WHO WILL WIN?
Ostrich
BOOM-KICK
Spinosaurus
CROCO-RAAWR
THE SETUP

Ostrich vs Spinosaurus

Ostrich
Ostrich
Spinosaurus
Spinosaurus

Pretend they meet in the desert. Dinosaurs lived long ago. Look at the facts. Then you pick.

Would they meet?

No. Ostrich and Spinosaurus did not live at the same time. This meeting is pretend.

This is pretend and based on facts. Real animals usually hide or leave.

Read the facts. Make your card. The page waits to pick.

Corner A

Ostrich

Struthio camelus · The kick that thinks it is a dinosaur.

Ostrich
Home
African savanna · Lives in Africa
Food
Plants and meat
Group
Lives in a flock
Size
Ostrich is medium.

Grazer and bug-pecker.

Giant eyes — among the biggest of any land animal.

Run first, kick second.

  • Ostrich is medium and very fast.
  • Plants, seeds, insects, and the occasional lizard.
  • Open country where those huge legs can actually use their speed.

Family: Emus, rheas, and other giant flightless birds.

Corner B

Spinosaurus

Spinosaurus aegyptiacus · A sail-backed river hunter longer than a bus.

Spinosaurus
Home
Mid-Cretaceous rivers of North Africa · Lived in Africa long ago
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Spinosaurus is giant.

River specialist.

A snout that may have sensed pressure in water, like a crocodile's face.

Boss of a Cretaceous river.

  • Spinosaurus is giant and not very fast.
  • Giant fish, and probably other animals that came to drink.
  • Cretaceous North Africa, about 95 million years ago — rivers and mangrove-ish coasts, not the Serengeti.

Family: Other spinosaurids like Baryonyx and Suchomimus.

TO SCALE!

SIZE & WEIGHT

Stand them next to a grown-up. Who is bigger and heavier?

1.70 m

Grown-up

2.7 m

Ostrich to scale

Ostrich

2.8 m

Spinosaurus to scale

Spinosaurus

Height to scale. A grown-up is 1.7 m.

Ostrich140 kg

Taller than most grown-ups, and faster than a city speed limit.

Spinosaurus7,000 kg

Longer than T. rex, maybe as long as a city bus, with a sail that could top a doorway.

Ostrich

2.7 m · 140 kg

Ostrich is medium. 140 kg.

Spinosaurus

2.8 m · 7,000 kg

Spinosaurus is giant. 7,000 kg.

Kilograms are honest. A small animal can still have a strong tool.

Who would you pick for size?

TOOLKIT!

TOOLS

Teeth, claws, horns, venom, kick — what tools do they have?

  • Weapon: Dinosaur-leg kick
  • Armor: Long-range eyeballs
  • Senses: Giant eyes — among the biggest of any land animal.

Ostrich · labeled field diagram

  • Weapon: Croc-snout plus canoe claws
  • Armor: Sail and dense bones
  • Senses: A snout that may have sensed pressure in water, like a crocodile's face.

Spinosaurus · labeled field diagram

Ostrich50 psi bite
Spinosaurus2000 psi bite

Ostrich

Dinosaur-leg kick

Tool: dinosaur-leg kick. Bite: 50 psi.

Spinosaurus

Croc-snout plus canoe claws

Tool: croc-snout plus canoe claws. Bite: 2,000 psi.

A bite number is only one tool. Coils and kicks count too.

Whose tools would you trust?

ZOOM!

SPEED

Who gets there first?

Ostrich
70 km/h
Spinosaurus
18 km/h
Ostrich70 km/h
Spinosaurus18 km/h

Ostrich

70 km/h

Ostrich can go 70 km/h. That is very fast.

Spinosaurus

18 km/h

Spinosaurus can go 18 km/h. That is not very fast.

A fast animal can miss. A slow one only has to connect.

Who takes the speed card?

HOME MAP!

