Everyone has a favorite dinosaur, so I asked several people what theirs were and compiled some random facts about them, because why not?

Ankylosaurus

1. Its name means fused lizard because many of the bones in its body were fused together.
2. They were covered in armor made of bones and knobs, similar to that of crocodiles.
3. They had a club at the end of the tail formed by vertebrae that was woven together along with two rows of spikes on their body. The tail club may have been used for fighting, defense, or to attract a mate.
4. They likely had a very good sense of smell to help in finding food and avoiding predators. Though predators probably had a hard time attacking them due to the armor and spikes. The nasal passages may have also helped keep their brains cooler.
5. No complete skeleton has been found.

Brachiosaurus

1. Their name means “thunder lizard” in Greek.
2. They weighed 33 tons on average.
3. They consumed stones to help grind up plant matter in their stomachs.
4. The long tail may have been used as a weapon.
5. The crack of the whip like tail may have sounded as loud as a cannon.

Brontosaurus

1. They were most likely warm-blooded, with an average body temperature of 100.8 degrees F. This was based on a study of the ratio of isotopes in their teeth.
2. It is estimated they could have been at least 82 feet long and weighed 62 tons.
3. They were once believed to be the biggest dinosaurs that lived, but it’s believed that there were even larger sauropods.
4. They had air filled pockets in their bodies that made them buoyant.
5. They likely had to eat up to 880 pounds of food a day. In comparison, the largest animal on Earth now is the Antarctic blue whale which eats about 7900 pounds of krill a day.

Pachycephalosaurs (My personal favorite)

1. Their name means “thick-headed lizard.”
2. They were probably 15 ft long and weighed around 950 pounds.
3. Along with its thick, bony dome on the top of its head, it also had spikes around its nose.
4. Their skull was about 8 inches thick.
5. They were similar in height and size to a buffalo.

Velociraptor

1. The name comes from a combination of two Latin words; “velox” (swift) and “raptor” (robber or plunderer).
2. They could grow up to about 1.6 ft and could weigh up to 33 pounds.
3. They most likely had feathers, but their arms were too short to fly.
4. They had a sickle shaped talon on the second toe of each foot that was folded up and used to hook prey.
5. They may have been able to run up to 40mph.

Random additional facts

1. There was a dinosaur called the Suzhousaurus that looked like a giant rat and may be related to the giant ground sloth.
2. Scientists believe some dinosaurs may have lived for over 200 years.
3. Stegosaurus had the smallest brain with its brain the size of a walnut in a van sized body.
4. Scientists believe dinosaurs may have shed their skin while they grew like snakes.
5. The Hadrosaurs had over 1,000 teeth.
6. The longest dinosaur name is Micropachycephalosaurus.
7. A T-Rex’s tooth could be between 8 and 12 inches long.