LadybirdAudioAdventuresDinosaurTimes

This is an audio adventure about dinosaurs. The main character, Otto, invites a friend to travel back in time to meet dinosaurs. Otto explains that dinosaurs are reptiles and there were many different types of dinosaurs with various sizes and diets. He introduces the concept of paleontologists who study dinosaurs by examining their bones. Otto has a device called the Dynatron that can identify and provide information about the dinosaurs they encounter. They travel to the Triassic period and see Coelophysis and Chindesaurus, both carnivorous dinosaurs. They also see an Oligarchyphus, a herbivorous dinosaur. They then travel to the Jurassic period and see Rhamphorhynchus, a flying reptile, and a Liopleurodon, a large marine reptile. They witness the Liopleurodon hunting a shark. They narrowly escape a fight between two Liopleurodons and end up on land where they encounter a herd of Diplodocus, large herbivorous This is Audible. Penguin presents Dinosaur Time, a Ladybird audio adventure, read by Ben Bailey-Smith. Hello, fellow time traveller. I'm Otto. Are you ready for a journey deep into the past? Let me just get the old time machine warmed up. Poor thing's seen better days. Do come inside while I try to get it started. Hmm, it's not starting. Oh, hello, little bird. I didn't see you back there. What's your name? Well, hello, missy. What a nice name. It's a pleasure to meet you. Would you mind moving a little? You're sitting on the temporal thruster button. Thank you. Now, come and sit on my shoulder. Do you want to come and meet some dinosaurs with me? What are dinosaurs? Good question. All dinosaurs belong to a group of animals called reptiles. There are still lots of reptiles on Earth today. Snakes, crocodiles and lizards are all reptiles. No, dinosaurs didn't all look the same. There were dinosaurs in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Some were no bigger than a chicken. Some were as big as a bus. And some were even as big as a jumbo jet. Some dinosaurs ate meat. And some only ate plants. Some dinosaurs walked very slowly on four legs. And some could move very quickly on two legs. How do we know all this? There are scientists called paleontologists to thank for that. Yes, I know, it's a big word. Paleontologists are people who study living things from long, long ago. They've learned about ancient creatures such as dinosaurs by looking at their bones. Where they lived, how they behaved, what they ate and even how they died. Over the years, paleontologists have found and studied the bones of more than 1,000 different kinds of dinosaurs. No, of course I can't name them all. Luckily, I don't have to. I've invented this handy little device. I call it the Dynatron. I can use the Dynatron to scan all of the dinosaurs we meet. It will tell us what the animal is called and teach us a few interesting facts about each one. Of course it will work. All my inventions work. Hey, that was different. And my eyebrows grew back. Eventually. Well, let's go back in time and meet some dinosaurs. And perhaps some other ancient creatures too. I think we've got everything we need. Sandwiches. Bird feed. OK, let's go. Just need to type in the year of where we're going on the keypad here. Well, we're travelling to a time in the past called the Mesozoic Era. We're going to make three stops, each one during a different time when dinosaurs were alive. The first time we're visiting is called the Triassic Period, which started around 250 million years ago. We're going there to meet some of the very first dinosaurs that ever existed. A lot of the world was very hot and dry back then, but I'll try to aim for a spot that's a bit greener, where we're more likely to find dinosaurs. Then we'll be stopping off in the Jurassic Period. The Jurassic Period started around 200 million years ago. It was a time of lush plants and truly huge dinosaurs. Our last stop will be in the Cretaceous Period. This was a time that started around 145 million years ago and lasted for almost 80 million years. At the end of the Cretaceous Period, well, you can wait to find out what happened then, but it was very dramatic. No, I'm not going to give you any more hints. Patience, my feathery friend. We'll get to that later. For now, let's put on our seatbelts, hold on tight and get ready to see the past. Here we go! A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A Imagine how long it would take to count up to hundreds of millions of years. Wow! Look out the window! Can you see that? I think that's the French Revolution. And look! That must be the Great Fire of London. Oh my! We're going faster now. I think that's Julius Caesar. And wow! We're going so very fast. I think a few thousand years just went by. Is that an Egyptian pharaoh? Oh dear! I feel a bit dizzy. I'm going to have to close my eyes. Oh! I wish I'd eaten breakfast. The Triassic Period. Here we are! Wow! So this is what Earth looked like. Aha! Two hundred and twenty million years ago. We've landed in the Late Triassic Period on a spot that will one day become part of North America. Ah! You