Dino Friends: Para, Trike and Beaky coloring page

 Welcome to my free coloring pages blog!

This is a drawing for younger kids who like to color. 

It is drawing of a small group of friend dinosaurs.

Dino Friends Para, Trike, and Beaky

This is a drawing for younger kids to color.  Although it is a cartoon drawing, it is also based on some good science.  In Wyoming and some other places, there are tracks of herbivore dinosaurs traveling in mixed herds.  So this drawing is plausible in that sense.  

Para, on the right, is a female Parasaurolophus, a Hadrosaur or duck-billed dinosaur.  Trike is a Triceratops.  He has horns.  The flying animal is not actually a dinosaur... it is a Pterosaur and his name is Beaky.  Beaky is a young Pteranodon.  In fact, all these animals are young or juvenile animals.  

Actually, the adult Sauropod in the distance is not a juvenile.  When I was young myself it was thought that Sapuropods or long-necked dinosaur went extinct in the Jurassic Period.  But now we know that many Sauropods thrived and the Titanosaur Sauropods even became the biggest land animals to ever live on Earth.  

These animals all lived in the Cretaceous Period.  

NOTE:  This drawing is found, in printable form, by clicking on the button labeled:  "Paleontology."

Phonics Cards K L M N

Today I am posting some phonics cards. 

We recently moved in with family and our preschool-aged granddaughter is learning the letter sounds. 

This week, at her preschool they are studying the letter "K" and "k"

so more of the cards in THIS set are 'K words."

Phonics Cards K L M N pg. 1

Instructions:  You fold the pages to create the lines to see where to cut out the cards. Then cut out the cards.   Next, you match the letter sounds pictures with each letter.   So the card with the letter K would be matched up with the drawing of the kite, the key, the kid, etc.   The cards on page 1, from left to right, starting at the top of the page, are:  

               K k                                    L l,                        M m,                         N n,  

              Koala & Kangaroo,                  Kiwi                  kangaroo rat                moon          

               key                                     Kite                      mouse                       Lamp     

                            kid                              Karate Kick                 light                     nine & nail            

Phonics Cards K L M N pg. 2

Instructions:  This page also needs to be folded to get the cut-out lines.  The words are as follows:

lion                                   keys                                          Kids                                   lamb

Milk                                lamb                                          kiss                                      Net

Koala                               nest                                           kayak                                 kelp

monkey                             neck                                          Mad                                 Kazoo

NOTE:  Feel free to color the pictures on the cards before or after you cut them out.  It makes it more fun for kids.  These flashcard pages can be found, in printable form, by clicking on the button labeled "Science Readings & Worksheets and Phonics."

Here is how my 5-year-old granddaughter matched the cards.  Notice that the letter card is mostly at the top and the picture cards are below the letter cards.  By the way, I have, besides a Masters in Geoscience, my teaching certificate is in Biology, Integrated Science, and also Early Childhood Education and K-6 Multiple Subjects. 

Hagerman Horse coloring page re-posting

Welcome to my blog. 

Lately, I have been drawing less because we are in the middle of a move.  

So today I am reposting a drawing I did a couple of years ago.  It is of the Hagerman Horse.  

I am re-posting this because our U-Haul truck had a mural of the Hagerman Horse on it. 

Hagerman Horse

The Hagerman horse was a native horse species here in North America.  It lived a long time as a species and evolved over that time.  It first appeared here in North America 3 million years ago.  It inexplicably went extinct 10,000 years ago.  It was striped on its front half and not striped on its back half.  It looks like a cross between a zebra and a horse... called a Zorse.  

This drawing can be found, in printable form, by clicking on the "Paleontology" button.  It will be in the Cenozoic section of the list of printable drawings.  Below is a photo of the mural that was on our 

U-Haul moving truck.  

Smilodon the Forest Predator coloring page

 Welcome to my free coloring pages blog!

There are over 1200 drawings to print and color.

