This month’s InquiBox is filled with activities to learn more about dinosaur facts for kids and some nifty surprises. Join us and travel back into prehistoric times, in a world ruled by giant earth roaming creatures and discover more dinosaur facts.

We have compiled a list of ten dinosaur facts that you probably didn’t know. There are still many unanswered questions that scientists are yet to uncover about their long lost past.

1. T-REX wasn’t always big

The earliest ancestors of T-REX are believed to be no bigger than a human today. The discovery of a tiny fossil in North America suggests that it took about 16 million years to reach their full evolutionary size. Palaeontologists have studied the smaller sized skull to analyse what the tiny specimen might have appeared to look like.
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2. Dinosaurs would dance as a sign of mating  

It is believed that dinosaurs performed dances to woo potential partners. This ritualistic like behaviour is commonly evident in birds. Palaeontologists have found scrape marks on the floors left behind in North America which could be indicative of this alleged dinosaur behaviour.
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3. Dinosaurs could have babies the size of a dog

Palaeontologists have discovered the remains of a dinosaur believed to be the size of a dog. There is also further evidence to suggest that larger sized dinosaurs may have had premature children, which lead to stunted growth. A female dinosaur could have laid hundreds of eggs at a time, and it also could have been possible for dinosaurs to lay twins. But whilst most baby dinosaurs started off small – they could also have impressive growth spurts. Read more.

4. Scientists have a greater understanding of what a dinosaur brain might have looked like.

As a result of discoveries made by palaeontologists, it is believed that dinosaurs might have had a larger brain than previously given credit for. Some earlier findings suggested that Dinosaurs had a brain the size of a walnut!!

Dino’s were neither considered highly intelligent nor were their EQ levels comparable to that of the modern-day reptile.
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5. New 26,000-pound dinosaur discovery was Earth’s largest land animal.

Late last year, the discovery of a 26,000-pound dinosaur left scientists perplexed. The dinosaur is described as incredibly “thick” and ‘heavy-boned” and would have weighed twice as much as two African elephants! The dinosaur would have roamed earth over 200 million years ago and is said to have been Brontosaurus’ cousin.
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6. The platypus was believed to be a hoax

During the 18th century, scientists could not believe that the Platypus was real as its physical appearance seemed like a mixture of two unrelated species. Likewise, the discovery of a dinosaur in Chile which was labelled as a hoax has been referred to as the Platypus Dinosaur. The dinosaur has parts of its body that resemble those dinosaurs of different groups and can provide a good example as to how evolution works.
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7. Some dinosaurs incubated their egg-like birds.

Scientists in China have analysed fossilised eggs to understand the Dinosaur life cycle. The feathered dinosaurs shared many similar characteristics of the modern day bird and may have sat on their eggs to incubate them. These findings, add to the evidence of an evolutionary link between birds and dinosaurs.
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8.  Everything you knew about how dinosaurs looked may be wrong.

The legendary dinosaurs that we all imagine, may actually appear very different to how we envision them. This may seem as obvious but because none of us were alive at that time in history and can only be based on our scientific understanding. Some may have had a lot of feathers, or reptile-like scales – others with wings, and some with a tail; but nothing can be confirmed with accuracy.

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9. And the most preserved fossil is?

Discovered by miners in Canada, it is a 110 million-year-old remain and the animal was a plant-eating armoured dinosaur. This dinosaur is one of a kind, with a 20-inch spike on its shoulder, weighing close to 3000 pounds.
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10. Some dinosaurs were adorable and cute, and not as scary as you might think.

These dinosaurs may have been tinier than usual or had a leafy diet consisting of nuts and seeds.

(Be prepared to say “aaaw”, as you scroll these images)

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Did you like our selection of these 10 surprising dinosaur facts? Comment down below any other facts which you may have.

Extra reading: check out our posts on 10 fascinating science images and our blog on 11 optical illusions that will trick your brain.