Are your kids obsessed with fossils and Dinosaur bones?! Read below to find out all about the coolest Dino fossils found around the world!

So how do scientists know if they’ve found a dinosaur bone?

Fossils are all we’ve got to show that dinosaurs ever existed and there are two kinds. The primary are elements like bones and teeth that we frequently recognise with fossils. The second are traces like tooth marks, footprints, and dinosaur poo!

Scientists can usually tell when they have found a dinosaur from the shape of the bone or tooth. Dinosaur bones are often larger than other animal bones, but not always. Often fragments are too small or broken up to be sure.

Meat-eaters, like Tamora, had bones that were hollow, but thicker usually than those of birds or pterosaurs. They can identify the bones as those of a dinosaur because of their size and certain characteristics. Bones of other animals from the Jurassic are smaller and look different, particularly the skull!

Continue reading to find out more about the top 7 dinosaur fossils frozen in time.

1. 1. Dinosaur Death Match!
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The Velociraptorand Protoceratops were engaged in a desperate struggle when they were abruptly buried by a landslide. They will remain forever locked in mortal combat.

The Velociraptorhas sunk its deadly foot claw deep into the neck of the herbivore, a boar-sized creature called Protoceratops!

1. 2. Nodosaur Fossil
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One of the best dinosaur fossils ever discovered, the preservation of the unfortunate Nodosaur that died some 110 million years ago is unlike anything seen before. Most fossils are made up of just a few of pieces of bone and teeth, but this incredible find details the skin and armor of the animal from the tip of the head to the hip. Even the pads on the bottom of the feet can be seen! You can see it on the National Geographic website here!

1. 3. The Baby Dinosaur About To Be Eaten By A Snake
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Due to their small size, unguarded dinosaur eggs and hatchlings were always at risk of being gobbled up by other animals. In 1984, researchers dug up the 67-million-year-old fossil of a Sanajeh Indicus (an extinct type of snake) that was about to swallow a dinosaur hatchling. The discovery was made in Gujarat, India.

1. 4. Fish catches fish-catching pterosaur
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The swooping Pterosaur snatched a fish from the water, only to be caught by a much bigger fish leaping into the air. The Pterosaur flew just above the water of the tropical lagoon. Snap! It snatched a small, herring-like fish from the water and began to swallow it. But the noise attracted a predator. Up popped Aspidorhynchus, a sleek fish about 60 centimetres long. The fish leaped out of the water and grabbed the Pterosaur by its left wing as it was flying. All the animals then splashed down into the water.

During this struggle the pterosaur drowned with the small fish it had caught halfway down its throat. The Aspidorhynchusstruggled futilely to disentangle itself as it sank into deeper water low in oxygen and died. The bodies of all three animals ended up on the bottom of the lagoon and there they remained, beautifully preserved, until they were dug up 150 million years later.

1. 5. Ichthyosaur live birth
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The discovery of an Ichthyosaur giving birth proved once and for all that, despite evolving from egg-laying reptiles, the ocean-going creatures did not come ashore like turtles to reproduce. Instead, they gave birth to live young at the surface of the water, like whales and dolphins. It is now thought that early Ichthyosaurs initially gave birth head first, before later evolving to deliver babies tail first as would make sense for the air-breathing creatures.

1. 6. The Sleeping Dinosaur – Shh!
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Our knowledge of dinosaurs remains limited even after exhuming hundreds of their fossilized remains. For instance, we do not know how the great T-Rex slept. And it is unlikely that we will ever know unless we find the fossilized remains of a sleeping T-Rex, which might never happen as unearthed dinosaur fossils are almost always found in the death position. Their tails are pointed upward, and their necks are positioned as if they are trying to look over their backs.

1. 7. Sauropod flees for its life
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The massive Sauropod fled along the shore closely pursued by a huge predator similar to T. rex. The trail of footprints they left behind survived for over 100 million years. Exactly what happened is not clear. Roland Bird of the American Museum of Natural History, who discovered the footprints in 1938, thought they showed an actual attack in progress, with the predator running alongside the Sauropod and at one point sinking its teeth into the victim, missing a step as it was lifted off the ground.

WOW! Was that enough dino facts for you? No? Then make sure you catch Dinosaur World Live on its 2019 UK Tour to make sure you find out more about our favourite prehistoric pals!

Are you thinking about things to do with kids in Leicester? If your kids are fascinated by dinosaurs and fossils then don’t miss out on this Leicestershire attraction! Playing at the Haymarket Theatre from Fri 29 – Sun 31, March Dinosaur World Live is a Jurassic fun day out with the kids in Leicester. Book your tickets now!