The dinosaur of the month 2015

The dinosaur of the month of December is ... the Styracosaurus

The Styracosaurus looked like the Triceratops, but it had only one horn on its nose and had six big other horns on its frill and some other ones around those six. It probably lived in herds to protect itself. It had a major predator: the Albertosaurus. The Styracosaurus was a herbivorous dinosaur living during the Cretaceous period.

The dinosaur of the month of November is... the Leaellynasaura

The Leaellynasaura, not like everyone thinks about dinosaurs in general, may have hibernated. It lived in Australia, which was in the polar circle in the Cretaceous. These very small herbivorous dinosaurs may have made holes in the ground to protect themselves from the cold.

The dinosaur of the month of October is... the Stegosaurus

This dinosaur is one of the most well-known dinosaurs, because of its plates on its back, which was probably used for blushing or as a temperature regulator, and its spikes on its tail to defend itself. This herbivore dinosaur lived throughout North America.

The dinosaur of the month of September is... the Spinosaurus

This dinosaur was piscivore, which means that it ate fish. It fished its fish with its sharp claws and its pointy teeth. It also had a sail on its back to regulate its body temperature, like the Stegosaurus. This piscivore dinosaur species lived during the Cretaceous period and lived in North Africa.

The dinosaur of the month of August is... the Pachycephalosaurus

This dinosaur is distinguished by its skull and its solid, bony bump on top of its head. Its skull was 23 centimeters thick. This one was used to defend itself, hit and attract a female. It is part of the pachycephalosaur family and it lived during the Cretaceous period. We found its bones in the United States. This dinosaur was herbivore.

The dinosaur of the month of July is... the Velociraptor

Ce dinosaure était très sociable. En groupe, ils pouvaient tuer une proie approximativement 10 fois sa propre taille. Il était l'un des dinosaures les plus intelligents de tous les temps. Sur chacune de ses pattes, il y avait une griffe appelée "killer claw" qui servait à sauter très haut et à tuer ses proies. Ce dinosaure avait des plumes. Il a vécu durant la période du Crétacé en Amérique du Nord et en Asie. Il était carnivore.

The dinosaur of the month of June is... the Tyrannosaurus Rex

A lot of people know this dinosaur because of its name (the king of dinosaurs) or because of its bad temper. It didn't have that bad of a temper but it was a cannibal! This big carnivore had some teeth the size of a banana! It had two cousinsCet énorme carnivore avait des dents de la même taille qu'une banane! Avec une pression d'environ 3000 tonnes par dent, c'est énorme! Il avait 2 cousins: le Tarbosaurus et l'Albertosaurus. Personne sait pourquoi il avait des bras aussi miniatures. Le tyrannosaurus vivait en Amérique du Nord et à la fin du Crétacé. Il avait des plumes quand il était juvénile, mais c'est dur d'en trouver une image.

The dinosaur of the month of May is... the Utahraptor

This dinosaur belonged to the raptor family. This dinosaur was basically a bigger Velociraptor. It lived in the U.S. during the Cretaceous period. For more information, see Velociraptor, the dinosaur of the month of July.

The dinosaur of the month of April is... the Microraptor

This small chinese dinosaur that lived during the Cretaceous jumped from trees and planed to move and catch insects for food. We recentely discovered some color pigments on the Microraptor that were black (see image).

                                                                                                      

The dinosaur of the month of March is... the Crylophosaurus

This dinosaur was a big carnivore that lived at the South Pole. There are high chances that the "crest" on its head was used to attract females. Unlike today, the South Pole, during the Jurassic, was a dense forest because it wasn't in the Arctic circle and was attached to Australia. It preyed on the multiple smaller dinosaurs than him.