Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs were a prehistoric group of creatures that went extinct tens of millions of years ago. They were related to reptiles and are direct ancestors of birds, and dominated the planet for over a hundred million years. Some of the largest land animals ever were dinosaurs.

Dinosaur fossils are often found by miners, especially dwarves, who used to puzzle at their nature. Many oncebelieved them to be related to dragons, but they are not. as became evident after the Great Cataclysm. The magic of the cataclysm brought numerous extinct species back to life, including most dinosaurs. While not magical like many other post-cataclysm creatures, these beings' might is not to be underestimated.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Dinosaurs all have four limbs, and many were very large, the largest rivaling fully grown dragons in their scale, but were otherwise highly diverse. Like birds, they have feathers. These hair-like protrusions are effective at keeping them warm, and eventually enabled them to glide and fly. To larger dinosaurs, however, they are unnecessary, and are lost as they age and grow. Some dinosaurs still have reptilian scales, but the avian dinosaurs, which became birds, completely lost them.

Genetics and Reproduction

Like reptiles and birds, dinosaurs lay eggs from which their young hatch. While some are not intelligent enough to guard their eggs, many do, and herd dinosaurs are especially protective of juveniles.

Additional Information

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Dinosaurs were prevalent all over the world when they first arose. After the cataclysm, they are only one part of a much larger ecosystem, and tend to live in specific, isolated regions with other dinosaurs, somewhat mimicking the primieval world.

Average Intelligence

While some dinosaurs, like the groups that became modern birds, are quite intelligent and proficient problem-solvers, many non-avian dinosaurs lack any such intelligence, only having the amount required for herd behavior.

Civilization and Culture

History

Dinosaurs first arose hundreds of millions of years prior to humanoid species, beginning as small, bipedal predators resembling the later raptors. They didn't become dominant, however, until many of the other species on their continent went extinct, leaving vacant niches. The dinosaurs then diversified into carnivorous and herbivorous specialties. After the continents collided to form a supercontinent, their dominance spread to the entire terrestrial world.

Dinosaurs remained dominant for tens of millions more years. After dragons evolved, however, all but the small, avian dinosaurs slowly went extinct, either being hunted to extinction or outcompeted. Smaller, faster species that could more easily hide from or evade these aerial threats then became evolutionarily favored.

When dinosaurs returned, the cataclysm's intense effects on the environment actually insulated them from the threats that drove them to extinction, as several isolated regions, hidden to outsiders due to illusions or the like, have allowed dinosaurs to live in similar, albeit smaller, environments to those they thrived in.