spotted that, did you? I said it will one day become North America. But here in the Late Triassic Period, it's not. In modern times, we have lots of different bits of land called continents, separated by vast stretches of water. But during the Triassic Period, the continents were all stuck together as one big lump of land. We call this land Pangaea. It was sort of in the shape of a big letter C. Talking about C, Pangaea was surrounded by a vast ocean called Pansalassa. Now, let's have a quick look around and make sure it's safe to get out of the time machine. Well, I can see some plants. There are lovely, juicy-looking ferns nearby. I bet some dinosaurs would think those are very tasty. Plus, all around us is a type of spiky plant called a cycad. It looks a bit like a modern-day palm tree. Nothing scary-looking lurking yet. OK, I think we should be safe. But let's stay close together. Oh, goodness me! It's hot here. During the Triassic Period, Pangaea had only two seasons. A dry season that might have lasted months at a time, followed by a season with lots of rain called a monsoon. We're definitely in the dry season now. But maybe we could find some water. We're more likely to find animals, including dinosaurs, near lakes or rivers. Or they might be in a spot called an oasis, where lots of plants grow in clumps and there's water. For a lot of animals, this is where they would go to drink, but also to hunt. Wait! What's that? It's coming closer! Quick, get in the time machine! I'd better hit the invisibility button, or whatever is making that noise might come for us! OK, we should be safe. Oh, look at that! There, through the view screen! Wow! It's a two-legged dinosaur, about the height of a human child. It's got a pointy face and even pointier teeth. Plus little arms and a long, swishy tail. Let's scan it with my Dynatron and see what it is. Aha! It is a Coelophysis. We were right to get back in the machine. It says here that a Coelophysis is a carnivore. It says here that a Coelophysis is a carnivore. Ah yes, carnivores are animals that eat meat. Let's stay in here for now and watch. It's not very big, is it? If I crouched down, we'd be the same height. But with those sharp teeth and sharp claws, I wouldn't want to get too close, would you? Sensible bird. And do you see how quickly it moves? What's it doing? Well, I think it's looking for food. And it's found some. Look! It's some kind of ancient crocodile! Ah, well, it was an ancient crocodile. Coelophysis has found its meal. Well, I suppose it is sad, but everyone needs to eat. Now, let's scan the rest of the area to see what other dinosaurs we can spot. Oh, over there is another speedy-looking dinosaur. Let's see what its name is. It is a Chindesaurus. Another meat-eater. That one comes up to at least my shoulder. I think it's looking for food too. I wonder what it likes to eat. I think I can see something running through the furnace. Yes, it's a long, thin, furry creature. It reminds me of a modern-day weasel, or maybe a very stretched-out rat. Let's see what it is. That furry beastie is an Oligarchyphus. It's a herbivore, which means that it eats plants. And Chindesaurus definitely wants to eat it. Oh, but it's got away! Run, Oligarchyphus! Be free! Now, how do you feel about a change of scene? Great! Let's take a hop in the time machine to find a lake. There should be lots of interesting creatures there. Setting a course for the nearest lake. Oh dear. Yes, I know we're not supposed to be here. Yes, I know we're not supposed to be in the water. We've slightly miscalculated. Okay, I've miscalculated. We're still in the Triassic period, which is good. But we're deep underwater, which is not so good. Just give me a minute, I'm trying to figure this out. Hmm, maybe if I try turning it off and on again, I might be able to... I said I'm... Oh my goodness! It's swimming towards us through the water! I don't know what it is. Hold on, I'll get my scanner. That's a Thanostrophus. What a long neck! It's way longer than its body. I'd say overall it's about as long as a giraffe is tall. Yes, the scanner does say it's a carnivore, but we should be safe in here. Almost certainly safe. Hmm, well, isn't this interesting? Thanostrophus isn't a dinosaur, although it is a reptile. Not all reptiles alive at this time were dinosaurs. My scanner says that it mainly eats fish, but it can also go on land, where it eats insects and even small reptiles. Thanostrophus doesn't look like it would be a very quick swimmer, does it? Although I think we're about to see how it finds food in the water. Look how it's walking slowly along the seabed. It looks like that big group of fish swimming together haven't noticed it moving towards them. See how it's slowly moving its big long neck close to the fish. They still don't see it. And... yes! Wow! There we go! Thanostrophus was able to move its long neck quite quickly through the water. And the fish didn't see it coming. I think it must have eaten quite a few. Ah, yes, we do appear to be taking on water. Okay, let me try this. Hopefully it will work. Ah, that's better. We're beside the