ancient creatures) to figure out what the earth was like thousands, and even millions of years ago. Even though Aotearoa might seem far away and difficult to get to for reptiles, dinosaurs still existed here because at the time they lived the world looked a lot different. During the Triassic and early Jurassic period, New Zealand (and Australia, South America, India, Africa and Antartica) were part of a supercontinent called Gondwanaland! This means dinosaurs didn’t have to swim across the Indian Ocean to find their way here, they could just walk.

For a long time people assumed that dinosaurs never roamed Aotearoa but in 1975 that changed thanks to amateur palaeontologist Joan Wiffen. Joan Wiffen, along with her husband Pont, discovered the tail bone of a theropod in 1975 and thus found proof that dinosaurs did once exist here, opening up lots of interesting and exciting scientific possibilities. Over the next three decades she discovered bones from an ankylosaur, mosasaurs, plesiosaurs and a titanosaur. If you now want to become an amateur palaeontologist yourself then you’re in luck! The library has plenty of books on dinosaurs which can help you learn more about these awesome creatures.

Books about dinosaurs:

Lots of things to know about dinosaurs / Maclaine, James
“Open this book to go back in time and meet lots of incredible dinosaurs. Featuring incredible illustrations and fun facts, this book is a great introduction to the world of dinosaurs. (Adapted from Catalogue)

Dinosaurium / Murray, Lily
“This junior edition of ‘Dinosaurium’ is perfect for those with a love of the natural world. Wander the galleries — open 365 days a year — and discover a collection of curated exhibits on every page.” (Catalogue)

Fossil / Taylor, Paul D
“Packed with striking photography, Eyewitness Fossil explores the creatures and plants that lived long ago. Become an eyewitness to the natural treasures found in rocks in this picture-led reference guide that will take you on a visual tour of all things fossils. Children will be mesmerized by the bones, teeth, and plants from long ago that have all been turned to rock.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Dinosaurs : the myth-busting guide to prehistoric beasts
“Discover what dinosaurs were REALLY like in this myth busting book! Find out how the real dinosaurs actually lived, looked and sounded in this fascinating book. While popular Hollywood movies have given us a simplistic view of these magnificent creatures, the latest scientific research is changing assumptions and providing a far different perspective.” (Catalogue)

Dinosaur / Lambert, David
“Meet the incredible creatures of the prehistoric world. This essential guide to dinosaurs, from tiny, chicken-sized Compsognathus to the mighty, long-necked Brachiosaurus, this book unearths fascinating facts about these prehistoric creatures. With colourful and factual illustrations, informative labels, statistics and fun-filled facts, this is the perfect all round guide for dinosaur lovers and budding palaeontologists.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Books about palaeontologists:

Dinosaur hunter : Joan Wiffen’s awesome fossil discoveries / Hill, David
“The true story of palaeontologist Joan Wiffen, whose fossil discoveries proved that dinosaurs lived in ancient New Zealand.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Paleontologists / Gibson, Karen Bush
“Discover the stories of Mary Anning, Mignon Talbot, Tilly Edinger, Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska, and Mary Leakey, five female palaeontologists who thrived while making breakthrough discoveries of ancient life from millions of years ago! In Gutsy Girls Go for Science: Palaeontologists with STEM Projects for Kids, readers ages 8 to 11 do fun hands-on projects while learning about these women and the fascinating lives they led in the field and in the lab.” (Catalogue)

The fossil hunter / Winter, Kate
“Unearth the mysteries of ancient fossils and discover the life and legacy of Mary Anning in this beautifully illustrated, fact-filled book for curious young readers. Mary Anning was a fossil hunter, scouring the cliffs and seashores of Lyme Regis for strange rocks and shells. Mary’s fossils paved the way for modern palaeontology and helped to piece together a picture of how the dinosaurs lived and evolved.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Mary Anning / Sánchez Vegara, Ma Isabel
“When Mary was little, her family was very poor. She used to help her dad to comb for shells and bones up high on dangerous cliffs. After receiving a book as a gift from a kind benefactor, Mary learned all about fossils. She continued to hunt for them and made the startling discovery of a complete skeleton of an ichthyosaur. Sadly, she wasn’t allowed to study along with all the other men, but she carried on making her own discoveries and advising the Geological Society when they needed help. It took a lifetime to receive recognition but we all remember her now as the mother of palaeontology.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Sticky note…

Many of the links in this blog go to the Encyclopaedia Britannica for kids. This is accessible to all Wellington City Libraries users. But to access this wonderful resource, you’ll need to login using your library card number (on the back of your card) and 4 digit pin (last FOUR numbers of the phone number listed on your library account), and the link will take you straight there.

