Barney the Purple Dinosaur has been a hit with children the world over for the last 20 years.  The TV series has been number one for childrens viewing.  Despite the fact that Barney is modelled on a T Rex, one of the most fierce dinosaurs that ever lived, there is nothing dangerous about Barney.  

Barney is a dinosaur.  Dinosaurs belong to the reptile family despite the fact that the majority had four limbs. All dinosaurs had long tails unless they lost them in an accident. The longest tails belonged to the Sauropods. A lot of the larger dinosaurs would have used their tails to help them balance.

The biggest argument amonst those who study dinosaurs is whether they were cold blooded creatures like our reptiles today or whether they were in fact warm blooded reptiles. Studies of fossils suggest that they may have been warm blooded but the argument continues.

Female dinosaurs laid eggs and hatched their young providing them with food and shelter. They made shallow nests by burrowing holes in the ground.

Unfortunately nobody knows much about the dinosaurs growth patterns i.e. how long it took to reach adult hood, how long they lived for or how fast they grew. We imagine their growth rate depended on the quantity and quality of food available nearby!

One group of dinosaurs made infamous in films are the "raptors" - these were meat eaters who lived about 65 million years ago. The Jurassic Park films were based on the Velocirapator - a powerful, agile and fast dinosaur who hunted in packs.