water this time, not in the water. It's a bit greener, isn't it? I think the water around here allows for plants and trees to grow. So, if I'm right, I think this might be a very good spot to see another type of dinosaur. According to the time machine, this is the right time to see them. We're somewhere in Europe, or the bit of Pangea that will become Europe one day, and it's around 210 million years ago. If you stood here for long enough, you might find yourself in the middle of Berlin, or Paris. Listen! Listen! They're coming! What are they? Well, I'll check the scanner, but I'm pretty sure that's a platyosaurus. Yes, I was right! What you see there is a herd of platyosaurs. No, they won't want to eat us. These dinosaurs are herbivores. Yes, I suppose you could think of them as vegetarians. Still, even though they don't eat meat, I wouldn't want to get too close to one. I bet if they thought they were going to be attacked, they could defend themselves. Also, there's always the risk that one of them might step on you. I don't want to get too close to one. Also, there's always the risk that one of them might step on you. One platyosaurus must weigh about 3,000 kilograms, I'd say. That's about the same as two fully grown black rhinoceroses. Look at those beasts. They're incredible, aren't they? There are lots of them, too. My scanner says that large herbivores like the platyosaurus travelled around together in herds as a way to protect themselves. They're so big that it's unlikely a predator would want to get into the middle of a group of them. Safety in numbers. They must use those long necks of theirs to eat the leaves straight out of the trees. It looks like our time is up in the Triassic period. Onwards, or rather, forwards in time. Where are we going? Where are we going? Well, our next stop is going to be quite different. We're going to jump forward about 50 million years into the Jurassic period. That's right. Just like that old film, Jurassic Park. There are even more dinosaurs around in the Jurassic period, so we're going to have to be extra careful there. Are you ready? Let's strap on our seatbelts again and away we go. Welcome to the Jurassic period. It looks different to the Triassic, doesn't it? It's a lot greener. In fact, it's pretty tropical. I can't tell exactly when or where we are in the Jurassic period. The dial has messed it up because it's so humid. But I think we're roughly where Germany will be one day. According to my scanner, the planet has become a very different place to the Earth we saw in the Triassic period. That big land mass, Pangaea, has started to break up. First, it broke into two giant continents. The top half was called Laurasia and the bottom half was called Gondwana. We're in Laurasia right now. Over the course of the Jurassic period, the continents are going to break up even further, and this will create new oceans. Pangaea breaking apart was very dramatic. Lots of volcanoes and flowing lava. Luckily, where we are right now isn't on fire. As the Earth has changed, the dinosaurs have changed too, and new ones have appeared. When animals change over time in order to survive, it is called evolution. How does that work? Evolution happens when an animal has a baby, and sometimes the baby isn't the same as its mother and father. When the baby grows up and has babies of its own, it passes on those differences to its children until, millions of years later, you end up with a completely different type of animal. Now, because of evolution, with any luck, we're going to see a much wider range of dinosaurs at this time than we did during the Triassic period. Yes, that's right. Well remembered. We'll see both herbivores and carnivores. And I think these dinosaurs might be a lot bigger than the last ones we saw, so we'll have to be extra careful. We don't want to be squashed under a big dinosaur foot, do we? Oh, wow! Look up there! They're flying, but I don't think they're birds. Wait a minute. I'll use the dinotron. Oh, it's too far away for me to use the scanner. We're going to have to get closer. Luckily, the time machine has a few tricks up its sleeve, just for times like this. Why are you scared? We're going to fly. You're a bird. You should be used to flying. OK, strap in, everyone. This might be a little bumpy. Wahey! Now, let's get a bit closer. I'll keep the invisibility on. We don't want to scare anything. OK, I think we're probably close enough now. Let's try the scanner. Hmm. Well, it's not a bird, but it's not a dinosaur either. It's a type of flying reptile, known as a pterosaur. That one is called Rhamphorhynchus. Rhamphorhynchus. Yeah, it's a tough one to say, isn't it? Rhamphorhynchus. It has a coat made up of thin, wispy feathers and a nice long beak. Oh, they're better to snap up fish. Look at how it flies low over the water and uses its beak to grab the fish that's in front of it. It flies low over the water and uses its beak to grab the fish that are swimming near the surface. And look at those sharp teeth all along the inside of the beak. I'm sure they'll come in very handy for stopping slippery fish from getting