8: Mysterious Dinosaurs

Are Birds Dinosaurs? What were the world's biggest and smallest dinosaurs? and Is It Possible to Clone a Dinosaur? All these prehistoric related questions (and a whole lot more) are answered by our intrepid science reporters, Jeanna and Mindy.

 

Below you can find links to further reading on the topics discussed in this episode.

 

Mystery #1: Are Birds Dinosaurs?

• Ancestors of modern birds were theropod dinosaurs 
• The earliest birds are reported to share  much in common with their theropod relatives, including feathers and egg-laying
  
  

 Interview with  Dr. Holly Woodward on her article:  6-Foot-Tall T. Rex Skeletons Not a New Pygmy Species, Just Teenagers.

 

Mystery #2:  What were the world's biggest and smallest dinosaurs?

• Weight estimates of The Argentinosaurus - a type of titanosaur - range from 77 tons (70 metric tons) up to 110 tons (100 metric tons)
• The Micropachycephalosaurus, a thick-headed plant-eater, measured 2 feet (70 cm) in length
  
  

Guest editor report with Live Science’s associate editor, Laura Geggel: Reaper of death,' newfound cousin of T. rex, discovered in Canada 

 

Mystery #3: Is It Possible to Clone a Dinosaur?

• Another long-gone animal that some scientists have thought about “bringing back” through cloning is the woolly mammoth 
• Conservationists argue that resources should be spent on currently threatened or endangered animals

Don’t forget to subscribe! You can find more answers to life’s little mysteries at the Live Science website and you can follow us on Twitter and Facebook too. Tell us what your life’s little mysteries are at forums.livescience.com.

 

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Music by Chad Crouch - Algorithms

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