ARON DENSUSIANU SCHOOL HATEG - ROMANIA Truth and myths about dinosaurs from HATEG LAND

1. ARON DENSUSIANU SCHOOL HATEG - ROMANIATruth and myths about dinosaurs from HATEG LAND

2. The Land of Hateg was the first land of this part of the world. 70 million years ago, when Europe was almost entirely covered by the Tethys Sea, the Land of Hateg did exist, as a great archipelago of islands, home of some extraordinary and exclusive Dragons - the Dwarf Dinosaurs.

3. An old legend tells that a very long time ago, when dragons mastered the skies, there was a great emperor in the Land of Hateg, The White Emperor. He had a truly beautiful daughter, and her beauty was known all around the empire. But back then, a fierce dragon lived in the mountains nearby, a flying beast that used to eat beautiful young girls and thus, it was a real threat to the emperor’s daughter. The White Emperor brought brave soldiers, from all around the world, to guard her and, in order for them to see better from a distance, if it it were for the dragon to come, he took his great sword, the one passed to him by his father, The Red Emperor, and cut off the peak of the mountain. It is said that since then, the mountain was called "Mount Retezat”, meaning “the Cutoff Mountain”. The newer versions of the legend say that since that day the dragon was exposed and people could see it coming from far away, making it fail in its attempt to kidnap young girls any more. So, the dragon had to change its diet and suffered from hunger, and so it shrank and became small... dwarf... dinosaur. The legend of Retezat Mountains

5. Interesting things about dinosaurs from our land

6. From ancient times people had discovered „huge bones” in the Land of Hateg and it was believed that the bones belonged either to the biblical giants, or to some dragons, like the one slain by Saint George. In the early 1900's a local baron, Franz Nopcsa, decided to study those bones. He grew so interested in this subject that, at the age of 22, he wrote a book and named the first dwarf dinosaur he had discovered – Limnosaurus Transilvanicus. In time he developed new and bold theories about dinosaurs, that eventually proved to be right, and became the father of the science called paleophysiology (now paleobiology). 

7. He proved that the Land of Hateg was, in the Upper Cretaceous, a prehistoric island and the dinosaurs living on this island had to shrink in order to adapt to the island conditions (this theory is known today as "the island rule"). Nowadays, due to his work, we have the unique Dwarf Dinosaurs of the Land of Hateg and a Dinosaurs Geopark - UNESCO geological site.

8. The Țara Hațegului dinosaurs from our region - dwarfed herbivorous titanosaurs - are world renowned for their small dimensions in comparison to the Cretaceous dinosaurian fauna (e.g. Magyarosaurus). On the lost island of Hateg, there wasn’t enough food to support giant eating dinosaurs and, as a result, the evolution converged to a world of dwarf dinosaurs. However, in 2002 the largest flying vertebrate ever known was discovered. The 10m wingspan pterosaur with a nearly 3m long skull. This new dinosaur was named as Hatzegopteryx, hence it was found in Hatzeg.

9. MagyarozaurusDinosaurs eggs

11. Students discovered dinosaurs

12. Shaping and drawing dinosaurs Preparatory grade

13. 1st grade teacher Nicoleta Dragoi

15. Exhibition with dinosaurs

16. ,,Following dinosaurs,, - 5th grade – teacher Mariana Avramescu

17. Students showing the results of their teamwork

18. Thank you for watching!You are welcome to visit Ţara Haţegului!