Frozen Dinosaurs
of Antarctica
Antarctica is one of the coldest places on Earth. It is located at the South Pole and is
covered in a thick layer of ice and snow three miles deep! No one even knew that the
continent existed until it was discovered in 1820. Since that time there have been many
scientists and explorers trying to uncover the mysteries of this strange land.
One of the most recent unusual discoveries is that hidden beneath all of that ice and snow
was remnants of once was a tropical world of fruit trees, lush ferns and giant
lizards…yes, dinosaurs under the ice!
So far, eight dinosaur species have been found. The first was Antarctopelta, meaning
“Antarctic shield.” Discovered in 1986 among rocks it took scientists several field
seasons to collect all the bones because of the difficult weather.
Antarctopelta was a mediumsized ankylosaur, about 13 feet
in length. Though the skeleton
was in poor condition because
of exposure to the elements, we
still can see what type of animal
it was. Ankylosaurs were planteaters with armored plates
In 1991 a research team found another dinosaur. Most of this
specimen’s bones were found together, as they were in life, and
about 7 feet away was a fossilized tree trunk. This dinosaur’s name,
Cryolophosaurus, means “coldcrested lizard.” Approximately 20–
26 feet long, this massive creature must have required a hefty diet.
Members of the same 1990–91
expedition also collected partial
remains of another Jurassic
creature called Glacialisaurus,
meaning “frozen lizard.” The
entire dinosaur must have been
20–25 feet long and weighed
an estimated 4–6 tons. This is
tentatively identified as a planteating, longnecked dinosaur, or
sauropodomorph. Again, this
was a big eater.
Since these discoveries, a few other dinosaur fossils have been found, including a tooth of
a hadrosaur (duckbill dinosaur) unearthed on Vega Island off the Antarctic Peninsula.
Although not dinosaurs, large sea reptiles, called plesiosaurs and mosasaurs, have also
been found in abundance.
For all of these huge creatures to have survived during their existence would have taken a
warm, tropical climate with lots of lush green vegetation for them to eat…and that is
NOT what Antarctica is today. So what do you suppose happened? The Bible tells us
that long, long ago God sent a great flood to destroy the world because man had become
so sinful.
Only His friend Noah and his family, eight in all and representatives of all air-breathing
classes of animals were saved in an enormous boat called an ark. These flood waters
covered the entire earth and lasted an entire year before the ark finally landed and
everyone was able to come out.
During that year of the Great Flood, the earth underwent unbelievable changes. Great
mountain ranges where pushed up and deep cracks in the earth’s crust were formed by
the forces. Vast deposits of prehistoric forests were buried beneath huge volumes of silt
containing bodies of every kind of animal that existed. These great deposits of buried
vegetation quickly turned to oil and coal for later use by mankind. The bodies of the
animals became fossilized over the next few thousand years by the minerals in the
sediment in which they were buried.
Above all of this the world had greatly changed. Great land masses were no longer the
same with new mountains and lakes where there were none before. Even the air was
different. The sky above was different as was the weather. Earthquakes and volcanoes,
storms and glaciers reminded the survivors of the Great Flood that their world would
never be the same again.
All of this should remind us that God takes sin very seriously. The consequences of sin
do not just affect us but it affects the entire world in which we live. Paul tells us in
Romans 8:22 Rom “For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth
pangs together until now.”
Did You know…
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Before the Great Flood that it never rained on the earth (Gen. 2:5-6)
Noah and his family were the fist people to see a rainbow (Gen. 9:12-14)
Seasons were only first mentioned after the Great Flood (Gen. 8:22) which may
indicate that prior to the flood the whole world was one climate, even at the poles
until they shifted during the flood giving use seasons and weather systems.
Many of the dinosaurs quite possibly slowly died out because they could no
longer adapt to the tremendous changes in the environment after the Great Flood.
The Bible is filled with references
about a creature called Tanniym in the
Hebrew language. The King James
Version of the Bible interprets that
word as “dragons”. Since the word
“dinosaur” wasn’t invented till the
1800’s, this may have been what the
writers of the Bible meant. “Tanniym”
may have meant “dinosaurs”. But besides the many
references to dragons, the Old Testament described in
detail two great creatures that sounded very much like
dinosaurs. What were they called?
Be the first to tell Tracker Don the answer and receive a
reward.