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Quiz: Do You Know Your Dinos?

Artist Julio Lacerda's rendering of Siats meekerorum, a dinosaur species discovered by NC State paleontologist Lindsay Zanno

Which NC State academic program studies dinosaur descendants?

Correct! Wrong!

Poultry science. Modern birds are descended from two-legged theropod dinosaurs.

What would a Stegosaurus eat for lunch in the dining hall?

Correct! Wrong!

Spinach salad. Stegosauruses were herbivores (plant eaters), so leafy green salads are right up their alley.

Approximately how many T.rex dinos would it take to stack up to the height of the NC State Belltower?

Correct! Wrong!

6. The Belltower is 115 feet tall, and the average height of a T.rex was 15-20 feet.

Were dinosaurs first recognized as a species before or after NC State’s founding in 1887?

Correct! Wrong!

Before. Dinosaur fossils had been discovered in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, but the species was identified as distinct and given its name by British anatomist Richard Owen in the early 1840s, a few decades before NC State’s founding.

During which of these eras were dinosaurs alive?

Correct! Wrong!

Mesozoic. Dinosaurs roamed the earth during the Mesozoic period, which spanned from 252 million to 66 million years ago. (There were no dinosaurs in Reynolds Coliseum during legendary former Wolfpack basketball coach Jim Valvano’s tenure in the 1980s.)

Do You Know Your Dinos?
Score

0-1: Extinct
Your dino knowledge has disappeared just like the creatures themselves.

2-3: Forgetful
You remember some of what you learned in science class but need to brush up on your dino basics.

4-5: Dino-mite!
You know your dinosaur trivia! We might be able to use you on our next NC State paleontology dig.