You’ve heard of Stegosaurus, but what about Therizinosaurus?
1. Kentrosaurus
Are you a Stegosaurus fan? Then you might want to have a look at its equally stubby yet spinier cousin, Kentrosaurus. The 15-foot-in-length Kentrosaurus was believed to bow its forelimbs for better traction while swinging its massive tail spikes (otherwise known as “thagomizers,” which is an awesome word to say) to fend off predators. Attackers on the receiving end of those thagomizers must have been in rough shape, Kentrosaurus could whip its tail at a speed of 40 meters-per-second—more than enough force to rip through skin or shatter bones.
By Wikipek [CC BY 3.0 (creativecommons.org / Via commons.wikimedia.org
2. Psittacosaurus
Psittacosaurus (it's pronounced sih-tack-oh-sore-us and means “Parrot Lizard”) was only 2-feet tall and 4-feet in length. Surprisingly this guy is in the same family as Triceratops and used its bird-like beak to crack open seeds and nuts for food. But instead of chewing it would swallow stones to help grind and digest whatever he was nibbling on for dinner.
commons.wikimedia.org / Via Wikimedia Commons
3. Stygimoloch
Look at the dome on this guy! 127 to 65 million years ago, Stygimoloch was roaming around what is now Wyoming and Montana. It may sound like it was up to no good (get this, its name literally means “horned demon from the river of death”), but this human-sized dinosaur was a fairly harmless plant-eater—that is until it became mating season. Male species would use their thick skulls and pointy horns to battle via head-butting each other in order to win the right to mate with single Stygimoloch ladies who were ready to mingle.
upload.wikimedia.org / Via commons.wikimedia.org
4. Citipati
Is there another name more fun to say than Citipati? This feathered and toothless dinosaur (which was as big as a modern Emu) lived in central Asia about 75 million years ago and was the best dino-mom around. Citipati fossils show them sitting on top of groups of its own eggs in brooding/nesting positions similar to modern birds. Check out some recreations of its calls above, which make it sound like its coughing up a pretty massive dino-loogie.
YouTube / Via youtu.be
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