“Rawr,” said the Tyrannosaurus Rex. Dinosaurs. Long necked, big beaked, big scaled, sharp toothed, big clawed dinosaurs. Who doesn’t love dinosaurs? They’re under our feet as we speak. But, at one point in time, they called what was prehistoric Saxonburg home.
“I love dinosaurs,” said junior Chance McCalip.
Today, I thought it would be a splendid idea to ask a fair amount of people about their dino desires and even include some of my dino desires. So, buckle up, this is going to be a long one.
Now, if you’ve read my previous two articles about birds and fish, you know that I tend to yammer on for a decent amount of time. I’m going to try my best to keep this short and sweet.
I’m going to have 4 categories for myself: the G-DOAT (Greatest Dinosaur of All Time), best carnivore, best pterosaur, and best amphibious dinosaur. Now, there is no Herbivore and that is for good reason. So, here’s my dino takes.
A tough one to start us off with, we have the best carnivore of all time. There are quite a few big, bad boys that can go into this category. You got your T-Rex and you got the Velociraptor. Even with these bad guys, my favorite all time carnivore is the Baryonyx. These guys are just flat out awesome. They are like the Spinosaurus, but just better. They both are anglers, living primarily off of fish. The Baryonyx is a smaller relative of the Spinosaurus, but with longer limbs. Baryonyx is a more agile creature due to its smaller stature. It is known for its long, crocodile-like snout and large thumb claw. Mainly believed to live in what is modern day England and Spain. They are quite awesome and my favorite carnivore of all time.
Next up, we got the best pterosaur, or flying dinosaur. There are almost infinite options with this one. You got the Pterodactyl, you got Scaphognathus. But, I got the Aerotitan as my favorite pterosaur. These guys are quite huge, that’s why the word ‘titan’ is in the name. They have a wingspan sitting at around 16 feet on average. They were mainly found in modern day Argentina and southern South America. The late Cretaceous is when these bad boys ruled the air. It also feast primarily on smaller mammals and lizards. Got to love the Aerotitan.
Now, this one is a very tough one for your boy. The best amphibious dinosaur. When I say there are so many options, I really don’t mean that lightly. You have your Koolasuchus (essentially just a 15 foot long and half ton big Hellbender), Diplocaulus (these guys are just cool looking), and Microposaurus (giant lizard with microscopic eyes). However, there is one that stands above the rest, and that is the Kaprosuchus. These guys are downright awesome. They are just gators with huger teeth and huger legs. They have teeth that stick out of their mouth like a modern day wild boar, but cooler. They were around 10 feet long and weighed around 2 tons. They lived in the very late Cretaceous period in modern northern Africa. They are truly the definition of a meat eater. They have been awarded the nickname “boar croc” by Paleontologists, as they are a modern day crocodile, with those big boar looking teeth. Their closest relative is found in modern day Madagascar.
Now, it’s time for the big one, the Greatest Dinosaur of All-Time. Some of you might be wondering how I could top some of the dinosaurs I’ve already listed. I will admit, it’s hard to crown one as the king amongst these guys. But, at the end of the day, there’s one winner who will always stand out to me. They look cool, they do cool things, and their name is downright awesome. With all that being said, the greatest dinosaur of all time is the Pachycephalosaurus. These guys are so cool. There’s really no other way to explain it. They have dome shaped heads so they can run into each other at full speed (maybe, I can’t confirm or deny that that’s why they have those dope skulls). That sick domed head measured to be around 9 inches thick of straight bone. Pretty cool stuff. They were usually around 15 feet long, and weighed around half a ton. They were alive in the late Cretaceous period. They also are big time fern eaters, they love them ferns. Remains of these guys have been found in northwestern America and parts of Alberta, Canada. They have been found near what is modern Jordan, Montana at a formation called Hells Creek, an ancient supersite for Paleontologists. Gotta love the Pachys. I dream of, one day, resuscitation of a Pachycephalosaurus . I think that watching one of these guys but heads with a modern day Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep would be awesome. Now, we would either have to shrink down the Pachycephalosaurus or bulk up the ram, because the rams are usually around 150-200 pounds.
But, enough about me, it’s time for the people’s feedback. I think that we should lead off with our lovely Knoch High School staff.
Who better to lead us off than the sagacious, savant, Mr. Michael “Alan Brinkley, ‘Brinkley says’” Zebrine. After being personally touched by the Ivy Professor, Alan Brinkley, he now has begun his path down the roads of paleontology and scientific discovery of the true past of our planet. There isn’t a better man to ask than Mr. Zebrine.