Today's new drawing is of a Smilodon fatalis... or Saber-Tooth Cat!

Smilodon resting in the Forest

Recent studies of the carbon isotopes found in teeth of saber-tooth cats from the LaBrea Tar Pits show that Smilodons fed on animals from the forest.  This is news because previously paleontologists thought Smilodons hunted in the open area.  This study shows that they, like cougars, primarily hunted in forested areas and killed and ate animals like deer.  They also ate buffalo, but only a forest species of buffalo.  

It was the dogs, AKA Dire Wolves, and "bigger than now" coyotes who fed on the big animals like horses and mammoths.  (Evidence shows that Coyotes 9000 years ago were 20% bigger than they are now.)  So, if the canines were hunting in the open areas and the felines were hunting in the forested areas, that explains why they could exist for tens of thousands of years together.  They were not competing with each other for prey.  

Full-grown Smilodons could weigh up to 620 lbs.  That is 280 kg.  Smilodons could grow to 2.2 meters long.  That is over 7 feet long.  Smilodon lived from 2 million years ago to 9,000 or 10,000 years ago in what is called the Pleistocene Epoch. Interestingly enough, Saber-tooth cats first evolved in the Eocene or about 56 million years ago.  Smilodon was one of the last of the big saber-tooth cats.  There were three different species with Smilodon fatilis as the largest species.  

The type of fur pattern on Smilodon is not really known.  Although they are often called "Saber-Tooth Tigers"... they are not closely related to tigers.  They also have a short tail instead of the tail found on the Genus: Panthera.   Panthera is the Genus of lions, tigers, and (no not bears) leopards.  Smilodon is actually the Genus name for the largest three saber-tooth cats.  I chose to draw today's Smilodon with spots.  Notice that they are not leopard spots.  

I should add that Smilodon teeth were used to stab rather than slash.  But those teeth were formidable weapons, at 7 inches long.  That is almost 18 cm long!

I want to give credit to National Geographic Magazine for letting me know about this new discovery of Smilodons being forest predators.  

NOTE:  This first drawing is new today.  It was done in ink.  It is available, in printable form, by clicking on the button labeled "Paleontology."  Then scroll down to the last title in the Cenozoic section of the list.  Below are some older drawings of Smilodon.  

Smilodon on Cliff

Smilodon fatalis detailed coloring page

This color detailed drawing of Smilodon is one I did a few years ago. 

 It is not in the printable drawings.

Smilodon fatilis to color

Firewatch Fairy and a few other Fairies coloring pages

Welcome to my free coloring pages blog.

There are no ads and no fees to view and print coloring pages to color.

Today's new drawing is a Firewatch Fairy.

Firewatch Fairy

Firewatch Fairies are a type of Forest Fairy that tend to the forest, but also keep a sharp eye out for wildfires.  In fact, if campers leave a fire smoldering IF a Firewatch Fairy is nearby, they will put it out.  They do this with a water charm where they use their wand to remove water from the air and use the water to douse the fire.

With as many mortal campers as there are, there are not enough Firewatch Fairies to douse every carelessly abandoned fire.  So douse the fire BEFORE you leave the camp!   

Like most Fairies, this Firewatch Fairy, whose name is Illumbra, by the way, is seen here on a tall stump.  She is watching for fires.  Notice that she has a larger than average wand.  This is because larger wands can be more powerful and water charms for dousing fires require a lot of power.  

Illumbra is seen here in mortal size, but of course, she often is Fairy size at around 5 inches tall.  That is just under 13 cm tall.  Notice that she is also wearing a flying belt.  Fairies can fly short distances or long distances at slow speed without a flying belt.  But a Fairy wearing a flying belt can fly far distances at high speed.  Firewatch Faires need the flying belt to cover more area as they search for possible fires and for mortal's mistakes... like abandoned or untended campfires.  

