[For Seniors] Fun and Easy! Dinosaur Multiple-Choice Quiz (3 Options)

70 to 100 kilometers

Because Gallimimus looks similar to an ostrich, it is also nicknamed the “ostrich dinosaur.” However, it can run faster than an ostrich. Its speed is said to come from the flexibility of its instep. It can run at 70 to 100 kilometers per hour—fast enough for a highway.

Iwate Prefecture

Japan’s first dinosaur fossil was discovered in 1978 near the Moshi Coast in Iwaizumi, Iwate Prefecture. It was reportedly named “Mosiryu,” combining the find location “Moshi” with the word for “dragon.” Although it was a large dinosaur around 20 meters in length, it was a herbivore that ate tree leaves and other plants, extending its long neck—measuring over ten meters—to feed.

America

The “Godzillasaurus” discovered in the United States was named by a researcher who loves “Godzilla.” As a child, after watching a Godzilla movie with his Japanese mother, he became a Godzilla fan. That led him into paleontology, and he named a newly discovered dinosaur “Godzilla.”

child-rearing

Maiasaura is the dinosaur that prompted the idea that some dinosaurs cared for their young. Fossils from nests have yielded slightly grown juvenile Maiasaura and eggshells shattered from hatching. From this, it is inferred that hatchlings lived in the nest until they reached a certain size—in other words, the parents provided care. By the way, in Latin, “maia” means a good mother, and “saura” is a term used for a female lizard.

Oviraptor

“Raptor” apparently means “thief” in Latin. Oviraptor, which carries the meaning “egg thief,” was given its unique name due to a misunderstanding. Fossils of an Oviraptor were discovered inside a nest containing Triceratops eggs. It was assumed that it had been stealing and eating the Triceratops eggs, and so it was named “Oviraptor.” However, the embryos in the eggs were actually Oviraptors, and it seems the fossils formed in its own nest. It’s a bit sad that it was labeled a “thief” because of a misunderstanding.