Few creatures fire our imaginations as much as the dinosaurs that walked the earth from about 230,000,000 to 65,000,000 years ago. These astonishing creatures were totally dominant in their day, with species living everywhere from what is now modern Europe to the icy wastes of the Arctic and all other continents in between. They thrived and evolved, with thousands of species spanning a mind-boggling range of diversity coming and going over the course of their reign. From their arrival in the late Triassic period through to their abrupt disappearance towards the end of the Cretaceous period they roamed our planet, the undisputed masters of land, sea and air. And then suddenly they were gone and we were totally unaware that they had once ruled our world until fossil discoveries were made, giving us a fascinating insight into how our planet was long, long before us humans emerged.

Our Enduring Love of Dinosaurs

The pull of the dinosaur is hard to ignore. From excited children to fascinated adults across dozens of countries, the dinosaur family, in all its incredible shapes and sizes is as popular now as it has ever been. Whilst many toys and dolls come and go as fashions change, dinosaur toys are consistently sold in their thousands every year and dinosaur games and parties (including some pretty imaginative dress-ups!) are a sure fire hit with younger children. Indeed, for children, few things spark as much interest as the long deceased dinosaurs with dozens of dinosaur books published annually and a large variety of dinosaur themed television commissioned each season. And if you are a museum curator, you’ll know that few displays bring in as large a crowd as a dinosaur exhibition – especially if it features the latest style of exhibit which incorporate sound and automated models to truly bring these awesome, long gone ‘monsters’ to life.

What is their Attraction?

So why are we so enthralled by dinosaurs? It is their enormous diversity – from the comparatively tiny, pigeon-sized, Microraptor to the huge Argentinosaurus; from the notoriously carnivorous Tyrannosaurus (the fabled T Rex) to the placid, leaf munching Diplodocus, and from the graceful, aquatic Plesiosaurs to the flying Pterosaurs such as the Pterodactyl? Is it simply their sudden, dramatic disappearance after more than 130,000,000 of global dominance? A fact that continues to baffle us and throw up all kinds of alarming theories, many of which hold a strong warning that we too may suddenly be wiped from the face of the earth like these astounding creatures. Or could it be that our interest is newly awakened every time there is a new break thorough in dinosaur research or a new pile of dinosaur fossils are dug up?

Whatever the reason, these incredible animals continue to intrigue us and in the following pages we aim to provide information on all kinds of things related to the dinosaur. We will be including dinosaur facts, pictures and animations, dinosaur games and toys, and information on dinosaur tours and exhibitions (particularly in Australia). Why not bookmark www.dinosaur.com.au and come back to visit us regularly to see what new pages we have added?