Wild animals, who are not as intelligent as mortals or Fairies, still recognize that Firewatch Fairies are helping keep them safe.  By the way, most Forest Fairies can communicate with the animals that they care for. That is why you see two friendly deer in the background and under the pine trees.  

I should also mention that Fairy tech is more advanced than mortal tech, but even the Faires are very challenged by big forest fires and other types of wildfires.  So do your best to not be part of the problem and douse your fires, don't drive on dry grass, don't go target shooting near dry brush, etc., etc. 

NOTE:  This drawing, in printable form, can be found by clicking on the button labeled Fantasy, Myths, and Circus.  Then scroll down to the bottom for this new drawing.  All new drawings are at the bottom of the correct list.  Below are some drawings of Fairies from previous posts.  These drawings, in printable form, will be found further up the correct list. 

Forest Fairy climbing a Tree

Fairy kneeling on Leaves

Forest Fairy on a Mushroom

Forest Fairy Couple

Fairy Healer named Brooklyn

Fairy sitting under a Tree

Fairy with Squirrel

Fairy by a Stream diminutive size

Fairy flying with a Robin

Fairy Family with Hummingbird

Fairy Laurentia with Box Elder Beetle

Fairy with a Cardinal

Wildlife Fairy Serenia with her Mouse Friend

Spanish Fairies

Mushroom Fairy with Two Wands

Mushroom Fairy with a Mayfly

Fairy named Arley with Bobcat Friend

Barosaurus the huge Sauropod from Utah and a few other Sauropods coloring pages

 

Welcome to my free coloring pages blog!

Today's new drawing is of a huge Sauropod called Barosaurus. 

Barosaurus just laid Eggs

Barosaurus was a huge Sauropod that has been found in the Western United States... particularly in the Morrison Formation, and it is one of the dinosaurs found at Dinosaur National Monument in Eastern Utah.  Barosaurus is a type of Diplodocid.  It is a close relative to Diplodocus.  It is less robust than other Sauropods like Apatosaurus.  That means it was more lightly built.  Still, it was an enormous animal.  

Brigham Young University (BYU) has a vertebra that is suspected of being from the Barosaurus.  If that turns out to be the case then Barosaurus may have been as long as 157 feet or 48 meters!  That would mean it weighed around 73 tons or 66 metric tons.  Some estimates say it would have been closer to 66 tons or 60 metric tons.  That would make Barosaurus one of the largest land animals ever to have lived! (Argentinosaurus and Patagotitan were still heavier, but not longer.)  By the way, Sauroposeidon was probably the tallest dinosaur.  It was around 60 feet tall.  That is over 18 meters!

Barosaurus neck vertebrae were very long and they seem to indicate that it could move its head side to side more than up and down. . . so possibly it fed on lower vegetation.  Barosaurus, which had a very long neck, still only had 9 vertebrae in its neck. 

No Barosaurus skull has ever been found, however, its close cousin Diplodocus had a long narrow skull so that is how I drew this Barosaurus skull.  The teeth would have been peg-like and near the front of the mouth for stripping leaves off of trees.  Some Sauropods, like Brachiosaurus and Sauroposeidon, had spoon-like teeth and those Sauropods may have eaten quite differently.  

Barosaurus, like Diplodocus and Apatosaurus, had shorter front legs and longer back legs.  This is different from the Brachiosaurs like Sauroposeidon and Brachiosaurus.  Brachiosaurs had longer front legs and shorter back legs.  This is why even a full-sized Barosaurus would not have been as tall as a Brachiosaur like Sauroposeidon.  

Barosaurus had shorter vertebrae in its tail so its tail was shorter than of Diplodocus, however, the dinosaur were still both very very long.  The more complete fossilized skeletons of Barosaurus show an animal that was around 89 feet or 27 meters in length.  This smaller Borasaurus would have weighed around 22 tons or 20 metric tons.  

