Dinosaurs, pterosaurs & marine reptiles of Isla Sorna

In the early 1930s, it was suggested that Nessie bore a striking resemblance to a Plesiosaur. However, the loch is only around 10,000 years old and if creatures similar to plesiosaurs lived in it they would be seen frequently, since they would have to surface several times a day to breathe. Also, the weight of the neck and the limited movement between the vertebrae would have made it impossible for Elasmosaurus to hold anything more than its head above the water.

A swing of its tail must have been pretty dangerous!

The tail was very flexible and those spikes could cause some serious damage. It's even been suggested that, like modern porcupines, Kentrosaurus charged backwards to run through attackers with its spikes.

This dino is one of T-Rex's closest relatives:


Name: Daspletosaurus
Pronunciation: Das-plee-toe-sore-us.
Meaning of name: "Frightful lizard".
Species: D. torosus, D. horneri, possible there may be a third species.
Size: Between 8 and 9 metres long, 3 metres tall and weighing between 2 and 4 metric tonnes.
Family: Tyrannosauridae.
Diet: Carnivore.
First fossils found: Known from six well-preserved specimens, the first of which was discovered by American-Canadian palaeontologist, Charles Mortram Sternberg, in the Oldman Formation of southern Alberta, Canada, in 1921. D. torosus named by American-Canadian palaeontologist, Dale Alan Russell, in 1970. D. horneri named by Thomas Carr in 2017. Was originally thought to be a species of Gorgosaurus.
Lived: 77 to 74 million years ago during the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous in what is now western Canada and the northwestern United States.

The tail was used mostly for balance, but many dinos also used their tails as weapons.

This dino was an early Ceratopsian:


Name: Protoceratops
Pronunciation: Pro-toe-seh-rah-tops
Meaning of name: "First horned face".
Species: P. andrewsi, P. hellenikorhinus
Size: 1.8 metres long, 0.7 metres high and weighing around 83kgs.
Family: Protoceratopsidae.
Diet: Herbivore. Fed on low-growing vegetation.
First fossils found: Known from several individuals, the first of which was discovered by photographer, James Blaine Shackelford, during an American expedition to Mongolia's Gobi Desert in 1922. P. andrewsi named by American palaeontologists, William King Gregory and Walter Willis Granger, in 1923. P. hellenikorhinus named in 2001. A remarkable fossil discovered in 1971 shows a Protoceratops locked in battle with a Velociraptor. It's believed they were either buried by a collapsing sand dune or surprised by a sand storm. Unlike later Ceratopsians, Protoceratops didn't have horns.
Lived: 75 to 71 million years ago during the Campanian and Maastrichtian stages of the Late Cretaceous in what is now northern China and southern Mongolia.