Dinosaur Migration coloring pages

Camarasaurus migrating along a River

(new drawing)

Recent research has shown strong evidence of Sauropod migration.  Scientists analyzed the chemical isotopes in their fossilized teeth and found that there were changes.  The scientists could look at the different layers of teeth, or even the different teeth and see that they did not have the same isotopes.  Rainwater has certain isotopes that are different at different elevations.  The Sauropod dinosaur teeth, from Camarasaurus, showed that Cararasaurs migrated an estimated 186 miles or about 300 km.  

As far as I know, there have never been any Sauropod eggs discovered in North America, where we have found the Sauropod bones.  (Camarasaurus was a Sauropod.)  This situation has led paleontologists to assume that Sauropods migrated.  This teeth study has proven that they did.  

Camarasaurus was a very big dinosaur.  It was one of the biggest animals to ever walk on land, but it was not the biggest.  Those biggest Sauropods lived much later, in the Cretaceous Period and they lived in South America.  Camarasaurus is one of the most common Sauropods found in North America.  It was alive on Earth around 155-145 million years ago, in the Jurassic Period.  

There were three species of Camarasaurus identified and they were of differing sizes.  Camarasaurus superemus was the biggest species and it was around 50 feet or 15 meters long.  It weighed around 50 tons.  This was a very big animal.  

There were other dinosaurs that we thought migrated and that was the Hadrosaurs or duck-billed dinosaurs.  Analysis of the teeth of one species of Hadrosaurs showed that they probably did NOT migrate.  The isotopes of THEIR teeth showed that they migrated from one area to another and that the range was at least 50 miles or 80 km.  Other studies have implied that possibly Edmontosaurus, a very large Hadrosaur or duck-bill dinosaur, migrated up to 1616 miles or 2600 km. 

Edmontosaurus, pictured below, was over 40 feet long and weighed about 7500 lbs. or 3400 kg. it may have migrated up into the Arctic in the summer and down further south in the winter. . . kind of like Caribou do now.  

  

Edmontosaurus with Pteranodon

This last older drawing is of dinosaurs in a mixed migration.  There are places in Wyoming where dinosaur tracks, of several different species, have been found and they indicate that some herbivorous dinosaurs may have traveled together.  

Dinosaurs in a Mixed Herd

Remember that I said that there have been no Sauropod eggs discovered in North America, but there HAVE been Sauropod eggs discovered in South America... from those huge 120-130 feet long Titanosaurs... like the below Argentinosaurus.  This huge Titanosaur, pictured below, weighed up to 220,000 lbs.  

Argentinosaurs at Nesting Site

These drawings can be found, in printable form, by clicking on the top buttons labeled either 

"All Printables"  . . . . . . or . . . . . . "Paleontology."  Be sure to scroll down to see the top drawing here.  New drawings are at the bottom of the lists.  The older drawings are further up the lists.