Dinosaur, General Information [208]

Commentaires : Dinosaurs are found on alternate planes of existence, or even on lost continents. The frequency figures given are for areas where dinosaurs are normally found; in all other places, they are very rare at best. Dinosaurs, or “terrible lizards”, are reptiles descended from ancestral reptiles called thecodonts. The two types of dinosaurs are saurischians (“lizard-hipped”) and ornithischians (“bird-hipped”), named for terms describing their pelvic structures. Within the saurischia are the carnivorous therapods, represented here by tyrannosaurus, and the herbivorous sauropods, represented here by diplodocus. Saurischians also include ornithomimosaurs and the related dromaeosaurs, represented here by deinonychus. Many ornithischians have armor, horns, or both. They include ceratopsians, represented by triceratops; ornithopods, such as the hadrosaurs, represented by the lambeosaurus; ankylosaurus; and stegosaurus. Dinosaurs come in many sizes and shapes. Those presented here are generally large. Bigger species have drab colors, while smaller dinosaurs have a wide variety of markings. Most dinosaurs have a skin which is pebbly in texture; some closely related species of reptile have fur, and some may have feathers.
Combat : Dinosaurs seem to be a mixture of endothermic (“warm-blooded”) and exothermic (“cold-blooded”). They regulate body temperature internally, but also depend on external heat somewhat. Though they may be slow on a cold morning, they may not be as slow as a typical reptile. Most of these huge reptiles have comparatively small brains, but many of the predators are quite cunning. All must eat large amounts of food to maintain their huge bodies. As a result, sauropods eat almost constantly, and carnivores hunt almost constantly and also eat carrion. Though the carnivores are both voracious and ferocious, certain plant eaters are very aggressive in their defense, usually with armor or horns. Just because they do not eat meat does not mean they will not kill other animals.
Habitat / Société : Dinosaurs can be found in almost any type of environment, except desert, high mountains, and frozen wastes. They have no society and little family life, with most species abandoning eggs before they hatch.
Ecologie : Sages do not understand what has made dinosaurs extinct on certain worlds, but they do exist in the “lost lands” on several worlds. There may be places where dinosaurs have continued to evolve into different forms; they may be ancestors of modern lizard men.