chapter 18

"Two reasons: the bones are hollow, lightweight, filled with air pockets; second, is the way they take off. First, they stand on all four limbs, then dip their upper body, neck, and head downwards, use their front limbs/wings to "pole-vault" into the air, and then the downward stroke from the wings gets them airborne. No other flying animal alive today can take off like that." George explained how they fly. They took their notes.

"However, the one that lived in Hell Creek was not as big as the from from Texas." He snapped his fingers and the scale model began to shrink. They watch, It shrunk until it had a wingspan of 5 meters, slightly taller than a person, and 44lbs. "So a lot smaller but still a bit scary." Rias said.

"Yeah. . . which brings me to the evolution of it's diet. At first, scientists thought it was either a giant scavenger or it fed on fish; today, it fed on a smorgasbord of small animals: lizards, mammals, crabs, and baby dinosaurs." George said. "They came to this conclusion based on the anatomy: the beak couldn't fully closed and the neck wasn't well made for poking down into carcasses or be able to catch fish, but the beak is razor sharp and it was very comfortable on the land, even able to gallop like a hoofed animal would." He added. They made sure to get as much detail as they could.

"Well only 16 left and the penultimate group are the only dinosaurs alive today: Birds." He sets the four birds out:

The first looked like an ordinary bird minus that it had teeth in its beak and claws on its wings.

The second looked like some kind of water bird with a long beak, had teeth and large feet.

The third looked like a simple gull.

The fourth looked like a cormorant, a type of diving bird, but wings were small and it has large feet and teeth in its beak

Raynare got the gull and bird with teeth while Rias got the birds with big feet, they placed the birds in the right spot, and came back. George inspected their work. "Oh Rias, you got one wrong. No idea how." She placed the water bird in the Broadleaf Forest instead of the Cypress Swamp . Rias blushed and pouts,

"I thought it was nesting there?" She said, trying to defend her point. He sighed,

"It's going to cost you. Rias: 29.8. Raynare: 36." He said. Rias groans,

"Fine…" They take their seats and get ready to take notes.

"The first bird is called Avisaurus, or Bird Lizard. It belongs to an extinct group of birds called Enantiornithines. These birds were miniature hawks, could fly, but had teeth in their beaks and still had claws on their wings. Avisaurus fed on small lizards and insects." George explained. Rias tried her best to pay more attention this time.

"Now for the first one that is unnamed: the Hell Creek Gull. Nicknamed DePalma's Ornithuran, it was discovered in 2010 and is still under further study and has yet to be named. What is known is that was the size of a small duck, at 25 centimeters long 500 grams." George explained. Raynare made sure to write this down,

"Who is DePalma and what is an Ornithuran?" She asked, raising her hand.

"Ornithurans are the group of animals that includes all modern birds, as well as their common ancestors. As for DePalma, full name Robert A. DePalma is the author of an article that talks about a bonebed in South Dakota where this bird was found." He stated. Raynare nods,

"Got it." She wrote it down.

"The next two are from the same family group called Hesperornithiformes. These are birds that also still have teeth, but are akin to water birds like ducks, loons, grebes, and penguins. While most can't fly and have to push themselves around on their bellies to get around on land, and most are saltwater birds, these two are from freshwater deposits." He explained these groups of diving birds. Rias scribbled it down.

"Brodavis is also an exception as it is capable of powered flight and is like a mix between a gull and loon in that aspect, flying and also diving into water to catch fish. Potamornis on the other hand, is a classic for it's kind: perfectly adapted for a like in the water, small wings, and has to drag it's body across the ground, like a penguin does. Only thing both have in common besides being related, diet, and behavior, is the teeth in their beaks to snap up fish and their large feet that propel them through the water." George explained about these two diving birds. They wrote this down while taking a sip of water.

"But now the time has come for the part we've all been waiting for: the Dinosaurs!" He cheered. They smiled, glad to see him excited. "Saving the best for last, I see." Rias commented. "How many are there?"

"A full dozen. However, there's an uneven distribution between the Theropods and the Ornithischians: 5 Theropods and 7 Ornithosuchians." He said, a bit unsure how to do the last 2-3 rounds. Rias raised her hand,

"Why not just give us 2 of the Theropods and 2 of the Ornithischians each and whoever does better gets the last one?"

George smiled, "Ingenious plan! Additionally, quite a few of these are ones that are very recognizable, even to the general public. So those will be the last ones." He added. They smile.

He pulled out the first 4:

The first was a Dromaeosaur, coated in feathers, and a skull akin to that of the famous Velociraptor.

The second was an Oviraptorid, a type of theropod with a Cassowary-like crest on its head, but no teeth, sharp claws on its hands, and a tail fan of feathers.

The third was a Nodosaur, a type of armored dinosaur that lacked a tail club but had sharp spikes on its torso & tail, and a wide shield on it's hips.

The fourth was a small Ornithopod that had a small coat of feathers, and legs that appeared to be made for speed.