WHO WILL WIN?
Penguin
HONK-HONK
Spinosaurus
CROCO-RAAWR
THE SETUP

Penguin vs Spinosaurus

Penguin
Penguin
Spinosaurus
Spinosaurus

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

Would they meet?

No. Penguin 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

Penguin

Aptenodytes forsteri · A tuxedo torpedo with zero quit.

Penguin
Home
Antarctic ice · Lives in Antarctica
Food
Meat
Group
Lives in a big group
Size
Penguin is medium.

Torpedo fisher.

Underwater vision is the talent.

Tough about cold.

  • Penguin is medium and slow.
  • Fish, krill, and squid, caught in icy dives.
  • They huddle in storms so tight that the inside of the huddle is toasty.

Family: Other flightless seabirds.

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

1.20 m

Penguin to scale

Penguin

2.8 m

Spinosaurus to scale

Spinosaurus

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

Penguin40 kg

About as heavy as a big bag of dog food, but much more dignified.

Spinosaurus7,000 kg

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

Penguin

1.20 m · 40 kg

Penguin is medium. 40 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: Flipper slap + beak poke
  • Armor: Tuxedo blubber
  • Senses: Underwater vision is the talent.

Penguin · 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

Penguin80 psi bite
Spinosaurus2000 psi bite

Penguin

Flipper slap + beak poke

Tool: flipper slap + beak poke. Bite: 80 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?

Penguin
8 km/h
Spinosaurus
18 km/h
Penguin8 km/h
Spinosaurus18 km/h

Penguin

8 km/h

Penguin can go 8 km/h. That is slow.

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 river country. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
PenguinSpinosaurusBoth

Meeting biome: river country. Colored land is fossil range for dinosaurs and living range for zoo animals.

Penguin

Can handle it · Lives in Antarctica

Penguin's home is the antarctic ice, not river country.

Spinosaurus

This is home · Lived in Africa long ago

Spinosaurus lives in places like river country.

No. Penguin 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?

Penguin
Meat · Torpedo fisher.
Spinosaurus
Meat · River specialist.

Penguin

Meat · Torpedo fisher.

Fish, krill, and squid, caught in icy dives.

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.

Penguin
Lives in a big group
Spinosaurus
Lives alone
Penguin7 grit /10
Spinosaurus7 grit /10

Penguin

Lives in a big group

Tough about cold. Grit: 7/10.

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?

Penguin
6/10
Spinosaurus
4/10
Penguin6 brains /10
Spinosaurus4 brains /10

Penguin

6/10

Underwater vision is the talent.

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?

Penguin
Aptenodytes forsteri
Spinosaurus
Spinosaurus aegyptiacus

Penguin

Aptenodytes forsteri

Other flightless seabirds.

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?

Penguin
Belly-Toboggan Escape
Spinosaurus
River-Ambush Paddle

Penguin

Belly-Toboggan Escape

When walking is too slow, an emperor penguin drops and slides.

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: Penguin 0 · Spinosaurus 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

SKREEE!

THEY MEET

Spinosaurus runs first. Penguin does not race. They wait in river country.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

CHOMP!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Spinosaurus is heavier. Penguin uses flipper slap + beak poke. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

SNAP!

SPECIAL MOVES

Penguin tries the Belly-Toboggan Escape. 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 river country, Spinosaurus wins. Spinosaurus likes river country more. Penguin 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: Penguin 1 · Spinosaurus 7.

Your card: Penguin 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 · Penguin

Penguins in the Ross Sea. Formal wear, chaotic energy.

Francisco Ardini / PNRA · CC BY-SA 4.0. Source

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