Dinosaur Cove Cretaceous 1: Attack of the Lizard King

Product Information

Dinosaurs are not like any other animal on Earth. They lived millions of years ago, which means they were here before people, insects, and even flowers. Dinosaurs were big and their bodies were different from any other animal alive today. They had many sharp teeth and long claws on their hands and feet to protect themselves from enemies or to hunt for their next meal. There are many different types of dinosaurs: herbivores (animals that eat plants), carnivores (animals that eat meat) and omnivores (animals that eat both). There used to be lots of different types of dinosaurs, but today there are only 3 types left: the velociraptor, the pteranodon and the tyrannosaurus rex. Dinosaurs are extinct, but they are still popular among children. They can be seen in books, movies, and TV shows. Few people think about the prehistoric reptiles that roam the earth for millions of years ago. They used to live on every continent but now they only exist in museums and zoos. Fig. 7. Volunteers standing under the cliff face excavation at Dinosaur Cove East. (Photo Ros Poole.) Dinosaurs are a group of animals that lived on Earth over 66 million years ago. They became extinct about 66 million years ago, but we still know a lot about them today because their fossils were very well preserved in the ground.

Fig. 4. Inaugural dig at Dinosaur Cove, showing wooden portico over cliff face excavation. (Photo Ros Poole.)Dinosaur Cove", Victorian Resources Online, Department of Primary Industries, 31 December 2009, archived from the original on 4 April 2011 , retrieved 2011-02-21

The richest find of petrified dinosaur bones is confined to narrow thin (up to 0.3 m) layers, most likely ancient stream beds serving as repositories of the bones of smaller animals. Down at the cliff face, the camaraderie and one-upmanship saw the girls giving the guys as good as they got. Bill Hopkins notes “All the girls and women seemed to love working with the noisy tools” then adds cheekily, “all the boys and men loved watching them do it”. It wasn’t uncommon to get covered in mud from the water-fed drills, making a dip in Lake Copco at high tide an inviting prospect. This would be no ordinary dig. The Dinosaur Cove deposit was at the base of a steep, slippery, 90m-cliff, subject to huge tides and extreme weather. Tom’s proposal to have amateurs tunnelling into a vertical cliff with hydraulic drills was met with reactions of horror, but with stubborn persistence, he was able to wade through the mountain of red tape needed to appease the authorities and gather the resources required. With the invaluable support of Bill Loads, manager of Victorian operations for Atlas Copco, who provided the drilling equipment, the stage was set for the commencement of a project that would provide a window into the world of polar dinosaurs. Digging begins Dinosaur is a phenomenal representation of prehistoric times. It has always fascinated people of all ages. It was not just an animal but it was an entire world. The most interesting aspect of the dinosaur is that it predates the appearance of mammals by about 70 million years, so it had no natural enemies. Subsequent scientific analysis of the fossil material, by a range of scientists including geochemists, palaeobotanists, palaeontologists and geologists, soon revealed more unusual and exciting information. Stress indicators, called ‘lines of arrested growth’, were absent in the hypsilophodontid bones, suggesting that this group had not hibernated like the larger polar dinosaurs. Analysis of the climate revealed mean temperatures as low as -2˚C, leading to the conclusion that the hypsilophodontids may have been warm-blooded. It was soon apparent that Leallynasaura, like birds today, may have maintained a constant body temperature by foraging all winter long.Long before humans walked the earth, there was another prehistoric animal that dominated it. It was called a dinosaur. Young social media sensation Brayden Eaton was cast in the lead role of Riley Harrison. [2] The film was directed by Daniel Knudsen who previously directed Courageous Love and ‘’SKYDOG’’. [3] Dinosaur Cove wrapped up post-production in early 2022. This article (and photos) is condensed from A Decade of Dedication: the digs of Dinosaur Cove; Issue 6 Australian Age of Dinosaurs Journal, 2008. www.australianageofdinosaurs.com. Further reading Kids love dinosaurs because they are enormous and fascinating creatures. They like to hear stories about their history and imagine what it would be like if they were living today. Dinosaurs fascinate kids because they seem so far away from them; it’s hard to imagine what these animals might have looked or sounded like or how big or small they were when compared with other animals that exist today.