Some beasts of yore 10 – The Land before Time

The 1988 animated film by Don Bluth inspired this themed edition in the series on beasts of yore.

SPIKETAIL

Spike was of the genus Stegosaurus, of the clade thyreophora. In the Late Jurassic period, ca 155–150 million years ago [MYA], they roamed from modern Portugal to western USA (art by Pablo Rivera).

Large individuals reached 9 m (29.5 ft) in length, ca 4.3 m (14.1 ft) and 5.3 to 7 tons (5.8 to 7.7 short tons) in weight. The function of the plates is still much debated, but their long and sharp thagomizers [tail spikes] were presumably for defense.

LONGNECK

Littlefoot was a sauropod of the genus Apatosaurus, that lived in the Late Jurassic period, about 152 to 151 MYA. They shook the earth in North America (art by Phil Wilson).

The great herbivores average length was 21 to 22.8 m (69 to 75 ft), and ca 4.87 m (16 ft) tall at the hips. Apatosaurus had an average weight of 16.4 to 22.4 tons (18.1 to 24.7 short tons).

FLYER

Petrie was a pterosaur to the genus Pteranodon. Pterosaurs were not dinosaurs but close relatives. Pteranodons flew along the coasts of North America 86 to 84.5 MYA, in the Late Cretaceous.

Adult male Pteranodons had a wingspan of about 5.6 m (18 ft) but larger species reached over 6 m (19.68 ft) or even 7 m (22.96 ft). At least some of their diet is known to have been fish (art by Elena Duvernay).

ROOTER

The old dinosaur Rooter who comforts Littlefoot was a Scolosaurus, a genus in the subfamily Ankylosaurinae (seen to the bottom left in this artwork by ABelov2014).

Scolosaurus lived about 76.5–74 MYA in modern Canada. It was heavly armored, with additional horns and spikes along the body, and had a powerful club at the end of its tail.

BIG MOUTH

Ducky was a hadrosaurid of the genus Saurolophus. It lived in Asia and North America in the Late Cretaceous period, about 70 to 68.5 MYA (art by John Gurche).

Larger species reached at least 13 m (43 ft) in length, and are estimated to a weight of up to 11 ton (12 short tons). Though they lived in wet regions they are not expected to have been swimmers.

THREE-HORN

Cera was a Triceratops, a genus of ceratopsid who lived in North America in the Late Cretaceous period, ca 68 to 66 MYA. It is proposed that they lived in small numbers or solitary lives (art by Raul Ramos).

In size they were 7.9 to 9 meters (26 to 30 ft) long, 3 m (9.8 ft) in height, and 6.1 to 12.0 tons (6.7 to 13.2 short tons) in weight. The frill is thought to been for colourful display, while the horns presumably were meant for rivalry yet could be used in deadly defence.

SHARPTOOTH

Western North America 68 to 66 MYA was the hunting ground of Tyrannosaurus rex, a genus of coelurosaurian theropods (art by Vlad Konstantinov).

The huge carnivore could reach over 12.3 m (40 feet) in length, up to 3.96 m (13 ft) tall at the hips, and had an estimated upper weight of 14 tons (15.4 short tons). Though other theropods could rival it in size, T-rex is yet estimated to have had the strongest bite force among all known terrestrial animals.

Bonus: the Stegosaurus tail spikes were named the thagomizer by cartoonist Gary Larson in above strip from 1982. Over time it became the accepted scientific term.

For more beasts of yore posts, see https://imgur.com/gallery/Ih99mxw