away. I think it's going to snap up a fish now. Look! What? Why do the fish swim so close to the surface of the water? A lot of fish probably have to swim there to avoid some of the bigger carnivores that are deep in the water. Well, you saw in the Triassic period that there were some scary creatures in the water. Now, in the Jurassic period, there's an even wider array of creatures down there. And some of them are very big. That's right. Very big. And very scary. I think we're a lot safer in the sky than we would be in the water. I mean, I know we ended up in the water in the Triassic era. But we really don't want to end up in the water here. That's right. We are definitely not going in the water. No way! Er, oh dear. Yes, I know that doesn't sound good. I don't think we're going to be able to stay in the air much longer. We're above the water. This wasn't part of the plan. Oh dear. We're going down! Is everyone alright? Okay, we're not going to panic. Everything will be fine. I just need to check what the problem is and then I'll fix it. We'll be out of here in no time. Well, it looks like the invisibility is still working at least. So we should be safe from any big carnivores as long as they can't see us. Since we're down here, let's have a look at some of the creatures that live underwater in the Jurassic period. Oh, look at that one. It's some sort of shark. Yes, sharks were around in the Jurassic period. But get this, they've been around a lot longer than that. There have been sharks on Earth for 400 million years. So by the time we're visiting now, they've already existed for 200 million years. That's a longer period of time than from the Jurassic era to the present day. I think this particular shark must be looking for something to eat. Sharks then would have eaten fish and smaller marine reptiles, just like they do now. Ah yes, marine reptiles are reptiles that live in the water. There would have been quite a few in the Jurassic period. Lots of different kinds of creatures evolved as new seas appeared because the land was moving around and reshaping itself. The difference between an animal like a shark, which is a fish, and a marine reptile, is that a marine reptile needs to go to the surface of the water to breathe fresh air. A shark doesn't need to do that, so it knows that if it waits near the surface of the water for long enough, it can probably find something to eat. You know, I remember reading something about one of the biggest and most dangerous creatures of the Jurassic period being a marine reptile. What was it called? Oh, this is going to annoy me. What was it called? Hold on, let me think. What do you mean, scan it and find out? Scan what? Oh my. That thing is huge! Where's my dinotron? Oh, here it is. Wow, that's it all right. Liopleurodon. As you can see, it looks like a cross between a gigantic crocodile and a small whale, with a short neck, big snapping jaws and flippers. Look how it uses its four massive flippers to move through the water, like the oars of a rowing boat. Uh-oh, I think it's going to eat that shark. It's that shark! Ooh, it looks like the shark just got away. It says here on my scanner that a Liopleurodon can wait under the water for up to an hour before having to swim to the surface to breathe. That allows it to hide and wait for tasty snacks, like that shark. See that its mouth is full of sharp teeth? No wonder it's said to be such a dangerous carnivore. Those teeth could probably bite through anything. My scanner says its bite was ten times as powerful as the bite of a modern day alligator. I wouldn't even want one alligator to bite me. Well, I'm not sure if it could bite through the time machine, but I wouldn't want to find out... Hang on, is that... Oh no, I think there's another Liopleurodon coming. It says here on the scanner that Liopleurodons are very territorial. Territorial? It means that they don't like other creatures coming into their space. With two Liopleurodons here, I think they're going to fight. Well, obviously we don't want to be caught in the middle of a fight between two Liopleurodons. I don't think the time machine will be able to survive that. Okay, hold on. I need to try to fix this so we can get away. Yes, I know, they're starting to circle each other. I'm going as fast as I can! I know you're scared. I think I've got it. I just need a second. Okay, I just need to type this in. Oh my goodness, they're looking really angry. If this doesn't work, we're going to be right in the middle of a fight. Right, fingers crossed. Here we go! Phew! We made it! We're still in the Jurassic period, but we're safely on land now. Well, we're safer than before anyway. Oh wow, look over there! I think I know what they are, but I'll check the scanner just in case. Yep, just as I thought. Those humongous dinosaurs are called Diplodocus. They're part of a group called sauropods, some of the largest animals to ever live on our planet. Some of them were almost twice as long as a blue whale. An adult Diplodocus weighs about 25,000 kilograms. That's four times as heavy as an elephant! Yeah, you're right, there