The Origin of the Word “Dinosaur”
To begin with, the English anatomist Sir Richard Owen coined the term “Dinosauria” in 1842. Seeking a way to properly classify these massive prehistoric reptiles, he combined two ancient Greek words. Specifically, he merged deinos, meaning “terrible” or “fearfully great,” with sauros, meaning “lizard.” Consequently, this powerful name has defined these creatures in the public imagination ever since.
An Epic Prehistoric Timeline
Furthermore, these magnificent reptiles ruled our planet for millions of years. They first emerged 250 million years ago and thrived across three distinct geological eras: the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods. Eventually, an extinction event wiped out the last of the non-avian dinosaurs exactly 65 million years ago.
The Living Legacy of Theropods
Interestingly, dinosaurs never truly vanished. Because fearsome theropod dinosaurs—such as the Tyrannosaurus rex—directly evolved into modern birds, living fowl carry a remarkable genetic legacy. Recently, scientists analysed preserved dinosaur proteins and discovered a striking similarity to modern poultry. As a result, researchers confirm that chickens and ostriches share DNA that most closely matches their prehistoric ancestors. Just think of it: when you sit down to Sunday lunch, you might be eating a dinosaur descendant. Better than the other way round, eh?
How to Use the Image Quiz
Now that you know the history, you can easily interact with our image gallery to test your knowledge.
- Reveal the Answers: First, simply hover your mouse pointer over the grey box below any image to display its hidden answer. If you are using a touchscreen device, press and hold your finger on the box instead.
- Download the Files: Next, to download an individual image, right-click on the enlarged version and select “Save image as”. This action will open a save dialog box so you can save the file directly to your computer. Conveniently, we have named each picture file after its corresponding answer.
- Follow Usage Guidelines: Finally, you may freely use any of these images to build your own personal quizzes. However, you must not republish our images in any format.
