WHO WILL WIN?
Spinosaurus
CROCO-RAAWR
Cheetah
CHIRRUP-ZOOM
THE SETUP

Spinosaurus vs Cheetah

Spinosaurus
Spinosaurus
Cheetah
Cheetah

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

Would they meet?

No. Spinosaurus and Cheetah 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

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.

Corner B

Cheetah

Acinonyx jubatus · The land-speed record in spots.

Cheetah
Home
African savanna · Lives in Africa
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Cheetah is medium.

Sprint specialist.

Huge eyes, huge field of view.

A sprinter, not a wrestler.

  • Cheetah is medium and very fast.
  • They prefer gazelles and other speedy snacks they can outrun.
  • Open plains are a racetrack.

Family: Other cats, but cheetahs are the odd cousins who joined track team.

TO SCALE!

SIZE & WEIGHT

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

1.70 m

Grown-up

2.8 m

Spinosaurus to scale

Spinosaurus

0.90 m

Cheetah to scale

Cheetah

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

Spinosaurus7,000 kg

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

Cheetah50 kg

About as heavy as a fifth-grader — and faster than the school bus.

Spinosaurus

2.8 m · 7,000 kg

Spinosaurus is giant. 7,000 kg.

Cheetah

0.90 m · 50 kg

Cheetah is medium. 50 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: 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

  • Weapon: High-speed trip claws
  • Armor: Tearaway lightness
  • Senses: Huge eyes, huge field of view.

Cheetah · labeled field diagram

Spinosaurus2000 psi bite
Cheetah400 psi bite

Spinosaurus

Croc-snout plus canoe claws

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

Cheetah

High-speed trip claws

Tool: high-speed trip claws. Bite: 400 psi.

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

Whose tools would you trust?

ZOOM!

SPEED

Who gets there first?

Spinosaurus
18 km/h
Cheetah
110 km/h
Spinosaurus18 km/h
Cheetah110 km/h

Spinosaurus

18 km/h

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

Cheetah

110 km/h

Cheetah can go 110 km/h. That is 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 grassland. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
SpinosaurusCheetahBoth

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

Spinosaurus

Not their home · Lived in Africa long ago

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

Cheetah

This is home · Lives in Africa

Cheetah lives in places like grassland.

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

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Spinosaurus
Meat · River specialist.
Cheetah
Meat · Sprint specialist.

Spinosaurus

Meat · River specialist.

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

Cheetah

Meat · Sprint specialist.

They prefer gazelles and other speedy snacks they can outrun.

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.

Spinosaurus
Lives alone
Cheetah
Lives alone
Spinosaurus7 grit /10
Cheetah6 grit /10

Spinosaurus

Lives alone

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

Cheetah

Lives alone

A sprinter, not a wrestler. Grit: 6/10.

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?

Spinosaurus
4/10
Cheetah
6/10
Spinosaurus4 brains /10
Cheetah6 brains /10

Spinosaurus

4/10

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

Cheetah

6/10

Huge eyes, huge field of view.

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

Who would you score for noticing?

COUSINS!

FAMILY

Who are they related to?

Spinosaurus
Spinosaurus aegyptiacus
Cheetah
Acinonyx jubatus

Spinosaurus

Spinosaurus aegyptiacus

Other spinosaurids like Baryonyx and Suchomimus.

Cheetah

Acinonyx jubatus

Other cats, but cheetahs are the odd cousins who joined track team.

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?

Spinosaurus
River-Ambush Paddle
Cheetah
Hundred-Kilo Zoom

Spinosaurus

River-Ambush Paddle

Spinosaurus was built to hunt in rivers.

Cheetah

Hundred-Kilo Zoom

0 to 100 km/h in about 3 seconds.

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: Spinosaurus 0 · Cheetah 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

THWACK!

THEY MEET

Cheetah runs first. Spinosaurus does not race. They wait in grassland.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

SLAM!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Spinosaurus is heavier. Cheetah uses high-speed trip claws. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

POW!

SPECIAL MOVES

Spinosaurus tries the River-Ambush Paddle. Cheetah tries the Hundred-Kilo Zoom. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Spinosaurus!

A STOMP · UNDERDOG

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

On grassland, Spinosaurus wins. Spinosaurus is a lot heavier. Cheetah 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: Spinosaurus 3 · Cheetah 4 · ties 1.

Your card: Spinosaurus 0 · Cheetah 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 · Cheetah

Rozi the cheetah. Zoom is not a metaphor.

Cincinnati Zoo · Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

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