Pyroraptor is a small dromaeosaur from the late cretaceous. Discovered in Europe in 1992 after a forest fire, Pyroraptor is amongst the few raptor fossils to be found on the continent. Clade Theropod, Dromaeosaur Height 2 feet Length 5 feet Era Late Cretaceous http://www.pyroraptor-olympius.info/ Fully feathered darling of Hollywood? You don’t get dino-nerd credit if […]
Dinosaur Profile
Jianianhualong Tengi
Jianianhualong Tengi The Jianianhua Dragon Had Flight-Ready Feathers While most dinosaurs did not fly, more are known to have had all the equipment necessary. Asymmetrical feathering is seen as a vital step in the evolutionary process for modern birds, and the Jiananhua Dragon (or, Jianianhualong Tengi) was recently found to have tail-feathers perfectly structured for […]
Torosaurus
Torosaurus – A Massive-Skulled Ceratopsian, Dwarfing The Triceratops Torosaurus, pronounced TOR-uh-SAWR-us, (protuberance lizard) was an immense chasmosaurine ceratopsid (tribe Triceratopsini) dinosaur, having had one of the largest skulls of any known land animal, measuring in at a staggering nine-feet long. Chasmosaurinae is a subfamily of Ceratopsid dinosaurs—Torosaurus and Triceratops are two well-known relatives of the family […]
Stygimoloch
An Herbivorous Pachycephalosaurid Stygimoloch, pronounced STIJ-eh-MOLL-uk, is generally regarded as a genus of large Pachycephalosaurid dinosaur, an herbivore (some regard Stygimoloch an omnivore). The genus received its name due the fearsome appearance of its skull. Only parts of Stygimoloch’s skull have been found to date, in Montana and Wyoming. Stygimoloch belongs to the family Pachycephalosauridae, […]
Hypsilophodon
Hypsilophodon Was A Cretaceous Ornithopod Hypsilophodon, pronounced hip-sih-LO-fuh-don, was a prehistoric ornithopod dinosaur that lived in primarily in the Early Cretaceous period of what is today known as England. This was a small bipedal dinosaur that for some time has been misunderstood; recent findings and analyses have changed the picture we now have of Hypsilophodon. […]
Caudipteryx
Caudipteryx Was a Theropod Dubbed “tail feather”, this Theropod dinosaur lived in the Aptian age of the Late Jurassic—early Cretaceous Period, 120—136 million years ago. Two species have been described; C. zoui (the type species discovered in 1998), and C. dongi (2000). Caudipteryx, pronounced caw-DIP-tuh-riks, is one of the earliest bird-like dinosaurs to have existed, […]
Elasmosaurus
Elasmosaurus Was Not a Dinosaur Elasmosaurus was a large marine reptile with an extremely long neck that lived in the ocean 65 million years ago. This group is not a dinosaur group, but is reptilian and belongs to the family group Plesiosauria. This genus had a snake-like neck and large wide body which resembled that […]
Deinocheirus
As Tall As T-Rex – With Freddy Krueger Forearms “Terrible Hand” is an appropriate name for this prehistoric Theropod dinosaur that exhibited massive arms according to deduction of its fossilized and minimal bony remains. Named Deinocheirus, pronounced DYE-no-KYE-rus, is a genus of dinosaur that lived on Earth during the Late Cretaceous Period. The last indications […]
Microvenator
Microvenator Was an Oviraptorosaurian Theropod This “small hunter” is a genus of reptilian dinosaur, or oviraptorosaurian theropod. Microvenator is one of the smallest Theropods to exist. Like other oviraptorosaurs, Microvenator was a feathered maniraptoran dinosaur from the Cretaceous Period. They both have the characteristic short beaked snout and bird-like skull. The size of oviraptorosaurs could […]
Microceratops
Microceratops, a.k.a. Microceratus Microceratops is bound to remain a popular dinosaur name, since we’ve been aware of its prehistoric existence for about 60 years and it is already a scripted member of our popular culture. However, Microceratops has since been determined a dubious name for the genus and has since been reassigned as Microceratus. Microceratops […]
