Get Real Fossils From Us! A class of reptiles known as dinosaurs have existed on Earth for around 245 million years. The term Dinosauria was first used in 1842 by the English naturalist Sir Richard Owen. It is derived from the Greek words deinos, which means "fearfully great," and sauros, which means "lizard." On each of the seven continents, dinosaur fossils have been discovered. About 66 million years ago, all dinosaurs that were not birds became extinct. The recognised species of extinct dinosaurs total over 700. Due to their shared progenitor with dinosaurs other than birds, modern birds are a type of dinosaur. The fossil record, which includes bones, teeth, footprints, tracks, eggs, and skin impressions, provides the foundation for all of our knowledge of non-avian dinosaurs. Amazing fossilised bones and footprints have been unearthed by people all around the world for ages. Early discoveries gave rise to mythology and fairy tales because people thought the bones belonged to giants or other enormous creatures. Significance of Dinosaur fossils Real dinosaur fossils provide a direct link to the lifestyles, environments, and climatic conditions of the past. They demonstrate how life, the environment, and the climate have evolved over time, as well as how living things have reacted to those changes. These lessons are especially crucial now that the modern climate is changing more and more. Body fossils and trace fossils are the two main categories of fossils. Any "components" of the actual living organism, such as bones, teeth, insect bodies, shells, feathers, leaves, fruits, flowers, nuts, etc are considered to be body fossils. Without any physical remnants of the organism, trace fossils are "prints and poop"—evidence of a living thing's interactions with its surroundings. Trace fossils include, for instance, footprints, trackways, swim traces, burrows or dens, root traces, and even coprolites (fossil faeces). Buried Treasure Fossils
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