Question 2 of 21

What is the prevailing scientific theory about how dinosaurs met their end?

... The prevailing theory is that they were wiped out when an asteroid hit the earth's surface around the area that is now Mexico.

Question 3 of 21

What is the mass extinction of dinosaurs officially known as?

... 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.

Question 4 of 21

What were the first vertebrae to learn to fly called?

... 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.

Question 5 of 21

What did dinosaurs who survived the extinction evolve into?

... A commonly held scientific theory is that surviving dinosaurs evolved into birds.

Question 6 of 21

What percentage of marine life made it through the mass extinction which knocked out the dinosaurs?

... 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.

Question 7 of 21

What do scientists believe helped contribute to the mass extinction event that knocked off the dinosaur population?

... Some theorists claim that widespread volcanic eruptions also added to the unlivable conditions that caused the extinction of the dinosaur population.

Question 8 of 21

At the end of which period did dinosaurs become extinct?

... 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.

Question 9 of 21

What was the age of mammals called?

... The age of mammals, which followed the Cretaceous period, is called the Cenozoic era.

Question 10 of 21

A past theory put the blame for the extinction of dinosaurs on mammals. What did it say they did?

... A past theory said that mammals consumed the dinosaur's eggs, thus causing them to become extinct.

Question 11 of 21

How many species of monotremes exist today?

... 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.

Question 12 of 21

Where does the tuatara live?

... 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.

Question 13 of 21

What species does the alligator belong to?

... Alligators belong to the crocodilian species, which was around at the time of the dinosaurs.

Question 14 of 21

How many types of amphibians survived extinction?

... Three main types of amphibians survived the extinction of the dinosaurs: caecilians, frogs and toads, and newts and salamanders.

Question 15 of 21

What trees were commonly found during the Mesozoic era?

... Ferns and conifers existed during the Mesozoic era. In fact, there was a massive spike in their numbers just after the mass extinction.

Question 16 of 21

What shape leaved does the Gingko biloba plant have?

... Today's Gingko biloba plant, with it's fan-shaped leaves, is almost identical to its prehistoric ancestor.

Question 17 of 21

What is a flowering plant called?

... 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.

Question 18 of 21

Which land creature that exists today existed during the Mesozoic period?

... Insects existed before the Mesozoic period. They probably developed in conjunction with flowering plants.

Question 19 of 21

What did Ichthyosaurs look like?

... Ichthyosaurs, a marine animal that died in the mass extinction, looked like a modern day dolphin.

Question 20 of 21

What well known ocean predator existed at the same time as dinosaurs?

... Sharks, apparently, inhabited the earth's surface even before dinosaurs.

Question 21 of 21

What sea creature today bears a strong resemblance to marine life during the Mesozoic era?

... Hagfish and lampreys, sea creatures without jaws, bear a strong resemblance to the now extinct ostracoderms.