WHO WILL WIN?
Rattlesnake
CHK-CHK-BUZZ
Spinosaurus
CROCO-RAAWR
THE SETUP

Rattlesnake vs Spinosaurus

Rattlesnake
Rattlesnake
Spinosaurus
Spinosaurus

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

Would they meet?

No. Rattlesnake 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

Rattlesnake

Crotalus atrox · A desert alarm clock with a noisy tail.

Rattlesnake
Home
North American deserts · Lives in North America
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Rattlesnake is tiny.

Sit, rattle, strike.

Heat pits are infrared goggles.

Would rather be left alone.

  • Rattlesnake is tiny and slow.
  • Mice, rats, rabbits — small warm snacks of the desert.
  • Rocks, brush, and sunny ledges where a coil can stay toasty.

Family: Other pit vipers, including copperheads.

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

0.15 m

Rattlesnake to scale

Rattlesnake

2.8 m

Spinosaurus to scale

Spinosaurus

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

Rattlesnake2 kg

About as heavy as a water bottle, louder than a snack bag.

Spinosaurus7,000 kg

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

Rattlesnake

0.15 m · 2 kg

Rattlesnake is tiny. 2 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: Hinged venom fangs
  • Armor: Rattle warning
  • Senses: Heat pits are infrared goggles.

Rattlesnake · 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

Rattlesnake80 psi bite
Spinosaurus2000 psi bite

Rattlesnake

Hinged venom fangs

Tool: hinged venom fangs. 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?

Rattlesnake
8 km/h
Spinosaurus
18 km/h
Rattlesnake8 km/h
Spinosaurus18 km/h

Rattlesnake

8 km/h

Rattlesnake 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
RattlesnakeSpinosaurusBoth

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

Rattlesnake

Not their home · Lives in North America

Rattlesnake's home is the north american deserts, not river country.

Spinosaurus

This is home · Lived in Africa long ago

Spinosaurus lives in places like river country.

No. Rattlesnake 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?

Rattlesnake
Meat · Sit, rattle, strike.
Spinosaurus
Meat · River specialist.

Rattlesnake

Meat · Sit, rattle, strike.

Mice, rats, rabbits — small warm snacks of the desert.

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.

Rattlesnake
Lives alone
Spinosaurus
Lives alone
Rattlesnake7 grit /10
Spinosaurus7 grit /10

Rattlesnake

Lives alone

Would rather be left alone. 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?

Rattlesnake
4/10
Spinosaurus
4/10
Rattlesnake4 brains /10
Spinosaurus4 brains /10

Rattlesnake

4/10

Heat pits are infrared goggles.

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?

Rattlesnake
Crotalus atrox
Spinosaurus
Spinosaurus aegyptiacus

Rattlesnake

Crotalus atrox

Other pit vipers, including copperheads.

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?

Rattlesnake
Buzz Then Zap
Spinosaurus
River-Ambush Paddle

Rattlesnake

Buzz Then Zap

First the concert.

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: Rattlesnake 0 · Spinosaurus 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

THWACK!

THEY MEET

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

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

SLAM!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Spinosaurus is heavier. Rattlesnake uses hinged venom fangs. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

POW!

SPECIAL MOVES

Rattlesnake tries the Buzz Then Zap. 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. Rattlesnake 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: Rattlesnake 0 · Spinosaurus 6 · ties 2.

Your card: Rattlesnake 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.

1/17 · scroll