Da by Allison K.Lim eco Digging Up the Past. . Eyeurat rn rere aie by Allison K. Lim, illustrated by Pixeldust StudiWelcome to Dinosaurs! ‘Yutoldinyour hands asmall yet poner-packed book wth thee diferent pieces that are tied togtha by common topic Take alana the fran cover todkscover just what the topic mightbe, Notice thee Dinos. What kind ‘of nosaur do youthik spictoredon the caver? Why do you thnk dns no longer roam Earth? Alsoratice the tle ofeach leceinabandat thebottom the ever inthis book youl i + ascience article called'What Happened tothe Dinosaurs" nts arti ‘Staphnia Harvey youllarnabout three theories of why dinosaurs csappearedfomEarth eve ‘many milion of yearsagn Which theary do scientists think makes termes ‘sense andy? Reade article toFiaout! + athie person narative titled "Digging Up the Past A thir person narrative tells story about something that really happened. This atl dascrbes the ‘exciting tory of oss hunter Rob Sls andhis quest to decoverthe bones of fnancientseacreatureinNebrasta «test iterate ent arate scence orice cledEcrene Drona er saa fe cfc decrees eacthanesishig pra esure—twfngtet ey fags snes nes, ) tnthunorgthra! /Athough each these paces inked together by the topc of anosaurs, they se iffrent genres You might want tostart with the anethat marta your attetion Readit fist you tke, but do forget toread the others Reeding each ‘nevillgve you noreinformationardhelp you unlock the themes and big ides. ‘Youvilead oadles of werd inthisbook but these words—camivore extinct herbivore, paleontologist, predator, and prey—rillopedrinalof he pieces andmay help youbeterundestandvhat yauare reading Asyoucomeacross | sive these words think about how they elate tothe camman topic hat treads xine (sectv}ro through te whole book-—animals ofthe ancient ps longer Wingorexstng Reading is thinking! oe Readers wh getthe mst ot of threading any th Sioustwosusesbe thnengy eer cuestonsmalingcometre ndrearngtomforaton | schemes Payatetontothewordsbusolosathepetresandte estes Tae | seat bookispackadvitheeestangvatatvalgreyoutnscffomatin, | roar foananin jean ay atertonothen Pathe sim ‘And lastly, keep a pen or pencil and sticky notes right next to youas youread, orton Jotdomyourqvestoncmectons atretananstckthenigiton, {ey alana thepagewbereyouhad those tights Tesrotesgveyovapiacetahakd (Orin Your thinking so you wort forget what youhave read andcancomebacklaterto ‘eflectonthe idea and icuesin the text Nothing ic mreimpartan than your thinking when youreadand ven sokeep reading keep looking keep thinking, anghave some fsDinosaurs once lived on Earth. Some were large and fierce. Some were little and meek. Some small mammals lived with the dinosaurs. After most of the dinosaurs died, mammals began their reign on Earth. Every dinosaur discovery takes us back in time. We learn how Earth has changed. We learn about animals that lived and plants that grew. We learn about a world we'll never see with our own eyes. So what happened to the dinosaurs? Why did every dinosaur disappear many millions of years ago? Why did dinosaurs go extinct?Volcano Theory Paleontologists study soil and eee eet ete ee ay Pere en samples can give clues about where eee) es td into te az. Ths would have warmed may tell paleontologists what era rock samples from a dig site. These and when a dinosaur lived. They Earth was like when the dinosaurs went extinct. There are many ideas about what a happened to the dinosaurs. Many scientists theorize, or think, Earth’s eer Rag climate changed very quickly. This eee ee ent 2 a s Ere oa eae caused temperatures to drop and light. Plants that needed warm air water levels in the ocean to fal ee) Plants that were used to warm air did not adjust to cold air, so they began to die, The whole food chain was disturbed. Herbivores are animals that eat only plants. Dinosaurs that were herbivores began to die from hunger because there were fewer plants to eat. Gitiier itisueles Car died, too. Both predator and prey RCM some scientiss think insects gave Peete ke en eo were in danger. Some scientists fe iieiewaithe fot ay would have ceated an environment er eee een temperatures on Earth could erred eee! think after this great chill, have become extremely hot for thousands of years.We may never know the exact reason the dinosaurs went extinct. But many scientists think the asteroid theory makes the most sense. These scientists believe only a very large asteroid could have caused the extinction of dinosaurs. Such a large asteroid striking Earth would have caused a giant crater. A crater is a bow!-shaped hole in the ground. A crater is caused by the impact of an asteroid. Scientists studied rock samples from a crater along the coast of Mexico. This crater is more than 160 kilometers (about 100 miles) wide. The asteroid that crashed there must have been huge! The impact made a powerful explosion. Its effects could have caused a change in Earth’s climate. The rocks in the crater showed the asteroid hit at about the same time the dinosaurs went extinct ‘What might have happened when this asteroid crashed into Earth? The huge explosion likely caused massive forest fires, tsunamis, earthquakes, and dust clouds that blocked sunlight from reaching Earth for many months. ‘Many plants and animals died, but many others survived. Scientists will keep studying rock and soil samples. For now, the same question remains: What happened to the dinosaurs? Whatevidence supports theasterid theory? 