- Carboniferous Period
- This is a period during the Paleozoic Era when large plants and trees covered much of the land for the first time. It is so named because carbon (coal) was formed from the dead plants that grew at this time. Trees grew to huge heights, over 150 feet (50 m), and were much different than those we see today. Huge, dense forests formed what scientists refer to as coal swamps, which were responsible for leaving their fossil remains in what are the coal beds we now use for fuel. The Carboniferous period, which lasted from 363 mya to 290 mya, is also known by two other period names, the Mississippian (363 mya to 323 mya) and the Pennsylvanian (323 mya to 290 mya).
- Carnivore
- A carnivore is an animal that eats only meat. A modern example would be cats and a prehistoric example would be T. rex.
- Caudal
- Caudal refers to the tail. For example, caudal vertebrae are those bones found in the tail.
- Ceratopsia
- Ceratopsia is the name given to the large family of horned dinosaurs. One of the earliest ceratopsians was Psitticosaurus; the most well known member is the much larger Triceratops. They were common late Cretaceous dinosaurs that fed on low-growing plants. All ceratopsians had certain characteristics in common - frills (Torosaurus had frills approaching 7 feet (2 m) long), beaks, and dental batteries.
- Cervical
- Cervical refers to the neck, as in cervical vertebrae, or neck bones.
- Cheek Pouches
- Many dinosaurs had mouths that could not hold food very well as it would fall out the open sides. The evolution of cheeks, or cheek pouches, allowed many plant-eating dinosaurs to chew their food into a mushy pulp without it falling out of their mouths. As simple as this may seem, it was an important step in evolution.
- Cladistics
- Cladistics is an approach to taxonomic classification used by a number of scientists. It categorizes animals in terms of the most recent common ancestor.
- Claosaurus
- See Edmontosaurus; the genus Claosaurus is no longer considered valid.
- Class
- See "Classification"
- Classification System
- What do all the complicated names mean that we give to dinosaurs and other creatures? How do we know which dinosaur is related to another? Over 250 years ago Swedish naturalist Carl von Linne (also known as Carolus Linnaeus) developed the modern classification system for the entire natural world. This system is referred to as Taxonomy or Systematics. It is a system that allows virtually every living thing to have a category or classification. The basic, or main, groupings are: Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus and Species. As an example, modern man would be classified as follows:
- Coal
- This is a rock that is actually a fossil. Classified as a sedimentary rock, it is the result of millions of years and tons of pressure squeezing the remains of plants and animals into a mass of dark carbon. Along with oil, coal is a major fossil fuel that cannot be replenished. Once humans use it up, it is gone forever.
- Cold-blooded
- This is a word used to describe animals that do not have the ability to control the temperature of their bodies. Most modern reptiles are cold-blooded, although recent tests on sea turtles have some scientists believing these creatures may be able to regulate their body temperature to some extent. There are advantages and disadvantages to being cold-blooded. One of the biggest advantages is that it takes less fuel to run a body that doesn't need to keep itself warm all the time. This means that cold-blooded creatures need much less food than a warm-blooded animal. A big disadvantage is that if it is cold, a cold-blooded creature moves very slowly. It has to warm up in the sun to create the energy to move fast.
- Conifer Trees
- These are trees that produce their seeds in cones. The best known of these are pine trees. Most conifers have needle-like leaves that do not drop in the fall.
- Continental Drift
- The moving of continents over the surface of the Earth. Continents have moved apart or together over the history of the Earth. See Plate Tectonics.
- Convergence
- Convergence is a process whereby an animal may develop successful adaptations in response to environmental or lifestyle conditions. These adaptations may be similar to traits developed by unrelated species in other ecosystems. For example, there were no cats in South America, but saber-toothed marsupials developed in response to environmental conditions.
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