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10 Dinosaur Facts for all Duck Island Visitors!

Phil E.S. Dogg was wise to make note of these essential dinosaur facts ahead of his visit to Duck Island...

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Beano Team
Last Updated:  June 22nd 2022

Now you know that Duck Island is full of dinosaurs, you're going to need to be armed with a list of blam facts. These won't keep you safe from the Gnashersaurus at all, but they're just nice to have in case you run out of conversation alongside any other visitors running for safety.

1. The smallest dinosaur is called a microraptor!

They were a feathered dinosaur with four wings, measuring up to 77 cm long, which is about the size of a crow. The ideal size for a pet, several million years ago. There's a few running around on Duck Island, so watch where you're going!

2. Dinosaurs roamed the earth millions of years ago!

When we say millions, we mean it! We're talking 250 million years ago to 65 million years ago. That’s 185 million years! In comparison, humans have only been around for about 2 million. Dinosaurs made their home on Duck Island around 20 years ago. We're not saying it was a Professor von Screwtop experiment which went wrong. Definitely not saying that at all.

3. Dinosaurs had feathers!

Scientists now believe that all dinosaurs had feathers, even big scary ones like the T-rex. If you see feathers on Duck Island, it means that dinosaurs are close by. Or they could belong to a duck. That's why it's called Duck Island. They made their home on the Beanotown island long before Professor von Screwtop's experiment. Ooops.

4. Dinosaur has a Latin meaning

The word dinosaur means 'terrible lizard'. That’s terrible in the sense of terrifying, not like a really rubbish lizard. There are several dinosaurs on Duck Island, two of which are called Keith.

5. There are three dinosaur eras

Dinosaurs lived through different periods of history: Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous. But, due to a certain Beanotown scientist's experiments, there is now a fourth which hardly anyone knows about – the Blam Period, which is right now!

Jurassic Park | Kathleen Kennedy, Gerald R. Molen | Steven Spielberg | Amblin Entertainment

6. The earliest dinosaur lived for millions of years before any others existed!

According to scientists, the Nyasasaurus Parringtoni lived during the Triassic period, 10 million years before any other! The latest species is the Gnashersaurus, which can be found on Duck Island.

7. The heaviest dinosaur weighed 77 tons!

The Argentinosaurus is on record for being the longest and heaviest dinosaur, being roughly the same weight as a space shuttle. This dinosaur never went into space, as far as anyone knows. Probably not.

A space shuttle going into space

8. Dinosaurs would have walked on dinosaur fossils!

To get an idea of how long dinosaurs walked the earth, put it this way – the fearsome T-rex would have definitely walked over ground which contained Brontosaurus and Stegosaurus fossils. Woah. No fossils have been discovered on Duck Island. It's full of old, disused monorail full of crisp packets which might be of scientific interest one day.

9. There's a word for fossilised dinosaur poo!

No, it's not triceraplops, or 'disgusting', both of which would make sense. It's actually called 'coprolite' and luckily for archaeologists, it doesn't smell at all. There are public toilets on Duck Island, but we daren't look inside to see if a Gnashersaurus has been for a number two. Urgh.

Dinosaur poo

10. Fossils have been found on all seven continents!

This proves that dinosaurs were pretty much everywhere. When a fossil was discovered by a farmer in China, people thought they were the bones of a dragon! It wasn't though. It was named Sinosauropteryx, means 'the China dragon bird. The farmer sold the two halves of the fossil to two different museums. Beanotown council have stressed that any fossils found on Duck Island belong to them and they will be placed on display alongside a nice plaque.