HOME

They meet in the desert. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
OstrichSpinosaurusBoth

Meeting biome: the desert. Colored land is fossil range for dinosaurs and living range for zoo animals.

Ostrich

This is home · Lives in Africa

Ostrich lives in places like the desert.

Spinosaurus

Wrong place · Lived in Africa long ago

Spinosaurus's home is the mid-cretaceous rivers of north africa, not the desert.

No. Ostrich and Spinosaurus did not live at the same time. This meeting is pretend.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Ostrich
Plants and meat · Grazer and bug-pecker.
Spinosaurus
Meat · River specialist.

Ostrich

Plants and meat · Grazer and bug-pecker.

Plants, seeds, insects, and the occasional lizard.

Spinosaurus

Meat · River specialist.

Giant fish, and probably other animals that came to drink.

A plant eater is not 'safe.' Hippos and elephants still end arguments.

Whose hunting or defending helps more?

MOOD!

MOOD

Alone vs team. This rumble is one vs one.

Ostrich
Lives in a flock
Spinosaurus
Lives alone
Ostrich6 grit /10
Spinosaurus7 grit /10

Ostrich

Lives in a flock

Run first, kick second. Grit: 6/10.

Spinosaurus

Lives alone

Boss of a Cretaceous river. Grit: 7/10.

Pack and pride animals lose their backup in a 1-v-1.

Who is better for a solo meeting?

PING!

BRAINS

Who notices first and thinks next?

Ostrich
4/10
Spinosaurus
4/10
Ostrich4 brains /10
Spinosaurus4 brains /10

Ostrich

4/10

Giant eyes — among the biggest of any land animal.

Spinosaurus

4/10

A snout that may have sensed pressure in water, like a crocodile's face.

In the wild, brains often mean leave before it starts.

Who would you score for noticing?

COUSINS!

FAMILY

Who are they related to?

Ostrich
Struthio camelus
Spinosaurus
Spinosaurus aegyptiacus

Ostrich

Struthio camelus

Emus, rheas, and other giant flightless birds.

Spinosaurus

Spinosaurus aegyptiacus

Other spinosaurids like Baryonyx and Suchomimus.

Cousins are clues, not a score.

Not a fight point. Who has the wilder family story?

WILD CARD!

SPECIAL

What special move did they evolve?

Ostrich
Sprint-and-Slash
Spinosaurus
River-Ambush Paddle

Ostrich

Sprint-and-Slash

They do not bury their heads in sand.

Spinosaurus

River-Ambush Paddle

Spinosaurus was built to hunt in rivers.

A secret move here is a real wild tool, not a video-game combo.

Whose special move would change the meeting?

YOUR SCORECARD

Your scorecard

Tap who has each fact. Then tap who you think wins.

  • SIZE & WEIGHT

  • TOOLS

  • SPEED

  • HOME

  • FOOD

  • MOOD

  • BRAINS

  • SPECIAL

Your card: Ostrich 0 · Spinosaurus 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

Keep going for the pretend meeting, then the science pick.

SKREEE!

THEY MEET

Ostrich runs first. Spinosaurus does not race. They wait in the desert.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

CHOMP!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Spinosaurus is heavier. Ostrich uses dinosaur-leg kick. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

SNAP!

SPECIAL MOVES

Ostrich tries the Sprint-and-Slash. Spinosaurus tries the River-Ambush Paddle. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Spinosaurus!

A STOMP

You skipped a final pick. The facts still stamp a champ.

On the desert, Spinosaurus wins. Spinosaurus is a lot heavier. Ostrich would still win some meetings at home.

In the wild, most animals skip a fight. We still judge who the bodies and the place would favor.

Science card: Ostrich 2 · Spinosaurus 5 · ties 1.

Your card: Ostrich 0 · Spinosaurus 0.

The last page follows the whole animal — body plus home — not one bar chart.

Send this fight

A friend can read the same facts.

Also starring · Ostrich

That is a bird. That is also a sprinter.

Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

1/17 · scroll