#2: In the Time of Dinosaurs is the second book in the series, a set of companion books to the Animorphs

Animorphs

Animorphs is an English language science fiction series of young adult books written by K. A. Applegate and published by Scholastic. Five humans, Jake, Marco, Cassie, Rachel, and Tobias, and one alien, Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill , obtain the ability to morph into any animal they touch. They name...

series. With respect to continuity, it takes place between book #18, The Decision

The Decision (Animorphs)

The Decision is the eighteenth book in the Animorphs series, written by K.A. Applegate. It is narrated by Ax.The inside front cover quote is, "Ax is about to bug out...." The front cover quote is, "Change a little. Change a lot...

and book #19, The Departure

The Departure (Animorphs)

The Departure is the nineteenth book in the Animorphs series, written by K.A. Applegate. It is narrated by Cassie and Jake, who narrates several chapters towards the end of the story.-Plot summary:...

. The Megamorphs books are narrated by all six members of the Animorphs, in turns, but there is no specific order, unlike the order of narration in the regular series.

Plot summary

When Marco

Marco (Animorphs)

Marco is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series, Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. His last name is never mentioned.-Biography:...

 sees a news report about a downed nuclear submarine, he and the other Animorphs set out to find it in dolphin morphs. When the warheads in the submarine detonate, however, the group finds themselves transported through time by a Sario rip, to the era of dinosaurs (the Late Cretaceous

Cretaceous

The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...

 period, to be exact). Rachel

Rachel (Animorphs)

Rachel is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs. Her full name is never explicitly mentioned in the books, but her relation to her cousin Jake Berenson through their fathers makes it most likely to be Rachel Berenson, if it was never changed or hyphenated.-Biography:Before the...

 and Tobias

Tobias (Animorphs)

Tobias is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs written by K.A. Applegate. His surname is never mentioned, but had the Ellimist not altered time in order to take his father, Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul, back to his old life, his full name would have been Tobias Fangor, the...

 are eaten by a kronosaurus

Kronosaurus

Kronosaurus is an extinct genus of short-necked pliosaur. It was among the largest pliosaurs, and is named after the leader of the Greek Titans, Cronus.-Discovery and species:Kronosaurus lived in the Early Cretaceous Period ....

 and believed dead by the other Animorphs. The other Animorphs make their way to land, where they encounter a number of dinosaurs, including the Tyrannosaurus rex

Tyrannosaurus

Tyrannosaurus meaning "tyrant," and sauros meaning "lizard") is a genus of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur. The species Tyrannosaurus rex , commonly abbreviated to T. rex, is a fixture in popular culture. It lived throughout what is now western North America, with a much wider range than other...

, which attempts to eat Jake

Jake Berenson

Jake Berenson is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists from the science-fiction book series Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. Until the penultimate book of the series, his last name was never revealed, and he was known only as Jake...

. Jake morphs while inside the beast, injuring it and causing it to spit him out, and die but not before the other three Animorphs acquire it.

Tobias and Rachel, meanwhile had escaped from the kronosaurus

Kronosaurus

Kronosaurus is an extinct genus of short-necked pliosaur. It was among the largest pliosaurs, and is named after the leader of the Greek Titans, Cronus.-Discovery and species:Kronosaurus lived in the Early Cretaceous Period ....

, and make their own way to land. Tobias' wing has been broken and was unable to be healed by morphing, most likely as a result of the time travel. The two of them have a run-in with a pack of deinonychus

Deinonychus

Deinonychus was a genus of carnivorous dromaeosaurid dinosaur. There is one described species, Deinonychus antirrhopus. This 3.4 meter long dinosaur lived during the early Cretaceous Period, about 115–108 million years ago . Fossils have been recovered from the U.S...

, but both manage to acquire the pack's leader and escape. Later they encountered by a vicious ant

Ant

Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...

like alien race known as the Nesk

Nesk

The Nesk are a race of aliens in the fictional Animorphs books by K.A. Applegate. They are actually made up of thousands of intelligent ants that join together to form into the shape of a body capable of using the technology they have stolen from other species. They lived on Earth 65 million...

, who attempt to kill Rachel and Tobias.

