Time Frame

• Dinosaurs lived in the Mesozoic Era, which spanned the time from about 248 million years ago to 65 million years ago.
  
  

Geography

• Dinosaur fossils have been found on every continent, even Antarctica.
  
  

Size

• The smallest dinosaur was the Epidendrosaurus. When young, it was about the size of a sparrow.
  
  The largest dinosaur yet found has been the Argentinosaurus, which is believed to have been about 130 feet long and weighed more than 80 tons.
  
  

Colors

• There is no direct evidence for the colors of dinosaur skin. Some scientists believe dinosaurs were colored similarly to today's reptiles (mostly green and brown), while others think that at least the smaller dinosaurs were brightly colored in order to attract mates.
  
  

Misconceptions

• There were no flying or swimming dinosaurs. Pteranodons and other Pterosaurs were actually flying reptiles.
  
  What we think of as swimming dinosaurs were also reptiles, such as the Elasmosaurus.