are loads of them. Diplodocuses move around in large groups of maybe 30 to 50 people. Like we saw from the Platyosaurus herd in the Triassic period, moving around in big herds keeps them safer from attacks by carnivores. Oh, well, yes, that one is doing a poo. Wow, that's a lot of poo. The scanner says that if you touch them, the scanner says that if you weighed all the poos a Diplodocus did in a day, they'd weigh about the same as a small car! Imagine an entire car made out of poo! Actually, you're right, let's not imagine that. It's making me feel quite ill. I'm not surprised they poo so much, though. Diplodocuses eat a lot, and a lot of what they eat is too rough and stringy to digest, so it comes out the other end. That means they have to spend a lot of their time eating. Look at their big, long necks. They sway them from side to side, so they don't have to go anywhere to reach lots of different plants. Yeah, that's right, Diplodocuses are herbivores. Have a look through the binoculars here. Do you see how it has a mouth full of quite flat teeth? Their teeth evolve perfectly for stripping leaves off branches. They don't need sharp teeth in the same way carnivores do, because they don't need to tear meat. Oh, look over there! Do you see how that Diplodocus is tearing down a tree? The herd is too big to walk through those trees. They need to clear a path through so they can reach other parts of woodland and find food. You're right, they do move very slowly. Plod, plod, plod. It's not easy to move fast when you're that heavy. The scanner says that Diplodocuses communicate by moving their long tails. Do you see how that one is moving its tail around? That's its way of speaking with the other dinosaurs in the herd. I wonder what it's saying. Oh, wow! It looks like another herd is coming towards where we are. Do you recognise those dinosaurs? Yes, they are rather famous. That's a Stegosaurus. To give you a sense of how long it is, if you put together four beds, end to end, it would just about be able to sleep on it. But its tail would still fall off one end. I know they're huge and they look vicious, but they're also herbivores. These guys can defend themselves if they're attacked. Those big spiky plates on their backs look impressive, but that's not what they'd use to defend themselves in an attack. That's right, they use the spikes on the end of their tail. One swing of their tail would be enough to really hurt any creature attacking a Stegosaurus. The Stegosaurus has a brain about the size of a plum, so if anything did attack it, it wouldn't spend very long thinking about escaping. Its instinct is to fight back, which makes it very dangerous when it's scared. Who'd dare to attack a Stegosaurus? Well, there is one particularly dangerous carnivore in the Jurassic period that might try to attack a Stegosaurus, although I don't think it would try it with such a big herd around. In fact, look over there. There it is. I don't believe it. It must have followed the herd to this spot. That is one of the deadliest predators of all time. The Allosaurus. We're not too close to it, but even from a distance, it looks massive. The scanner says it weighed about the same as a car, or a day's worth of Diplodocus poo. Wow, each claw is almost as big as my entire hand. Oh yeah, the Allosaurus is definitely a carnivore. It moves around on two legs, pretty quickly actually. And look at its gigantic jaw, full of sharp teeth. The teeth actually curve backwards, do you see? Once they bite into another dinosaur, the shape of the teeth would make it very hard for the dinosaur to escape. As well as its sharp teeth, the Allosaurus has very big, very sharp claws. They'd use those to attack other dinosaurs that they wanted to eat. Don't worry. I don't think this one is going to come too close to the herd. That's probably a smart move. All of these big Diplodocuses and Stegosauruses would be too dangerous for one Allosaurus to take on. Ah, the scanner says it's a carnivore. Ah, the scanner says that an Allosaurus would normally try to single out one dinosaur from a herd, then attack it. Probably an old or sick dinosaur. Once the Allosaurus managed to get the herbivore away from its herd, it would stand a better chance of catching it and eating it up. I don't think we're going to see it making any attacks now. Phew! Oh, sounds like we've got to make a move. We've got to make a move. Not to a different place, but to a different time. We're going to move forward in time by about 75 million years, into the Cretaceous period. The Cretaceous is the last period that the dinosaurs lived in before... Well, I don't want to give too much away, but let's just say it was a time when some of the most incredible dinosaurs lived. So, seatbelts on, and hold on... Here we go! Chapter 3 The Cretaceous Period Oh, that doesn't get any easier, does it? Wow! So, here we are, in the Cretaceous period. According to the Dynatron, Earth has changed again since the Jurassic period. In the Cretaceous period, there are a lot more oceans on Earth, and the continents are looking more like they do in the present day. And