Dinosaur & Fossil Collection
Dinosaurs are a group of reptiles that dominated the land for over 160 million years. One of the reasons for the dinosaurs’ success is that they had straight legs, perpendicular to their bodies. This allowed them to move faster than other reptiles that had a sprawling stance like today’s lizards and crocodiles.Most dinosaur species became extinct around 65 million years ago, but the descendants of one dinosaur group, birds, are still with us today.
The word ‘fossil’ comes from the Latin word fossus, which means ‘dug up’. This refers to the fact that fossils are the remains of past life preserved in rock, soil or amber. Generally, the remains were once the hard parts of an organism, such as bones and shell although, under exceptional circumstances, soft tissues have also fossilised. There are different types of fossils because remains can be preserved in a variety of ways.