72 Se eyt La U ty 2 Dru Oaa carci» buried treasure, ‘ay Field paleontologists, such as Rob Sula, have interesting jobs. They hunt for fossils They search for hours, hoping to find But finding “treasure” takes more than luck. Rob has to choose a place carefully. He has to use his skils to decide if what he is seeingis rock or fossilized bone. Sometimes Rob goes home empty-handed, Other times he makes a great discovery. Nebraska was under huge sea milions of years ‘ago. Plants and animals livedin the sea, The sea dried up over time, and the plants and animals died. On earlier trips to Nebraska, Rob found fossils of small mammals. Then he heard about some large fossils at a nearby ranch. Since this area had once been under water, Rob thought the fossils might belong to asea creature called amosasaur. He was right. The rancher ledhim right toa fullmosasaur skeleton! Rob was in awe! He spent thenext few years searching on that same ranch. In 2003 he decided to go toa different gart of the ranch. Rob had to hike to the area because there was no road there, But he though: it might be a good place to start looking,At first, Rob found an unusual rock. Or wasita fossil? He studied it closely. He found that it was 2 fossil of a vertebra, or apart of abackbone. Rob knew people had found complete skeletons at this ranch, so he kept searching, He hoped to uncover the animal’ full skeleton, Heres the site as Rob found it,found another fossil. Then he found another. The fossils were articulated, or connected. They matched how the { animal's bones were connected when the Rob searched for three hours and animal was alive, Rob had soon found six articulated tail vertebrae!arr aa ee Three Kinds of Mosasaurs (MOH-suh-SAWRS) Rob looked at the size and shape of the tail fossils. This was a mosasaur’s tall, Mosasaurs were giant reptiles | ‘that swam in water. They lived at the same time as the | dinosaurs. They have been extinet for millions of years.There were three kinds of mosasaurs: aPlatecarpus, uur, and a Clidastes. Which kind did Rob find? These animals’ bones looked similar, but their skulls were a Tylo different. Rob had to find this animal's skull. Then he would know to which kind of mosasaur these fossils belonged, Rob studied the vertebrae. He looked at the shape and direction of the vertebrae. He knewhe was nearing the end of the mosasaur's tail. Rob did not think he would find any more fossils from this mosasaur, so he stopped digging.Fr stabilize them. Then id remember what buried in the earth, Then Rob buried the fossils again. He did thi the fossils from wind and rain. The They dug in th not leaving,First the teamunc all of the b had buried the year before. Then they kept digging, They dugup another fossil ofa vertebra, Then they dugup another. The fossils wer Rob noticed teeth marks on the end of the tail bones. This was a key finding. Rob figurec p of mosasaurs had died in one pla sharks hadeaten the off their tails. That's why this mosasaur's tail was in an odd ulhe might find the rest of20 feet) of sol + :Rob's teamwas very excited about what else might lie ahead. The team dug up one fossil after another Finally the team reached the animal's rib cage. Then Rob's team discovered something amazing, There was fossilized skin Under the animal's ribs! Finding fossil of an animalis rare. But most fossils are of bones and teeth. Fossilized skinis very rare. This fossi answered many questions paleontologists had about mosasaurs’ skin, They stilldon't know what color the skin was, but they now know mosasaurs’skinhada diamond-shaped pattern. It was similar to asnake's skin, The skin was also very smooth, which likely helped the animal glide through the water. Rob wondered if he might “ind the animal's skull, He thought about what he knew about the three types of mosasaurs. Clidastes was the smallest mosasaur at about 2.5 meters (feet) long, This mosasaurwas much too large to bea Clidastes. So wasit a Platecarpus or a Tylosaur? The team kept digging, They soon found two flippers and a skull that was more than 1.2 meters (4 feet) long! Right away, Rab knew what he had found. v7Itwas a Tylosaur! Tylosaurs lived at the same time as Tyrannosaurus rex. They died many millions of years ago. These carnivores were some of the largest reptiles in the sea. Tylosaurs breathed air at the surface, but never went on land. They wouldn't have been able to survive out of the waterngtails 'shelped them swimin the water. Long rm find prey. A Ty Id like a snake, ands animal ows of pointy teeth lined each side of it and the roof of its mouth. Its prey coule ped it in ts strongRob drew this site map. The map shows hhow the fossil looked in the ground. Each Rob andhis team had found something amazing—z complete skeleton of a Tylosaur! Rob sketched the fossils ona site map. He drew each bone ints proper location. Field paleontologists make a site map so they know exactly how the bones looked in the ground. It also helps scientists piece the anirral back together once the fossils arrive at the lab.BB rersemc sen Peers cen This Tylosaur had been buried for about 80 million