Indosuchus
Indosuchus is an Abelisaurid Indosuchus is a prehistoric Theropod dinosaur that roamed the earth 70—65 million years ago. The name Indosuchus is taken from the Greek Indos and soukhos, respectively meaning “Indian crocodile”. Indosuchus is a genus of Abelisaurid dinosaur (a family of Ceratosaurian Theropod dinosaurs), and lived during Earth’s Late Cretaceous Period during the […]
Mamenchisaurus
Mamenchisaurus Was a Late Jurassic Sauropod Mamenchisaurus was a dinosaur that lived during the Late Jurassic period and was the biggest sauropod of its time. Found in Asia and pronounced mah-MUN-chi-SAWR-us, the name means “Mamenchi lizard” and comes from the Chinese Pinyin and men, respectively ma men. Chi is the Chinese translation of “stream” or […]
Cryolophosaurus
The Theropod With The Elvis Pompadour Relatively little is known about this prehistoric dinosaur, found in the frigid climate of Antarctica and named as a “frozen crested lizard”, or Cryolophosaurus, pronounced CRY-oh-LOAF-oh-SORE-us. The species type is Cryolophosaurus elliotti, or C. elliotti (Greek for “cold crested lizard”). The prehistoric species existed around 190-185 million years ago. […]
Titanosaurus
Titanosaurus is Named For the Titans Titanosaurus lived about 75 million years ago and is a member of the family Titanosauridae that consists of enormous and armored Sauropods. The genus Titanosaurus, pronounced tye-TAN-uh-SAWR-us, is another dubious name due to many discoveries of species since Titanosaurus was first discovered in 1877 by Richard Lydekker. Since that […]
Struthiomimus
Struthiomimus Is Known As An Ostrich Mimic Struthiomimus was a lightweight member of the prehistoric dinosaur world. Named officially as “ostrich mimic” (Greek), Struthiomimus is a genus of the Ornithomimidae family from the Late Cretaceous Period of Alberta, Canada. The actual history of Struthiomimus is plagued with inadequate information and convolution. Initial discoveries were inaccurately […]
Protoceratops
Protoceratops, pronounced pro-to-SER-uh-TOPS, (Greek—First Horned Face) was a small prehistoric ceratopsian dinosaur of the ornithischian order that existed in the Late Cretaceous Period. Named primarily as designation of a similar genus to Ceratops, meaning “before Ceratops”, it is a genus considered on many platforms to be misclassified. Its type species is P. montanus. However, now […]
Prosaurolophus
Prosaurolophus, the Duck-Billed Dinosaur Prosaurolophus (Greek—before saurolophus), pronounced pro-SAWR-O-LO-FUS, was a terrestrial genus of hadrosaurid (known as the duck-billed dinosaurs due to similarity of their head to that of modern ducks) dinosaur that lived during the late Cretaceous Period. It is most commonly characterized by its long, broad skull and a small crest present near […]
Plesiosaurus — the First Discovered Marine Reptile
P. dolichodeirus, or Plesiosaurus, was not a dinosaur, but a plesiosaur—a marine reptile (Greek—near to lizard) from the Mesozoic Era of the Early Jurassic period. Plesiosaurus was the first species of its kind to be discovered. Though much has been learned about its anatomy and evolution, there are still many topics of debate over the […]
Massospondylus
Massospondylus, aka M. carinatus The “elongated spine” dinosaur, Massospondylus (Greek- Greater Vertebrae), pronounced mass-o-SPON-dih-lus, was a genus quadrupedal, semi-bipedal herbivore and possible omnivore from the Early Jurassic period. Otherwise known as Massospondylus carinatus, the standing species of the Massospondylus genus M. carinatus was a mid-sized prosauropod that lived during the Hettangian to Pliensbachian ages of […]
Megalodon