look over there, flowers everywhere. That's new for this period. There weren't many flowers around before now. Is it just me, or does it feel cooler here than it did in the Jurassic period? Good idea, I'll check the scanner. Yep, it looks like the planet has cooled a bit, and become a bit wetter. That must be part of the reason we're seeing so many new types of flowers and plants appearing. With land splitting into increasing numbers of separate land masses, dinosaurs have now started to evolve in lots of different ways too, and on each bit of land. This means that in the Cretaceous period, you'll find different kinds of dinosaurs in different parts of the world. Ah, this is interesting. The word Cretaceous comes from a word in Latin. Oh, Latin is an old language. The Latin word creta means chalk. Much of the chalk that we still use in our time came from the Cretaceous period. So, when you draw in chalk, you're using something that's millions of years old. Oh yeah, look at that. There are loads of exciting flying creatures in the sky above us. Do you think we should try flying again? I know what happened last time, but we're not going to be able to find out more about that. We're not going to be able to find out more about that flying creature unless we get closer. Come on, what's the worst that could happen? Well, yes, I suppose that's pretty bad, but I'm sure we'll be fine. Away we go! Do you remember the name we learned for this group of flying reptiles? That's right, pterosaurs. Well done. And that pterosaur over there is enormous. It's far bigger than the ramphorhynchus we followed in the Jurassic period, isn't it? It's as big as an aeroplane. Well, a small aeroplane. Do you think we're close enough to use the scanner? OK, let's give it a go. Ah, ha. This beauty is called a Quetzalcoatlus. It's the largest flying animal that has ever lived. If you measure its wings from tip to tip, that's about the length of a telegraph pole. Like modern-day birds, the Quetzalcoatlus didn't have any teeth, but its wings were mostly skin and muscle rather than feathers. It's spectacular. And, worryingly close, shall we go back down to Earth? What's that? You want to see a really big land dinosaur now? Well, you're in luck. I know just where to find one of those. Phew, that was a nice short hop. Now, we're in a beautiful, lush forest in what will one day become Argentina. Let's step outside. Ah, you can really smell the flowers here. Can you hear the pitter-patter of not very little feet? Very big feet, in fact. If I'm not mistaken, that's the Dreadnoughtus. Its name means not scared of anything. And if you were that big, you wouldn't be scared of much either. Oh, it's magnificent. Its neck alone is as long as a five-story building is high. It's one of the biggest dinosaurs of all. Dreadnoughtus is a herbivore, and it's always eating. Since it's so big, it's hard for it to get enough energy from plants, so lunch is every moment of the day for this big beast. Whoops, we had better move back. It's coming this way. What's that? Behind us, you say? Those are Mapusaurus. And you're right, they do look hungry. What big heads they have. And what little arms. They look a little like the more famous Tyrannosaurus Rex. Oh yeah, they're definitely carnivores. And I think they like the look of that Dreadnoughtus. I wonder if it should be afraid of anything. My scanner says that Mapusaurus is hunting groups, so while I don't think one would be able to take on a fully-grown Dreadnoughtus, perhaps a group of them could. But I don't think we should stay here to find out. Let's back slowly into the time machine. Okay, I hope this works. Oh, it's not working. It's not working. Okay, I hope this works. Hang on tight. Oh no, we're back in the water. That wasn't supposed to happen. I think there's something wrong with the machine. Let me try to fix it. I'm sorry, but we should be safe. So long as we don't come across any dangerous marine reptiles like those we saw in the water during the Jurassic period. Well, yes, there probably are some carnivores around here, but we're safe as long as we're in the time machine. And I've fixed the leak. In fact, being deep underwater might be a good thing. A lot of the carnivores in the Cretaceous period would have swum close to the surface of the water. Why? Well, can you think of any creatures that might be near the surface of the water that a carnivore might like to eat? Yes, I'm sure they'd like to eat fish. But think bigger. Maybe some other creatures that are also looking to eat fish. That's right, pterosaurs. Even from deep in the water down here, we can see some pterosaurs swooping down and dipping their beaks into the water. Plenty of carnivores down here would like to snap up a few pterosaurs while they're diving. Now, let's see what's wrong here. Er... Oh dear. Let me try something else. Hm? What do you mean, what's that? What's what? Oh, now I can see it too. Let's hope the scanner works down here and we can find out. Ah-ha! That is a Mosasaurus. Remember, marine reptiles aren't dinosaurs. These creatures are more closely related to snakes