years. Its fossils were very fragile. Rob knew he had to get the fossils back to the lab safely, so his team made plaster jackets to protect their discovery. Cover the fossils A conte & faite androckwth vwrappedfossis D jacket over aluminum fi ina fiberglass Wrap the Wrap the fit rmatcoated with other side withuct ape. plaster Usemeta rods toreinforce thejacketMachines carefully move the fossils.st. The team then othe lab, ey're taking time on the rib cage though. They erve the Tylosaur's. do not yet know where the Tylosaur will be di J.We'll have to wait and te ial about Rob's Tylosaur Foss?by Allison K. Lim illustrations by Pixeldust Studios Dinosaurs went extinet many millions of years ago. So to study a dinosaur we have to jump back in time. How do we do that? We find fossils held in rock for millions of years. Some fossils are ordinary. Some are astonishing. The next few pages show some of the most extreme dinosaurs discovered. ‘National Geogrophic Magazine, December 2007 24MASIAKASAURUS Masiakasaurus lived 70-65 million years ag about the Irwas nota big dinoscur, but it used its teeth 15a weapon: Its hooked front teeth stuck almost straight out! 0. This carnivore liked to eat fish and other small animals. It moved fast and had a long neck and toil. But its most extreme feature was its tee Paleontologists think it used its front teeth to stab its prey, th, Masiakasaurus fossilEPIDENDROSAURUS Epidendrosaurus lived 160 million years ago. Scientists think this tiny tree-climber was an omnivore. Itate plants and meat. It had three fingers on each hand, but one finger was much longer than the other two. Why did this small dinosaur have such a tong third finger? It’s a mystery!pidendrosaurusis the smallest dinosour ever discovered. It most likely ote insects ond berries, Aye-Aye paleontologists often study ving animal tofind clues abou a dinstur Fr example, peleonologits study the oye-oye oearncbout Epidendrosourus. The aye-ae sa lemur that Ivesin Madogoscar thas oon finger ke his dinosaur The age ae Uses slong finger to pull grabs and inscts ot of ols in trees. e's posse the dnasour ued long finger in fhe same way. After Finding these fossils in Mongolia, scientists still have questions. Was this an adult ora young Epidendrosaurus?ASWARGCASAURUS Amargasaurus lived 130-125 million years ago. This herbivore had two row: spines on its neck and its back. Scientists have tried to explain the purp. dinosaur's double spine, but they're tain.Compared wit it long body, ‘Amargasaurvs had atiny head. ‘Scientists think this gentle ‘giant wos not very intolligent because smallheads often contain small brains Amargasaurus might have had a sail, or skin covering its spines. It could have flushed. blood into this sail to help cool itself down. But scientists aren’t sure. Amargasaurus could have also used its spines to attract mates or scare off predators. ‘Amargasourus fossil 4Tuajiangosaurus was about {meters 20 feet lng and o litte over 18 meters (6 feet) ‘all eused is strong tail to strike predates tha tried ‘twattackit. TUOMANGOSAURUS. Tuojiangosaurus lived 161-155 million years ago. This herbivore had bony plates on its back. It had sharp spikes on its shoulders nd tail. Scientists study earlier dinosaurs to understand why this dinosaur needed back plates. They think the back plates were used to make this dinosaur look more intimidating, Tuojiangosourus fossil> oa STYRACOSAURUS | Styracosaurus tived 75 million | years ago. Its ancestors had small | nose bumps and frills on their skulls. But Styracosaurus had a huge horn and fril, Its nose horn was a deadly weapon. It likely used its horn to fight predators. Some scientists think the frill on its head could have changed color. This would attract, mates or make itself look intimidating. Sa eeeeseeinimeeeemeeeeeseenemeememereemeerereeeeese rhea Styracosaurus was the size of rhinoceros, these dinosaursst 31C= Main Ideas 1L, What do you think connects the three pieces that you read in this book? What makes you think that? 2. What is the main idea of ‘What Happened to the Dinosaurs?” Which theory do you think makes the most sense? Explain why. 3, Use Rob Sule's site map on pages 20-21 to tell about the mosasaur 4. Which dinosaur do youthinkhadthe most / interesting extreme feature? Explain why. 5. What do youstill wonder about the dinosaurs 7 or mosasaurs? What research could you do tofind out more?Glossary astral (cur arockyobjectinspace tat mores Srendhesun carter (ou anarimalthateatottarnials xine (jective ologeiingorerting terbvore (our anniv that eats plansto rroraser (our) alarg reptile swan water raed iio yesago emnivore (au anarimalthatetsboh plants ag ster anialstosuvive paleonaogs (ou) asclentst vino studs te Fevans ofa, animal ndather fe forms that tvedongago predator (rar an rial hat hnsothe animals ferfood prey rou] animal ote animals hunt for food reptile (noun) acertinkindofcolt-booded. Sirbreathinganima thathas backbone tien Shelton anda bay coveredwithacalesor rgd paates vertebra (noun vertebrae noun plural ona ofthe ‘mallbones that makeup an amas backone Lrrone cnc Ladders ‘Make a Difference + Dinosaurs ‘Amazing Plants + AllTogether Now Mixed-Up Matter + Birthday Celebrations Forces of Nature * Onward! 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