General Knowledge
Believe it or not
Birthday Boy
Fossils
Today's Dinos
100
What do you call someone who researches dinosaurs?
What is a paleontologist?
100
When were fossils first discovered? (hint: early/mid/late 1600/1700/1800/1900's)
What is the late 1600's?
The first scientifically described dinosaur fossil was discovered in 1676 by Robert Plot. The term dinosaur wasn't used until 1841 by Richard Owen. People likely called dinosaur fossils or bones "dragon bones" or simply "dragons"
100
How old is Micah turning?
What is 26?
100
How many continents have dinosaur fossils been found on? (hint: there are 7 continents total)
What is seven?
Yes, even Antarctica.
100
What present day feathered animal evolved directly from dinosaurs?
What are chickens?
Birds evolved from the non-avian theropod dinosaur, a group known for being bipedal and carnivorous. This group includes well-known dinosaurs like T. rex and Velociraptor.
200
The name dinosaur comes from the Greek terms deinos and sauros. What does that translate to in Greek?
What is terrible lizard?
200
It’s believed that some large dinosaurs, like sauropods, could live for how long?
What is 100 years?
200
What is Micah's favorite dinosaur?
What is a Triceratops?
T-rex is also acceptable, but you're on thin ice
200
What is the name of the physically largest Tyrannosaurus rex specimen discovered, out of more than 30 T. rex skeletons that have been found?
What is SUE?
SUE is named for Sue Hendrickson, who discovered the dinosaur in 1990 during a commercial excavation trip north of Faith, South Dakota. It is also the most complete—around 90 percent. It took six people 17 days to extract the dinosaur’s bones. The Field Museum won SUE in a bid for $8.36 million, the highest price ever paid for a fossil at the time.
200
What modern day reptile has been around for longer than the dinosaurs have been extinct? (Hint: can be kept as pets)
What are snakes?
Several fossilized snakes reveal that they’ve been around for over 140 million years – that’s twice as old as Mr T-Rex.
300
Which type (herbivore or carnivore) of dino made up the majority of the population?
What are herbivores?
About 65% of dinosaurs were herbivores.
300
What well know flying reptile lived at the same time, but are not dinosaurs by definition?
What are pterodactyls?
Similar to mosasaurs (featured in Jurassic World) who were not dinosaurs but considered marine reptiles.
300
What is the name of Micah's T-Rex buddy?
Who is Leaf?
300
A newly discovered dinosaur, lokiceratops, has a huge, blade-like horn and was found in Montana in 2019. It was discovered by two professors and was named after what?
Who is the Norse God, Loki?
300
Although not decedents of dinos, what modern day toothy reptile is considered the closest related and predates the existence of dinos?
What are crocodiles?
Crocodilians are the most closely related group. They evolved before dinosaurs. Modern day crocodiles are more closely related to birds than they are to lizards and snakes
400
Which evolved first? Feathers or Flight?
What are feathers?
It was believed most dinosaurs had feathers as a way to keep warm.
400
What nearly complete dinosaur skeleton, nicknamed "Apex," fetched $44.6 million at auction in 2024? (Hint: a herbivore, know for distinctive kite-shaped upright plates along their backs)
What is a Stegosaurus skeleton?
This sale broke previous records, including the previous record holder, the T-Rex fossil "Stan," which sold for $31.8 million in 2020. Bought by the billionaire Kenneth C. Griffin, who is lending it to the American Museum of Natural History in New York for four years.
400
Where does Micah's middle name, Blue, originate from?
What is Blue October?
400
Where have most dinosaur fossils been found? (other than the united states)
What is China?
Over 300 species have been identified in China. China also holds a large number of well-preserved fossils, including those with feathers and soft tissues.
400
Velociraptors were comparable in size to what modern day bird?
What is a turkey?
Adults typically measured around 5 to 6 feet long, about 1.5 to 2 feet tall at the hips, and weighed between 30 and 43 pounds. They were much smaller than the large, human-sized raptors depicted in the Jurassic Park movies.
500
How long were dinosaurs alive for? (hint: between 100 million to 200 million years)
What is 165 million years?
500
What long-necked, long-tailed popular dinosaur never really existed? (Hint: Littlefoot in the Land Before Time)
What is a Brontosaurus?
The paleontologist had the wrong skull on the specimen and named it brontosaurus, but it wasn't a new dinosaur at all - it was just an apatosaurus with the head of a camarasaurus.
500
How many states has Micah been to?
What is 22?
500
Dinosaurs were classified into two groups based on the shape of what bone?
What is the hip bone?
Ornithischia, or bird-hipped dinosaurs, and Saurischia, or lizard-hipped dinosaurs
500
What unique bone was found in some dinosaurs? (hint: also found in modern day turkeys)
What is a wishbone?
Originally thought to be unique to birds, fossil discoveries of recent decades have shown that some kinds of dinosaurs also had wishbones. In particular, those dinosaurs known as theropods: carnivorous dinosaurs that stood upright and walked on two legs.