A 180-million-year-old “sea dragon” has been unearthed from the depths of an old reservoir in the United Kingdom – and it’s a massive find: It’s as long as a double-decker bus (around 9.7 metres) and just its skull alone weighs 907kg, which is almost as much as a the weight of a small car!

Palaeontologists say the discovery are the bones of the ichthyosaur (or Sea Dragon) is an extinct reptile that lived in water. Its name means ‘fish lizard’. Ichthyosaurus belonged to a larger group of reptiles called ichthyosaurs. Ichthyosaurs were distant relatives of lizards and snakes. They were not dinosaurs.

Watch the palaeontologists work:

What’s the difference between reptiles and dinosaurs?

black and white lizard on gray concrete floor

Lizard: Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on Unsplash

Dinosaurs lived around 66 million years ago. They are now extinct. Dinosaur were warm-blooded, whereas reptiles are cold-blooded animals. Both dinosaurs and reptiles hatch eggs and have scaly skin. However, the main difference between dinosaurs and reptiles is posture. Dinosaurs held their limbs directly under their bodies (like most mammals do) while reptiles, like lizards, have their limbs spread out sideways.

Do sea monsters exist today?

Free photo Tentacle Boats Kraken Boat Octopus Squid Monster - Max Pixel

Image: CC – Max Pixel free imagery

Hundreds of years ago, European sailors told of a sea monster called the kraken that could toss ships into the air with its many long arms. The legend may actually have originated from sightings of the giant squid, which is a real living sea animal. It has 10 arms, can grow longer than a bus, and because it lives in deep oceans, has massive eyes. It’s only in recent years that these elusive creatures have been videoed alive, but you can see a deceased giant squid that has been preserved at the Colossal Squid (Te Ngū Tipua) exhibition at Te Papa.

Another mythical creature was called the Leviathan which is like a giant sea snake. Sea snakes are real animals, found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The longest can grow to about nine feet — almost as long as our ancient Sea Dragon fossil above. Although some of these snakes are venomous, they usually do not pose a threat to humans.

Loch Ness - UTGÅTT - Engelsk (SF vg1) (LK06) - NDLA

(CC BY-SA 4.0)

And of course, we can’t forget the Loch Ness Monster. The Loch Ness Monster (also referred to as Nessie) is a supposed animal, said to live in the Scottish loch of Loch Ness, the second biggest lake in Scotland. Most scientists believe that the Loch Ness Monster is not real, and they say that many of the sightings are either hoaxes or pictures of other mistaken existing animals.

Dig deeper with these cool links:

Paleontology and dinosaurs for kids

Marine biology facts for kids

Ocean facts!

Archaeology facts for kids

Octopus facts

The ocean’s weirdest creatures

Our Blue Planet: Exploring the alien world of brine pools (YouTube)

There are lots of books about sea monsters real and imagined in our library collection for you to read if you dare!