The six Animorphs find themselves reunited above a large canyon on a force field

Force field

A force field, sometimes known as an energy shield, force shield, or deflector shield is a concept of a field tightly bounded and of significant magnitude so that objects affected by the particular force relating to the field are unable to pass through the central axis of the field and reach the...

 with an artificial city at its bottom. After investigating it, they are welcomed by an alien race known as the Mercora

Mercora (Animorphs)

The Mercora are a fictional race of aliens in the Animorphs books by K.A. Applegate first seen in Megamorphs #2: In the Time of Dinosaurs. They resemble giant crabs with very asymmetrical bodies. On one side of the body is a large pincer and on the other are two human-like arms. They also had seven...

, who had fled their own planet which was destroyed and intend on making Earth their new home. However, they are at war with the Nesk, and do not have the technology to help the Animorphs return to their own time. The Nesk, however, do—so the Animorphs storm the Nesk's camp in order to steal a warhead to recreate the explosion that sent them into the past. The Nesk angrily flee Earth, but divert the path of a nearby comet towards the planet. The Mercora respectfully ask the Animorphs to surrender their warhead, and Tobias agrees to let them have it—however, realizing that the Mercora must have died in the explosion as they are not a current part of Earth and that the comet will cause the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event, he tells Ax

Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill

Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs.-Biography:Aximili is a young Andalite who becomes stranded on Earth when the Andalite Dome Ship GalaxyTree is shot down by Yeerk fighters...

 to render it useless. The Animorphs escape back into the ocean, and the force of the comet propels them back to their own time. They are unable to use their dinosaur morphs following this book.

Morphs

Morpher	Morphs acquired	Morphs used
Jake Jake Berenson Jake Berenson is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists from the science-fiction book series Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. Until the penultimate book of the series, his last name was never revealed, and he was known only as Jake...	Tyrannosaurus rex*	Dolphin Dolphin Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating... , Tyrannosaurus rex, Peregrine Falcon Peregrine Falcon The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...
Rachel Rachel (Animorphs) Rachel is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs. Her full name is never explicitly mentioned in the books, but her relation to her cousin Jake Berenson through their fathers makes it most likely to be Rachel Berenson, if it was never changed or hyphenated.-Biography:Before the...	Deinonychus Deinonychus Deinonychus was a genus of carnivorous dromaeosaurid dinosaur. There is one described species, Deinonychus antirrhopus. This 3.4 meter long dinosaur lived during the early Cretaceous Period, about 115–108 million years ago . Fossils have been recovered from the U.S... *	Dolphin Dolphin Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating... , Grizzly Bear Grizzly Bear The grizzly bear , also known as the silvertip bear, the grizzly, or the North American brown bear, is a subspecies of brown bear that generally lives in the uplands of western North America... , Deinonychus, Bald Eagle Bald Eagle The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle... , Great Horned Owl Great Horned Owl The Great Horned Owl, , also known as the Tiger Owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas.-Description:...
Tobias Tobias (Animorphs) Tobias is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs written by K.A. Applegate. His surname is never mentioned, but had the Ellimist not altered time in order to take his father, Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul, back to his old life, his full name would have been Tobias Fangor, the...	Deinonychus Deinonychus Deinonychus was a genus of carnivorous dromaeosaurid dinosaur. There is one described species, Deinonychus antirrhopus. This 3.4 meter long dinosaur lived during the early Cretaceous Period, about 115–108 million years ago . Fossils have been recovered from the U.S... *	Dolphin Dolphin Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating... , Human Human Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus... , Deinonychus
Cassie Cassie (Animorphs) Cassie is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. Her last name is never mentioned, although she referred to it as being "nice" in The Secret.-Biography:...	Tyrannosaurus rex*	Dolphin Dolphin Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating... , Osprey Osprey The Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings... , Tyrannosaurus rex, Great Horned Owl Great Horned Owl The Great Horned Owl, , also known as the Tiger Owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas.-Description:...
Marco Marco (Animorphs) Marco is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series, Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. His last name is never mentioned.-Biography:...	Tyrannosaurus rex*	Dolphin Dolphin Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating... , Osprey Osprey The Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings... , Tyrannosaurus rex
Ax Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs.-Biography:Aximili is a young Andalite who becomes stranded on Earth when the Andalite Dome Ship GalaxyTree is shot down by Yeerk fighters...	Dolphin Dolphin Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating... , Tyrannosaurus rex*	Human Human Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus... , Dolphin, Northern Harrier, Tyrannosaurus rex

* unusable: Sario Rip

Andalite terminology

A compilation of Andalite terminology used throughout the Animorphs series.*Andalite Homeworld: The name of the native planet of the Andalites is not given in the series, and is simply referred to as the Andalite homeworld. It possesses more than one sun, which gives its sky a red-gold hue, and the...

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