and lizards. It may not be a dinosaur, but it's still huge. About three times as long as a medium-sized car. I can't see its mouth from down here, but the scanner says it has a long jaw full of very sharp and powerful teeth. According to the scanner, it could bite through almost anything down here. Giant squids, turtles, sharks, even other Mosasauruses. I think this one must be getting hungry because it's swimming very near the surface. I think it's waiting for a pterosaur to swoop down before it makes its move. Oh dear. That wasn't supposed to happen. Are we floating upward? Oh no! We really shouldn't get too close to that Mosasaurus. If it can bite through giant turtle shells, I don't want to see what it can do to our time machine. I am trying to fix it. Pass me that temporal adjuster. Thank you. But it's not working. Uh-oh. We're not far from the surface now. You're right. That definitely looked like a beak coming into the water, didn't it? Maybe that will be enough to distract the Mosasaurus. There's the beak again. Okay, hold on while I try something. I just need to... It looks like the Mosasaurus has grabbed its lunch. It jumped right out of the water to gobble up that pterosaur. Good point. Let's try this while it's distracted. Three, two, one... Go! Wow. That was close. I don't know what's wrong with the time machine. When we get back to our time, I should take it to the time machine garage. Okay. Maybe I should take a look at it now, then. I'm going to have to get out to do this. You'll have to keep an eye out for me. I don't want to run into any unfriendly creatures. What kind of unfriendly creatures might there be? Well, at this point in the Cretaceous period, in this area, we could find Velociraptors. Fascinating, yet deadly creatures. Right. I'm going to get out and have a look at the control panel on the outside. What did Velociraptors look like? Well, they were very small. Probably no bigger than a turkey. But they were very dangerous carnivores. And they were very dangerous. Dangerous carnivores. And they were really fast. Yes, they were covered in feathers. How did you know? Oh. One's right behind me. Ah, yes. Wow. It is magnificent. And luckily, it's not looking at me. It looks like it's hunting around for food. What do Velociraptors eat? Well, because they're small, they don't stand much of a chance against bigger dinosaurs. They probably eat smaller reptiles. Maybe even some baby dinosaurs. But they do have big, sharp claws. So, I think I've finished fixing this control panel. And perhaps now is a very good time for me to come inside. Woo-hoo-hoo! Excellent. I think we've fixed it. Now, let's have a look around. Oh! See that dinosaur over there? I know what that is. It's a Triceratops. Let's see what else we can learn about it. Well, we're okay to go a bit closer. It's not going to eat us, as it's a herbivore. Although, I still wouldn't want to get too close. See those three horns on its head? I'm pretty sure it uses those for defending itself against predators. Or for fighting with other dinosaurs. The scanner says it's more than twice as long as a great white shark and weighs the same as two and a half rhinos. Yes, you're right. It has got a very unusual head. As well as its three horns, the Triceratops has a frill at the back of its skull. It's kind of like a collar that goes over its neck. The scanner says that is probably for defence. Bigger carnivores might find it difficult to bite into the Triceratops' neck because it's covered by the frill. Hmm, that's a good point. I don't see any other Triceratops around. It looks like Triceratops is one of the few species of herbivore that we've seen that doesn't always move around in herds. Sounds lonely to me. What was that? Oh no. I think I know what it is. I'd hoped we wouldn't run into one of these. Ah! Ah! Well, it doesn't appear to be coming too close. Tyrannosaurus Rex. You've heard of it? I'm not surprised. Tyrannosaurus is probably the most famous and maybe the most dangerous dinosaur that ever walked on Earth. Oh dear. I think that poor Triceratops is going to find that out the hard way. Although Triceratops has those horns for protection, I don't think it's going to be able to stop a fully grown Tyrannosaurus. It looks like they're going to fight. Just a moment. I'm going to get the scanner so we can see how evenly matched they are. Well, we're looking at a male Tyrannosaurus. He's about seven times as tall as an average human man, but 100 times heavier. Apparently, the females are even bigger than the males. But this male Tyrannosaurus is big enough for me. Look at the size of its jaw. There are 60 sharp teeth in there. Tyrannosaurus has a bite three times more powerful than that of a lion. Why are its arms so small? Well, there's the balance. Do you see how Tyrannosaurus moves around on two legs? It has that big jaw for attacking other animals, but if it also had long arms, there would be too much weight at the front and it wouldn't be able to stay up on two feet. That's why its arms are so tiny. Whoa! Triceratops is standing its ground. Maybe it can defend itself. Tyrannosaurus