Monsters : 100 weird creatures from around the world / Banville, Sarah
“Ever wondered what terrorised the Scape Ore swamp in 1980s South Carolina? Or who visits the naughty children in Northern Europe to punish them on Christmas Eve? Or how bloated undead feeders got upgraded to a shape-shifting castle-dwelling Count? From well-known and well-feared monsters like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster, to the lesser-known, but just as weird and wonderful Japanese Sea Serpent and Chinese Hopping Vampires, this book is the must-have guide to monsters from all over the world”–Publisher’s description.” (Catalogue)
Monstrous : the lore, gore, and science behind your favorite monsters / Beccia, Carlyn
“Could Dr. Frankenstein’s machine ever animate a body? Why should vampires drink from veins and not arteries? What body parts are best for zombies to eat? (It’s not brains.) This fascinating encyclopedia of monsters delves into the history and science behind eight legendary creatures, from Bigfoot and the kraken to zombies and more. Find out each monster’s origin story and the real-world history that informed it, and then explore the science of each creature in fun and surprising ways. Tips and infographics—including monster anatomy, how to survive a vampire attack, and real-life giant creatures of the deep sea—make this a highly visual and fun-to-browse book.” (Catalogue)
Deep dive into deep sea / Flannery, Tim F.
“You might think you know about the ocean, but the deep sea is nothing like the beach. Things are weird down there. Who is the giant squid’s mortal enemy? Can you see ghosts in the deep sea? Why would a sea cucumber have teeth on its butt? And what on earth is a headless chicken monster?” (Catalogue)
Sea monster surprise / Stilton, Geronimo
“Bart Barnacle, the prehistoric pirate who has been visiting the cavemice, is ready to return to his pirate island home. It’s so far away that the Stiltonoots offer to accompany him on the long, treacherous journey over the sea. On the way, they encounter megalithic danger and hungry sea monsters! What an adventure!” (Catalogue)
The sea of monsters : the graphic novel / Venditti, Robert
“After discovering a secret that makes him question the honor of being the son of Poseidon, demi-god Percy Jackson journeys into the Sea of Monsters in an attempt to save Camp Half-Blood.” (Catalogue)
Nessie the Loch Ness monster / Brassey, Richard
“Fact or fiction? Whether or not you believe in the legendary tale from Loch Ness, this bestselling book is an essential part of British culture.” (Catalogue)
Sepron the sea serpent / Blade, Adam
Book 2 of the Beast Quest series. Sepron the Sea Serpent is a beast who protects the Western Ocean of Avantia. He is a long serpentine beast with green hair-like mane often compared to seaweed and a wide mouth lined with jagged fangs.
Twenty thousand leagues under the sea / Verne, Jules
“In the mid-nineteenth century, a French professor and his two companions, trapped aboard a fantastic submarine as prisoners of the deranged Captain Nemo, come face to face with exotic ocean creatures and strange sights hidden from the world above.” (Catalogue)
Ocean monsters / Davies, Nicola
“IExplore: Ocean Monsters is packed with fascinating information about the biggest, fiercest and strangest sea creatures, and is sure to inspire a sense of wonder and awe in nature. This book also brilliantly harnesses the wonders of AR to explore the world’s mysterious seas. Children can interact with dynamic sea creatures from the convenience of a tablet or smartphone.” (Catalogue)
Sea monsters : prehistoric creatures of the deep / Everhart, Michael J
“This book takes readers back in time – 82 million years ago – to when a massive sea divided North America, stretching from the Gulf of Mexico northward to Canada… giving us a glimpse of creatures like the sinuous Styxosauras, whose serpentine neck weighed more than a ton, or the fierce 40-foot Tylosaurus, the undisputed top predator of the time.” (Catalogue, abridged)
Miss Kraken / Greenberg, Nicki
“The minute we saw Miss Kraken, we all knew it was going to be a bad year. She’s cranky. She’s strict. She’s just plain . . . weird. Miss Kraken is definitely not the teacher the kids were hoping for. But she might have a surprise or two up her sleeves. A hilarious tale of bad behaviour and unexpected consequences.” (Catalogue)
The Kiwi fossil hunter’s handbook / Crampton, J. S.
“New Zealand has a rich fossil record, which is accessible to the amateur fossil-hunter in locations around New Zealand, including shells and plant remains, as well as the bones, teeth and other remnants of ancient reptiles, birds and fish. This handy pack-sized guide features 30 accessible locations around the country where kids and their families can find fossils. Each location contains specific information on where to look and what to look for, as well as the geological background and other details of each site, and colour images of fossils that could be found there” (Catalogue)
Whiti : colossal squid of the deep / Cleal, Victoria
“The colossal squid has been the most popular exhibit at Te Papa since it arrived there in 2007. Now this appealing book for young readers tells the fascinating story of these creatures from the deep, through sparkling and informative text and amazing illustrations. A must-have natural history book for young readers and their whānau and teachers”(Catalogue)

Dinosaurs!