JURASSIC WONDERS The Dinosaur Sculptures of Ricardo Breceda Dinosaurs continue to gather in Cathedral City

The Last Installation

THE GREAT CHASE

THE MESOZOIC ERA

Divided into three distinct periods, the Mesozoic Era, known as the Age of Dinosaurs, begins in the Triassic Period 250 million years ago when small ancestral semi-bipedal reptiles grew and diversified during the Jurassic Period (the middle period), and after 180 million years of successful living became the giants, we know of today. Due to a catastrophic meteorite impact on Earth, the Dinosaurs became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous Period more than 65 million years ago.

Hypacrosaurus

(Near The Tallest Lizard)

Alberta, Canada

Hy-pa-cro-saur-us. More than 45 different types of duck-billed dinosaurs roamed the Earth during the Jurassic and Late Cretaceous Periods of the Mesozoic Era. Like Corythosaurus, it had a tall, hollow rounded crest above its head. It was an obscure type of duckbilled dinosaur until the discovery in the 1990s of nests, eggs, and hatchlings. Found with fossilized regurgitations from the mothers, these duckbill dinosaurs, once hatched, would not leave the nest until they were capable of finding and chewing their own vegetation. Hypacrosaurus is distinguished from other hollow-crested duckbills (lambeosaurines) by its tall neural spines and the form of its crest. The neural spines, which project from the top of the vertebrae, give it a tall back in profile and acts as protection from predators. The skull’s hollow crest is like that of Corythosaurus and used for communication and thermal regulation.

Spinosaurus Aegyptiacus

(Spine Lizard from Egypt)

Bahariya Formation in Egypt

Spi-no-saur-us was among the largest of all known terrestrial carnivores, and comparable to other large meat-eating dinosaurs including theropods (resembling 3-toed bird feet) such as Tyrannosaurus rex and Giganotosaurus. The dorsal sail along its spine was used for thermoregulation and display for mating. Like modern crocodilians, it was probably highly semiaquatic and lived both on land and in water. Spinosaurus is known to have eaten fish, and most scientists believe that it hunted both land and aquatic prey.