| Deep
in the forests of Nebraska, a small rodent
waits for a large insect to get close enough to him while it's munching on a feast of fresh plant leaves. He pounces without making a sound and the insect is now a meal. But, before he can finish his meal, he is caught in the hungry jaws of a larger predator. The predator moves off to bring her kill to her hatchlings back at her nest. She steps out into the clearing, but she is in such a hurry to feed her hungry brood, she doesn't see the larger carnivore until it is too late. Now she is a meal for a larger predator. Much larger. |
 |
 Pangea |
This
is called a food chain
(please click and review).
Only this isn't the forests of today's state of Nebraska. This is theNebraska of 100 million years ago! |
| One
hundred million years ago, there were no lions
there were no giraffes, there wasn't even grass. What ruled the Earth back then was the most successful species of animals of all time: The dinosaurs! (Although our little rodent at the beginning of our lesson did exist, as did many other small mammals.) Today's "King of the Beasts," the lion,
wouldn't have
|
A T-Rex, and Her Mate |
 A
family of Apatosaurs (herbivores) having lunch |
QUESTION:
What is different about food chains 100 million years ago than today?
ANSWER: Absolutely nothing! |
| Even in prehistoric times, the Earth had vegetation, herbivores and carnivores, such as the fearsome T-Rex. |  A
Pair of Carnotaurs (carnivores) |
 |
Let's look at the difference between herbivore and carnivore dinosaur skulls. What differences can you spot? |
Is this the skull of
an herbivore or a carnivore dinosaur? How can
you tell? |
Is this the skull
of a herbivore or carnivore dinosaur? Why do you think so? |
| One
way to tell is to look at the teeth of each skull.
In the plains of Africa, an antelope will have much different teeth than a lion. The antelope's teeth are designed for chewing green leafy plants. The lion's teeth are designed for tearing the meat off its victim's bones. |
  On
the left are teeth from a carnivore dino, a Spinosaurus. On the right, teeth from the Triceratops, an herbivore. |
 If
you look closely at
these skulls, you can see that that carnivore skull (left) has its eyes facing front, while the herbivore (right) has its eyes on the side of its head. |
Scientists
believe that the eyes in the front of the carnivore's head, giving it stereoscopic
vision, allowing it to see in 3-D. This results in greater depth
perception, a distinct advantage for a hunter.
Think of those lions and antelopes discussed earlier -- the lion, the hunter, has its eyes in the front of its head, while the antelope, the prey, has its eyes on the side. |
| Just
like the great white shark of today's oceans, or
the falcons, hawks and eagles of our skies, the dinosaurs also had food chains in theirseas and skies. |
 A
pair of
ichthyosaurs hunt for a meal |
 Danger
from
above! |
Now that you know everything there is to know about dinosaur food chains, it's time for your ... |
| Your
job is to build a dinosaur food chain diorama!
You may choose dinosaurs ofthe land, sea or air. You may use plastictoys, or design your own prehistoric creatures. Be creative! I would like to see as detailed a scene as you can possibly make. This includes plant life,mountains and volcanoes, and anythingelse you can think of. Mix and match if you like! |
In
your diorama, I want to be able to easily see your food
chain. For example: A triceratops is busily eating his leafy lunch, unaware that a hungry tyrannosaurus rex is closing in quickly behind him! There youhave your vegetation, your herbivore and your carnivore all together! And
don't worry if you have dinosaurs together that
|
GOOD
LUCK!
