Dinosaurs of the South

Fossils of extinct animals are scarce in the southeastern United States but archaeologists have uncovered enough evidence to know that a variety of dinosaurs lived in Southern forests and coastal lowlands. Large meat-eaters hunted plant-eating hadrosaurs. Ostrichlike dinosaurs darted after small prey and armor-covered nodosaurs rambled through underbrush 75 million years ago. Giant reptiles that were not dinosaurs also lived in the South. The crocodile-like Deinosuchus which grew to lengths near 40 feet lurked along riverbanks. These giants probably ate dinosaurs! Pterosaurs or flying reptiles soared over the coast. One of the largest Pteranodon had a wingspan of 24 feet. Paleontologists have even identified some entirely new dinosaur species known only in the South.