doesn't seem to want to get too close to those sharp horns. The Tyrannosaurus is taller than the Triceratops, so if it gets close, the Triceratops' horns could go into the Tyrannosaurus' belly. Ah! It's doing it again! Help me! Oh no. You're right. I think Tyrannosaurus sees us. Let's turn around. Let's get back inside. Help me! Ah! It's coming straight at her! We need to go. Now! Hold on! Ah! Chapter 4 The End of the Dinosaurs Or was it? Phew! No more charging dinosaurs. We're now a little closer to the present day. Around 66 million years before. Let me scan the surroundings in case there are any dinosaurs hiding nearby. Uh-oh. This isn't good. The scanner's picking up something very large that's moving very fast towards us in the sky. That's no dinosaur. Quick! Get back in the time machine! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Yeah, that was scary. But we're safely back in the present day now. Phew! I'm afraid the same can't be said for the dinosaurs. Ah! Ah! Ah! What was that? That, my friend, was an asteroid. An enormous rock that flies around in space. And when I say enormous, that particular asteroid was miles wide. Sometimes asteroids crash into Earth. And when they're that big, they're very dangerous indeed. Ah! Ah! Ah! Did that asteroid kill the dinosaurs? Well, the truth is, dinosaur experts don't all agree on the exact reason that dinosaurs aren't still around nowadays. And I'm not keen on going back to find out for sure. I'm as adventurous as the next time traveller. But I draw the line at being crushed by a giant space rock. What we do know for sure is that around 66 million years ago, a huge asteroid came out of the sky and hit the surface of the Earth. There's still a huge hole, called a crater, where it landed, off the coast of Mexico. Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Why would that kill the dinosaurs if they weren't all underneath it when it fell? Ah! Well, it's possible that when the asteroid hit, it threw a vast cloud of dust into the sky, which would have blocked out all sunlight. Without sunlight, a lot of life on Earth would have been unable to survive. Ah! Ah! Ah! Well, we don't know for sure that it was just the asteroid that caused the extinction of dinosaurs. For example, some experts say that there were lots and lots of active volcanoes in the Cretaceous period, the last time when dinosaurs were alive, and that volcanic eruptions would have pumped out lots of dangerous gases into the air. The gases would have made it hard for a lot of creatures to breathe. Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Was it only dinosaurs that were affected? That's another good question. No, it wasn't just the dinosaurs. Some experts say that as much as 65% of all life on Earth, animals and plants, was wiped out after the asteroid struck. That means more than six out of every ten animals and plants alive would have died. But here's something I think you'll find interesting. Although all the giant dinosaurs like Dreadnoughtus and Tyrannosaurus died out, there was one group that did survive after the Mesozoic era. Do you know what it was? I'll give you a clue. They don't have any teeth, and they can fly. Ah! Ah! Ah! That's right, it's birds. Yes, that means you. There are now over 10,000 different types of bird on the planet, and birds have changed over millions of years. The birds that are on our planet today can be traced all the way back to the time of the dinosaurs, when some dinosaurs had feathers and other bird-like features. Maybe your great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparents were around in the time of the dinosaurs. We'd probably need to add great a lot more for that to be true, but you get the idea. So, some might say, you're a modern-day dinosaur. Can you give me a roar? Ah! Ha-ha-ha-ha! Thankfully, you're not quite as scary as Tyrannosaurus. It took Earth millions of years to recover from the asteroid or the volcanoes, or both. But life on Earth survived, and over the course of 66 million years, look how much the planet has evolved. And, you know, whatever it was that made the dinosaurs extinct... Sorry, you're right. Whatever it was that made most of the dinosaurs extinct changed the planet dramatically. The animals that survived past the Mesozoic era continued to change and evolve until, eventually, human beings arrived on Earth, along with so many other types of animals and plants. Now, before we go on our next adventure, I really need to take the time machine to the time machine garage. I hope you can join us again soon for another adventure. An exciting adventure. Goodbye for now! Ha-ha! We hope you've enjoyed this Penguin Audio production of Dinosaur Time, a Ladybird audio adventure, read by Ben Bailey-Smith, with Kristen Atherton as Missy. It was produced by Richard Hughes. The music was by AnywayAudio, and the post-production was by Richard Hughes. For more Penguin Audio productions, visit us at penguin.co.uk forward slash audio. Copyright in recording, Penguin Audio, 2019. All rights reserved. Thanks for listening. Audible hopes you've enjoyed this program.