Dinosaurs became extinct some 60 million years ago, but some animal species that lived side by side with them survived and their descendants live on today. Take our quiz and find out which animals you recognize have their roots in the dinosaur era.
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Question 2 of 21
What is the prevailing scientific theory about how dinosaurs met their end?
They were wiped out when an asteroid hit the earth.
There was a significant increase in the earth's temperature, making it very difficult for most life forms to survive on earth.
There was a flu epidemic which wiped out the dinosaur population.
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The prevailing theory is that they were wiped out when an asteroid hit the earth's surface around the area that is now Mexico.
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Question 3 of 21
What is the mass extinction of dinosaurs officially known as?
Jurassic-Tertiary Mass Extinction event
Cretaceous Mass Extinction event
Cretaceous-Tertiary Mass Extinction event
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The mass extinction of dinosaurs is known as the Cretaceous-Tertiary Mass Extinction event, or the KT event for short. It wiped out 70 percent of life on the planet.
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Question 4 of 21
What were the first vertebrae to learn to fly called?
Tryannosaurus-rex
pterosaurs
mosasaurs
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Pterosaurs, the first vertebrae who learned to fly by flapping their wings, became extinct along with dinosaurs. So did a lot of aquatic life and algae.
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Question 5 of 21
What did dinosaurs who survived the extinction evolve into?
reptiles
amphibians
birds
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A commonly held scientific theory is that surviving dinosaurs evolved into birds.
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Question 6 of 21
What percentage of marine life made it through the mass extinction which knocked out the dinosaurs?
12 percent
68 percent
84 percent
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Scientists think that a few members of 84 percent of marine families survived the extinction, as did a few members of 82 percent of land vertebrates.
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Question 7 of 21
What do scientists believe helped contribute to the mass extinction event that knocked off the dinosaur population?
volcanoes
disease
drought and famine
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Some theorists claim that widespread volcanic eruptions also added to the unlivable conditions that caused the extinction of the dinosaur population.
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Question 8 of 21
At the end of which period did dinosaurs become extinct?
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
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Dinosaurs lived during the Mesozoic era of the earth's history, which is divided into three periods: the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous. They became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous period.
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Question 9 of 21
What was the age of mammals called?
Precambrian Time
Cenozoic era
Paleozoic era
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The age of mammals, which followed the Cretaceous period, is called the Cenozoic era.
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Question 10 of 21
A past theory put the blame for the extinction of dinosaurs on mammals. What did it say they did?
They preyed on dinosaur eggs.
They contaminated the water sources.
They competed with the dinosaurs for food.
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A past theory said that mammals consumed the dinosaur's eggs, thus causing them to become extinct.
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Question 11 of 21
How many species of monotremes exist today?
two
three
four
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Monotremes were the first mammals, unusual because they laid eggs instead of giving birth to live young. Today, there are three monotreme species: the platypus and two types of echidnas.
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Question 12 of 21
Where does the tuatara live?
Australia
South Africa
New Zealand
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The sphenodontians were prehistoric reptiles who lived at the same time as dinosaurs. Today, there is one remaining species of sphenodontian, the tuatara, whose home is in New Zealand.
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Question 13 of 21
What species does the alligator belong to?
crocodilian
reptilian humanoid
amphibian
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Alligators belong to the crocodilian species, which was around at the time of the dinosaurs.
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Question 14 of 21
How many types of amphibians survived extinction?
three
six
nine
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Three main types of amphibians survived the extinction of the dinosaurs: caecilians, frogs and toads, and newts and salamanders.
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Question 15 of 21
What trees were commonly found during the Mesozoic era?
cedar trees
palm trees
ferns and conifers
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Ferns and conifers existed during the Mesozoic era. In fact, there was a massive spike in their numbers just after the mass extinction.
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Question 16 of 21
What shape leaved does the Gingko biloba plant have?
tear drop shaped leaves
fan shaped leaves
round leaves
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Today's Gingko biloba plant, with it's fan-shaped leaves, is almost identical to its prehistoric ancestor.
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Question 17 of 21
What is a flowering plant called?
angiosperm
floralin
sow pomum
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The scientific name for a flowering plant is angiosperm. They began to develop during the Cretaceous period, the dinosaur's final era, but survived the mass extinction.
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Question 18 of 21
Which land creature that exists today existed during the Mesozoic period?
monkeys
birds
insects
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Insects existed before the Mesozoic period. They probably developed in conjunction with flowering plants.
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Question 19 of 21
What did Ichthyosaurs look like?
the Loch Ness monster
dolphins
snakes
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Ichthyosaurs, a marine animal that died in the mass extinction, looked like a modern day dolphin.
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Question 20 of 21
What well known ocean predator existed at the same time as dinosaurs?
whales
dolphins
sharks
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Sharks, apparently, inhabited the earth's surface even before dinosaurs.
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Question 21 of 21
What sea creature today bears a strong resemblance to marine life during the Mesozoic era?
hagfish and lampreys
shellfish
octopus
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Hagfish and lampreys, sea creatures without jaws, bear a strong resemblance to the now extinct ostracoderms.
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