WHO WILL WIN?
Spinosaurus
CROCO-RAAWR
Meerkat
CHK-CHK-ALARM
THE SETUP

Spinosaurus vs Meerkat

Spinosaurus
Spinosaurus
Meerkat
Meerkat

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

Would they meet?

No. Spinosaurus and Meerkat 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

Meerkat

Suricata suricatta · The smallest fighter with the biggest sentry energy.

Meerkat
Home
African desert and scrub · Lives in Africa
Food
Plants and meat
Group
Lives in a big group
Size
Meerkat is tiny.

Bug and scorpion specialist.

Dark-eye rings cut glare.

Brave in a mob, tiny in a 1-v-1.

  • Meerkat is tiny and not very fast.
  • Insects, scorpions, eggs, and the occasional lizard.
  • They live in underground burrow cities with many exits.

Family: Mongooses.

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

0.30 m

Meerkat to scale

Meerkat

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.

Meerkat0.8 kg

About as heavy as a loaf of bread that learned karate.

Spinosaurus

2.8 m · 7,000 kg

Spinosaurus is giant. 7,000 kg.

Meerkat

0.30 m · 0.8 kg

Meerkat is tiny. 0.8 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: Needle claws
  • Armor: Absolutely none
  • Senses: Dark-eye rings cut glare.

Meerkat · labeled field diagram

Spinosaurus2000 psi bite
Meerkat50 psi bite

Spinosaurus

Croc-snout plus canoe claws

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

Meerkat

Needle claws

Tool: needle claws. Bite: 50 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
Meerkat
32 km/h
Spinosaurus18 km/h
Meerkat32 km/h

Spinosaurus

18 km/h

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

Meerkat

32 km/h

Meerkat can go 32 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 grassland. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
SpinosaurusMeerkatBoth

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.

Meerkat

This is home · Lives in Africa

Meerkat lives in places like grassland.

No. Spinosaurus and Meerkat 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.
Meerkat
Plants and meat · Bug and scorpion specialist.

Spinosaurus

Meat · River specialist.

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

Meerkat

Plants and meat · Bug and scorpion specialist.

Insects, scorpions, eggs, and the occasional lizard.

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
Meerkat
Lives in a big group
Spinosaurus7 grit /10
Meerkat10 grit /10

Spinosaurus

Lives alone

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

Meerkat

Lives in a big group

Brave in a mob, tiny in a 1-v-1. Grit: 10/10.

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
Meerkat
7/10
Spinosaurus4 brains /10
Meerkat7 brains /10

Spinosaurus

4/10

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

Meerkat

7/10

Dark-eye rings cut glare.

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
Meerkat
Suricata suricatta

Spinosaurus

Spinosaurus aegyptiacus

Other spinosaurids like Baryonyx and Suchomimus.

Meerkat

Suricata suricatta

Mongooses.

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
Meerkat
Sentry Siren

Spinosaurus

River-Ambush Paddle

Spinosaurus was built to hunt in rivers.

Meerkat

Sentry Siren

One meerkat stands watch while the rest forage.

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 · Meerkat 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

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

FWOOSH!

THEY MEET

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

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

KICK!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Spinosaurus is heavier. Meerkat uses needle claws. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

STOOMP!

SPECIAL MOVES

Spinosaurus tries the River-Ambush Paddle. Meerkat tries the Sentry Siren. 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 grassland, Spinosaurus wins. Spinosaurus is a lot heavier. Meerkat 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 4 · Meerkat 4.

Your card: Spinosaurus 0 · Meerkat 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 · Meerkat

Family meeting. Someone is always on lookout.

Boksi · Wilhelma Zoo · Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

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