Sauropods laid their round eggs near forests and abandoned the eggs to Nature.  That is one theory.  It is thought that sub-adults would join the migrating herd of their species when the sub-adult reached roughly the size of a full-grown African elephant.  So in this drawing, the Barosaurus mother just laid her eggs near the forest.  Other Barosaurus mothers from her herd would soon follow and so the same.  This meant that there were thousands of eggs. . . or at least several hundred.  When the baby Sauropods hatched they would make a dash for the cover of the forest.  They would feast on ferns etc. until they were large enough to join the herd.  

Like sea turtles, probably only one in a hundred Sauropods survived to reproduce.  But once they joined the herd the juveniles or sub-adults would have protection from the adults.  The whip-like tail was a powerful defensive weapon.  A tail of the adult Barosaurus would have weighed tens of thousands of pounds and no predator could ignore that.  Also, there is the thought that perhaps the whip-like tails could crack (like cracking a whip)... and that perhaps this would create a very loud and possibly painful to predators sound.  IF the tail whipped fast enough it may have even created a sonic boom!  

NOTE:  This drawing, in printable form, can be found by clicking on the button labeled "Paleontology." Then remember to scroll down to the bottom of the list in the Mesozoic section to see the title of this new drawing.  Then click on the title to get the printable version of the drawing.  I am also adding a couple of other Saropod drawings below.  These animals were all mentioned in today's post.  They are all Sauropods.  

Personal Note:  I apologize for posting less often.  We are still in the middle of a move with some of our stuff at the new house and some still at our old house.  Once our move is completed I will be able to have time to draw and post more frequently.  

Diplodocus on hind legs feeding on a Cycad Tree

(This is an older and much less detailed drawing.  And I should have drawn the head more narrower.)

Brachiosaurus found in Utah

Argentinosaurus at Nesting Site

(Notice how this Sauropod is much more heavily built.)

Patagotitan

(This Sauropod was also much more heavily built than Barosaurus.)

Sauroposeidon and Ornithocheirus

(This was the tallest dinosaur.)

Asian Elephant coloring page

Welcome to my free coloring pages blog. 

There are over 1200 free to view and print drawings for you to color. 

There are no fees and no ads on this site. 

Today's new drawing is of an Asian Elephant. 

 

Asian Elephant

Asian Elephants are native to. . . Asia.  That was rather obvious.  In some parts of the continent of Asia, the Asian Elephant is domesticated.  The Asian Elephant is also sometimes called an Indian Elephant. Asian Elephants have adapted to both forest and grassland habitats.  They have favorite forage food but have adapted to eat whatever is available.  They eat grass, leaves, and even bark. They also eat bamboo, shrubs, and wild fruit.  They are known to love cultivated sugarcane as well.   

Though smaller than their African cousins, Asian Elephants are still large.  The bull elephants or males weigh up to 8,800 lbs.  That is almost 4,000 kg.  The females weigh around 6,000 lbs or just over 2,700 kg. Asian Elephants are the largest land animal in Asia.  Asian Elephants live primarily in Southern Asia and in Southeast Asia.  They are important in the local cultures as well.  

Asian Elephants are very social animals.  The females live in a group of around 6 or 7 females who are all related.  Sometimes groups will join up with other groups for a short time to form a larger herd.  

The easiest way to tell an Asian Elephant from an African Elephant is to look for the arch in the back of the Asian Elephant.  An African Elephant has a saddle dip in its back. . . which is ironic because African Elephants are not domesticated and Asian Elephants ARE sometimes domesticated. . . although there are still between 20,000 and 40,000 Asian Elephants living in the wild. That is a 50% decrease in population over the last 75 years, so Asian Elephants are listed as an endangered species. 

By the way, did you notice the banana tree?  Fun Fact:  India is the number 1 producer of bananas in the world.  China is number two.  So the two countries in the world with the most banana production are in the continent of Asia.  

NOTE:  This drawing, in printable form, is available in printable form by clicking on the button labeled "Animals."  Then scroll down to the bottom for this new drawing.  New drawings are always on the bottom of the correct list.