The expeditionary team arrived into a setting of a dense jungle with cycads, ferns, and a variety of prehistoric plants. "What time period is this?" Viola asked Horner. "The age of dinosaurs is called the Mesozoic Era which is divided into the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous" Horner explained but he dodged the question. "What dinosaur is that?" Linning raised a question as the team saw a green long-necked dinosaur with the same height as an average human approaching a tree. "Plateosaurus, the earliest herbivore living in the Triassic period and can walk on two legs or four." It reared up on hind legs to reach leaves of the tree and it stood taller than an average human. "Amazing," Viola commented on its move. "So much for civilian dinosaurs", Haggard muttered as the team saw herds of different dinosaur species grazing. "On the left you will see a herd of Dryosaurus the gentle Jurassic herbivore," Horner pointed to a herd of diminutive yellow herbivores with green heads feeding on the bushes. "On the right you will see a herd of Corythosaurus and Parasaurolophus," said Horner as the team turned to a herd of two species of duck-billed dinosaurs. "Which one is which, Dr. Horner?" Cooper questioned the paleontologist. "Corythosaurus got its name 'helmet lizard' for having a helmet crest on its head, whereas Parasaurolophus had a tube-like crest on its head used for communication. All hadrosaurs, the Cretaceous duck bills, lack defense abilities and seek safety in numbers," Horner provided additional information to the team. "This is so messed up" Haggard was confused as the jungle was inhabited with dinosaurs of different time periods.
The expedition progressed one-fourth of the dense jungle and then came across something odd. "Whatever the time period is, it got weird-looking birds" Haggard referred to the pigeon-sized dinosaur birds with fingers on their wings and teeth on their mouths. "Those are Archaeopteryx, the first known bird of the Jurassic Period," Horner informed the expedition. "Are they carnivores that will attack us?" asked Haggard as he prepared for defense. "Archaeopteryx fed on insects and it is less likely for them to attack us. Their feathers are not for flight but for gliding," Horner reassured the team. "Sucker birds," Haggard laughed.
The expedition took a break near a river where a herd of small herbivores were drinking. "Those dinosaurs are cute, what are they?" Viola asked Horner. "Homalocephale, small herbivore that got the name 'even head' from its flat top head," he answered. She went closer to one of the Homalocephale and it sniffed her by the time she touched it for the first time. "I never seen anybody getting close to a wild dinosaur," Linning commented. "Can those herbivores defend themselves?" Cooper questioned. "I don't think so," Horner made assumptions knowing that the Homalocephale's head was too fragile for head-butting. A crocodile-jawed dinosaur with the height similar to an average human burst out of the foliage into the river causing the Homalocephale to flee. "What's going on?" Viola asked as she rejoined the group. "Baryonyx, everybody get to cover. Cooper, Haggard, don't waste bullets on it," Horner recognized the dinosaur and called everyone to hide in the foliage. "Tell us about it, Dr. Horner," Cooper requested information. "Baryonyx got its name for having a heavy claw on each hand used to spear fish out of the water. It also hunts other dinosaurs for food as well." Horner informed the expedition as they watched the Baryonyx sank its hand into the water impaling its claw into a fish then lifted it out of the water and swallowed it whole. The dinosaur left the river unaware of the human presence and Cooper made a comment, "We are lucky that Big Claw is not interested in us." The expedition then fished for food and extracted the water to be boiled.
In the third-quarter of the jungle, the expedition encountered a baby dinosaur emerged from the mud. "A baby Apatosaurus, it is also called Brontosaurus," Horner identified the dinosaur specie and it became imprinted to Viola as the first person it saw thinking her as its mother. "It's a girl, where is her mother?" she asked the paleontologist. "Sauropods, the giant long-necks, laid their eggs and buried them abandoning their young to their fate. Their behavior is similar to modern sea turtles," answered Horner. "When the Brontosaurus grew up, can it fight?" asked Haggard. "Brontosaurus has a long whiplash tail used as a weapon against predators. Its alternative attack is pounding the enemy with its front legs," the paleontologist informed the soldiers. "This big girl can save us some bullets," Haggard commented. Viola named the infant dinosaur Pat and carried her. "All sauropods can forage food on ground level or higher," Horner informed.
Further on, the expedition came across a supply crate and wondered where it came from. They salvaged whatever supplies inside the crate ranging from food such as sandwiches, vegetables, and hot dogs to ammo including bullets and hand grenades. Chirping sounds were heard and a chicken-sized green dinosaur came out of the bushes. "Compsognathus, the world's smallest dinosaur," Horner recognized the specie and the expedition was quickly surrounded by a pack of those small dinosaurs. "Compies live in packs and fed on lizards, insects, and small mammals", he added. "They don't seem friendly," Cooper commented on their preparation for attack. "I'll show them," Haggard spoke as he ran and kicked a several Compies. "Those little guys don't worth a bullet," Cooper knew that the Compies were absolutely the weakest dinosaurs and therefore gave them a kick as well. This caused the pack of Compies especially the kicked ones to scurry.
The expedition built a camp with bonfire used to cook some of the fishes as well as boiling the water and Viola fed Pat with some of the vegetables. A herd of two dinosaur species were feeding on the foliage not far from the expedition. "Doctor, what are those?" Linning asked Horner and Cooper noticed their spiky thumbs, "Look at what they have." "The green dinosaurs are Iguanodon that got the name 'iguana tooth' for having teeth similar to iguanas. The duck-billed ones are Ouranosaurus that have colorful sails on their backs to heat up and cool down. Iguanodon and Ouranosaurus belong to the same family, the iguanodonts, for having a versatile hand with three middle fingers for walking on, a small finger for grasping vegetation, and a spiky thumb used as daggers against predators," Horner informed the expedition and they later rest for the night.
The next day after the expedition woke up, they heard huge footsteps coming toward them and the soldiers prepared themselves if it was Tyrannosaurus Rex in their previous military exercise years ago. The gigantic dinosaur turned out to be a yellowish-brown sauropod having the height twice the size of a modern giraffe and it had nostrils on top of its head. "Brachiosaurus, the world's tallest dinosaur, can use its great height to reach leaves of tall trees," Horner recognized the dinosaur as an herbivore. The Brachiosaurus walked towards the paleontologist and lowered its head to sniff him. It was also his first time to touch a real living dinosaur and the wild Brachiosaurus walked away without damaging anything.
