Dinosaurs & Prehistory
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70 words
- adaptation/ˌæd.əpˈteɪ.ʃən/noun · C1A film made from a book or a play.
- amber/ˈæm.bəː/noun · B2Hardened tree resin that can trap ancient insects.
- ammonite/ˈæ.məˌnaɪt/noun · C1A spiral-shelled sea creature found in rock.
- armouredadjective · B2+Protected by heavy plating.
- asteroid/ˈæst(ə)ɹɔɪd/noun · B2One of the countless rocky lumps drifting through space between the planets.
- bipedal/ˌbaɪˈpiːdəl/adjective · C1Walking on two legs.
- carbon datingnoun · B2Measuring age by the decay of a substance in remains.
- carnivore/ˈkɑː.nɪ.vɔː/noun · B1+An animal that eats meat.
- cast/kɑːst/verb · B1To throw something out and away from you, like a fishing line.
- clutch/ˈklʌt͡ʃ/verb · B2To hold on to something tightly because you fear losing it.
- cold-blooded/ˈkoʊldˈblʌd.ɪd/adjective · B2Taking body heat from the surroundings.
- conifer/ˈkɒnɪfə(ɹ)/noun · B2A tree that bears cones and keeps its needles.
- coprolite/ˈkɒprəˌlaɪt/noun · C2The fossilised droppings of an ancient animal.
- crest/kɹɛst/noun · B2A tuft of feathers a bird can raise on its head.
- cretaceous/kɹəˈteɪ.ʃəs/adjective · C1Of the last age of the great reptiles.
- dating/ˈdeɪt.ɪŋ/noun · B1Working out how old something is.
- dig sitenoun · B2The place where ancient remains are being uncovered.
- dinosaur/ˈdaɪnəsɔː(ɹ)/noun · A2+A giant animal that lived millions of years ago.
- epoch/ˈiːpɒk/noun · C1A period marked off by a great event.
- era/ˈɪə.ɹə/noun · B2A long period of history with its own character.
- evolve/ɪˈvɒlv/verb · B2+To change gradually into something more developed.
- excavation/ˌɛkskəˈveɪʃn/noun · B2+The careful digging up of a buried site.
- extinct/ɪkˈstɪŋkt/adjective · B1+Having no living members left anywhere.
- extinction/ɪkˈstɪŋkʃən/noun · B1+The forever disappearance of a whole kind of creature.
- femur/ˈfiːmə(ɹ)/noun · B2+The long bone of the thigh.
- fern/fɜːn/noun · B1+The ancient feathery green plant of shady forest floors.
- footprint/ˈfʊtpɹɪnt/noun · B1The mark a foot leaves in soft ground.
- fossiliseverb · B2To be turned to stone and preserved over ages.
- frill/fɹɪl/noun · B2+A gathered strip of cloth sewn on for decoration.
- gigantic/d͡ʒaɪˈɡæntɪk/adjective · B1Of a truly giant size.
- habitat/ˈhæb.ɪ.tæt/noun · B2The natural home where a creature belongs.
- hatchling/ˈhæt͡ʃlɪŋ/noun · B2+A creature only just out of its shell.
- herd/hɜːd/noun · B1A big group of cows, elephants, or other grazing animals.
- horn/hɔːn/noun · B1What you press in a car to make the loud warning beep.
- ice age/ˈaɪ.seɪd͡ʒ/noun · B1A long period when much of the earth was frozen.
- ichthyosaur/ˈɪkθiəsɔːɹ/noun · C1A sea reptile shaped rather like a dolphin.
- impact craternoun · B2The hollow left where something struck the earth.
- jawbonenoun · B2+The bone that carries the lower teeth.
- jurassicadjective · B2+Of the middle age of the great reptiles.
- lineage/ˈlɪn.i.ɪd͡ʒ/noun · C1The line of descent from an ancestor.
- mass extinctionnoun · B2A period when very many species died out at once.
- migration/maɪˈɡɹeɪʃ(ə)n/noun · C1The long seasonal journey of birds and whales across the planet.
- nesting groundnoun · B2The place where a species lays its eggs.
- omnivore/ˈɒmnɪvɔː/noun · B2An animal that eats both plants and meat.
- palaeontologistnoun · B2+A scientist who studies ancient life from its remains.
- palaeontologynoun · B2+The study of ancient life through what it left in rock.
- plated/ˈpleɪtɪd/adjective · B2Covered with flat hard sections.
- plesiosaur/ˈpliːsiəsɔːɹ/noun · C1A long-necked swimming reptile of ancient seas.
- predator/ˈpɹɛd.ə.tɚ/noun · C1An animal that hunts other animals for food.
- prehistoric/ˌpɹiː.hɪsˈtoɹ.ɪk/adjective · B2Belonging to the time before written records.
- prey/pɹeɪ/noun · B2The animal being hunted.
- primeval forestnoun · C1Woodland as it stood in the earliest ages.
- pterosaur/ˈtɛɹəˌsɔɹ/noun · B2A flying reptile of the age of the great lizards.
- quadrupedal/ˌkwɑdɹəˈpiːdəl/adjective · C1Walking on four legs.
- sabre-toothnoun · B1An extinct cat with enormous upper fangs.
- scale/skeɪl/noun · B1One of the small hard plates covering a fish.
- scavenger/ˈskæv.ən.d͡ʒə(ɹ)/noun · C2A creature that feeds on what is already dead.
- sediment layernoun · B2One band of silt, sand or mud in rock, marking material that settled at a particular time.
- serrated/səˈɹeɪtɪd/adjective · B2+Having a row of small teeth along the edge.
- skeleton/ˈskɛlɪtən/noun · B1All the bones of a body together.
- specimen/ˈspɛsɪmɪn/noun · C1One example collected for careful study in a laboratory.
- swamp/ˈswɒmp/noun · B1Soft wet land where trees stand in dark still water.
- tail spikenoun · B1A sharp bony point at the end of a tail.
- talon/ˈtælən/noun · B2+The hooked claw of a hunting bird.
- tar pitnoun · B2A pool of sticky black pitch that trapped animals.
- trace fossilnoun · C1A footprint or burrow left by an ancient creature.
- triassicadjective · C1Of the earliest of the three ages of great reptiles.
- trilobite/ˈtɹaɪ.ləˌbaɪt/noun · C1A small armoured sea creature of very ancient times.
- vertebra/ˈvɜː.tɪb.ɹə/noun · B2+One of the small bones making up the spine.
- warm-bloodedadjective · B2Keeping a steady body heat whatever the weather.