Dinosaur Dinners: What Did They Eat?

Dinosaurs lived a long, long time ago. Some were big, and some were small. Did you know they ate different things?

Plant-Eaters

Some dinosaurs only ate plants. We call them herbivores. They had to chew a lot! Some had long necks to reach tall trees, like the Brachiosaurus. Others had flat teeth to grind leaves, like the Stegosaurus. Yum, salad!

Meat-Eaters

Some dinosaurs only ate meat. We call them carnivores. They were hunters! The Tyrannosaurus Rex, or T-Rex, was a big meat-eater. It had strong jaws to crush bones! Velociraptors were fast meat-eaters with sharp claws.

Both!

Some dinosaurs ate plants and meat. We call them omnivores. It's hard to know for sure which dinosaurs were omnivores, but maybe the Ornithomimus ate bugs and leaves.

How Do We Know?

How do scientists know what dinosaurs ate? They look at old teeth, bones, and even dinosaur poop! The teeth can tell if a dinosaur ate plants or meat. Bones can show bite marks. Dinosaur poop (coprolites) can show what they ate. Cool!