Paleontologists (scientists who study prehistoric life)learn about dinosaurs by studying fossils of their bones.These fossils are the remains of dead animals that have turned into rock.
People probably found fossils of dinosaur bones thousands of years ago but did not know what the bones were.In the early 1800s,people realized that the fossil bones belonged to prehistoric animals.The first dinosaurs that paleontologists studied were named Megalosaurus and Iguanodon.The bones looked like those of reptiles,such as lizards.The flat teeth of Iguanodon showed that it was a plant eater.The pointy teeth of Megalosaurus showed that it was a meat eater.
The early fossils came from England.British scientist Sir Richard Owen in 1842named these animals dinosaurs.The word comes from two Greek words meaning “terrible”and “lizard.”Scientists now know that dinosaurs were not lizards.
Kinds of Dinosaurs