Classic in the Jurassic: Ultimate Face-Off

The ‘Classic in the Jurassic’ games are back, and this time, it’s the Ultimate Smackdown. Mr. Conductor explains the “wrestling” matchups from the three Time Periods are: T. Rex vs. Triceratops, Allosaurus vs. Stegosaurus and, Zupaysaurus vs. Riojasaurus (dinos new to the Pteranodon clan.) Fears that competitors may get injured are allayed by the explanation of how the `Smackdown’ works – the best choreographed and most entertaining show wins! Morris Stegosaurus beats Alvin Allosaurus. When Ziggy Zupaysaurus goes up against Renaldo Riojasaurus, Mr. Conductor explains that Riojasaurus may be smaller, but has a powerful tail and speed on his side. Then Boris the T. Rex loses to Trevor Triceratops. Tank and Buddy are thrilled –what a face-off! Once the judges tally the results, Team Cretaceous is declared the winner, and the fans love it!

Fun Fact: All ecosystems on land include predators and plant-eaters. The same was true during the Mesozoic age of dinosaurs – wherever you find herbivores, you find carnivores. So throughout the Mesozoic Era, the ecosystem provided classic matchups of top carnivores vs. herbivores. In the Cretaceous period there was T. Rex vs. Triceratops; in the Jurassic, it was Allosaurus vs. Stegosaurus; in the Triassic, we introduce theropod Zupaysaurus vs. the big herbivore Riojasaurus.

Back in Time

Buddy and Tiny start wondering aloud whether the Triassic was the beginning of time, and if there was anything before the Age of Dinosaurs. So, to the Dinosaur Train they go where Mr. Conductor takes them back to the beginning of the Triassic time period to get some answers. In the Triassic, Buddy, Tiny, Mom, and Mr. Conductor meet up with Erma Eoraptor who is happy to explore the “before the Triassic” question with them. Our group walks through a Pedestrian Time Tunnel (that’s beyond the end of the train tracks) to get to the Permian Time Period, the time period immediately before the Triassic. There, they meet Deon Dimetrodon, who has never met a dinosaur or pterosaur before. Buddy and Tiny are amazed to learn that there are neither in the Permian (or earlier)! Deon marvels at our family’s features – especially Tiny and Mrs. Pteranodon’s wings. Deon shows our group around the hot and humid Permian, and he explains how his sail fin keeps him cool. Then Deon is delighted to experience the Mesozioc Era. He walks through the Pedestrian Time Tunnel with our group, and is blown away by the vegetation and the variety and size of dinosaurs. Another lifelong friendship is forged!

Fun Fact: Many animals we think are dinosaurs are not actually dinosaurs. They are mammals like us. Dimetrodon was a dominant carnivore in the Permian period, living mainly in swampy areas. Although very reptilian-like, Dimetrodon belonged to a group called “synapsids” – more closely related to mammals.