His greatest dinosaur of all time is the late, great Tyrannosaurus Rex.
“It’s a slam dunk,” Mr. Zebrine said. “At its peak, there was no higher apex predator.”
You truly can’t go wrong with this bad boy. From top to bottom, these guys are fierce. Weighing in at an average of 8 tons, 40 feet long, they are big, bad boys. Great take from the Zeebster here.
He also sticks with his theme of big guys, as his favorite herbivore is the Diplodocus. “They are so big and intimidating,” Zebrine said, “with that long neck, it’s hard to believe they were not a predator!”
He’s got a point here, these guys are humongous. They loved to eat leaves off of trees, low growing plants, ferns, and much more. Thus the reason that their neck is lower to the ground than that of the Brachiosaurus. Pretty cool critters here!
Now, defecting from team Diplodocus, Mr. Zebrine would turn into a Stegosaurus if he could turn into any dinosaur. It’s quite clear to see the connection between the big Z and the Stegosaurus. They are both super chill, but if you really want to throw down, they’ll throw down.
“They aren’t looking for a fight, but if attacked, they’re more than ready with its armor plated, spiked tail,” Zebrine said. “They could do damage if needed.”
But, the question that everyone asks is, ‘What happened to the dinosaurs?’ Some think of the asteroid, some think of the ice age, some even think of disease. Zebrine is a supporter of Yucatan Peninsula Theory. This is a theory that a massive asteroid hit the ocean right off the Yucatan Peninsula, which is in modern day Mexico. Some are even saying that this asteroid could have been 15 kilometers wide.
“It caused so many particles and ash to deprive the growth of food sources,” the Zeebster said. “That caused life to largely die out, including dinosaurs. That seems plausible to me.”
Next on the chopping block, we have Mr. Travis Eakin, the glorious substitute teacher who used to roam these halls as a student. Eakin brings a more basic approach to the table compared to Zebrine, as Eakin is not educated by the late Alan Brinkley. However, Eakin’s knowledge runs deep.
He starts off with what is starting to look like a common theme, as the Tyrannosaurus Rex is his favorite dinosaur of all time.
“I have loved it since Jurassic Park,” Eakin said. “They also seem the coolest, and they have funny memes.”
He also loves some other non dinosaur fossils. He is a fan of creatures that have been stuck in ice.
“They look super cool from the movies,” Eakin said
Now, I really hope that our friend Mr. Eakin is not talking about the movie with Sid the Sloth and Manny the Mammoth, called Ice Age. That would be quite sad if that’s the movie he was talking about, but, to each their own!
Next up, we have the one and only Mrs. Sandorf. The 0-Wings finest here.
Mrs. Sandorf is the first teacher we have that does not have the T-Rex as their favorite dinosaur of all time. In her opinion, she has the Spinosaurus as the greatest dinosaur of all time.
“Tall sail on its back, skull like a crocodile, aquatic with possible webbed feet and tail made for swimming. What doesn’t the Spinosaurus have?” said Sandorf.
Now, even though I said earlier I like the Baryonyx more, you still have to give the Spinosaurus its flowers. They are very cool and very deadly. They truly are one of a kind and will never be mistaken.
Even more fitting to Mrs. Sandorf’s kind and caring personality is the dinosaur she would become: the Maiasaura.
These dinosaurs were a huge stepping stone for some of the behaviors we see in animals to this day. Their name, Maiasaura, is translated to “Good Mother Lizard”. They are recognized as one of the first dinosaur species ever to care for their offspring. They would often let their young stay in the nest until they grew, and even feed their young.
Some other quick information about the Maiasaura, they are actually found very close to where the Pachycephalosaurs was found (Montana/Alberta, Can.). They had a duck-like bill that they used to graze shrubs, seeds, and berries. Most believe that the Maiasaura was found in the late Cretaceous (also very similar to the Pachycephalosaurs).
This dino take is the perfect representation of Mrs. Sandorf; kind, compassionate, and truly caring for those around her!
And, similar to Mr. Eakin, Mrs. Sandorf is also a fan of non-dinosaur fossils. Mrs. Sandorf is a fan of bugs enclosed and mummified in amber.
Next up, we got the accounting sorcerer Mrs. Sheptak. Who likes the T-Rex
“They’re tuff,” Sheptak said.
Sheptak is one of the only ones who has a non-asteroid reason for dinosaur mass extinction. She thinks that there was either extreme heat or an ice age.
“The weather became inhospitable,” Sheptak said, “and they died.”
Thank you everyone for all of the responses, I unfortunately have a bunch of responses that I can’t use, so I’m sorry if you filled one out and were not featured.