C megalodon was a Chondrichthyes of controversial genus Megalodon (Greek- big tooth), pronounced Meg-ah-low-don, is a prehistoric species which possessed traits mirrored by the Great White shark of today. C. megalodon is the common abbreviated acknowledgement of the scientific name for this controversially classified sea creature of the Cenozoic era, from the late Oligocene to […]
Barosaurus
Barosaurus is Not a Commonly Recognized Dinosaur The Barosaurus was an herbivorous dinosaur that lived during the Upper Jurassic period, around one hundred and fifty million years ago! Its name is derived from the Greek words ‘barys’ and ‘saurus’, which literally translate as ‘heavy lizard.’ Barosaurus was a long necked dinosaur, and a fairly close […]
Herrerasaurus
Herrerasaurus Ischigualastensis- The One and Only Herrerasaurus Herrerasaurus, pronounced huh-Rare-uh-Sore-us, is classified to the family of Herrerasauridae, designated as the oldest known dinosaurs. The genus species type, Ischigualastensis, was marked by Osvaldo Reig in 1963, and named after the person credited with finding the first fossilized traces of this species. Herrera was the name of […]
Seismosaurus
Seismosaurus Was Likely A Large Diplodocus Seismosaurus (pronounced Size-mow-Sore-uss) was a giant saurischian sauropod named from the Greek language for its size which can be translated as “(earth) quake lizard”. Seismosaurus was once thought to have been a new genus of dinosaur but in recent years it has been agreed upon by most palaeontologists that […]
Ornithomimus
Ornithomimus was an Ostrich-Like Omnivore Ornithomimus (pronounced Or-nith-owe-mim-uss), was a theropod belonging to the ornithomimid family and lived during the Late Cretaceous Period about 70 million years ago, in what is now North America. Ornithomimus meaning “Bird Mimic” when translated from Greek, which is in reference to its bird-like feet, has given its name to […]
Compsognathus
Compsognathus Habitat: A Jurassic Archipelago Compsognathus, affectionately known as ‘Compy’ or ‘Compies’, was a carnivorous theropod that lived 150 million years ago in the Jurassic period and one of the smallest dinosaurs on record. The species may have carried over into the early Cretaceous as well. Two specimens recovered over 100 years apart from each other are […]
Psittacosaurus
Psittacosaurus was a Cretaceous Ceratopsid Psittacosaurus (pronounced SIT-ah-co-SAWR-us) was a primitive Ceratopsid that lived 130-100 million years ago in the Early Cretaceous period. Although it is related to the better-known Triceratops, one wouldn’t know it by appearance. Psittacosaurus was a small bipedal dinosaur that was a fraction of the size of some of its larger […]
Saurolophus
Saurolophus was a Cretaceous Ornithopod One of the last dinosaurs to walk the Earth, Saurolophus became extinct around 65 million years ago in the late Cretaceous Era. The fossil remains of this two-ton plant eater have been found in North America and Asia, making it one of the few dinosaurs that lived on more than […]
Pachyrhinosaurus
Pachyrhinosaurus was a Cretaceous Ceratopsid Pachyrhinosaurus was a late Cretaceous Ceratopsid that lived 68-73 million years ago. Its name is Greek for “thick-nosed lizard”. Thick noses and elaborate, bony frills are distinguishing characteristics in the Pachyrhinosaurus genus, which was one of the last to roam the Earth before the mass extinction. Quick Facts Name Pachyrhinosaurus […]
Camptosaurus
Camptosaurus was a Jurassic Herbivore Camptosaurus was a small duck-billed dinosaur that lived during the Jurassic period from 156-145 million years ago. It roamed the forests on two legs, but had the option of prowling on four limbs for eating purposes. Camptosaurus has one of the most unique mouths of all dinosaurs, which uses both […]
Diplodocus
Diplodocus was a Jurassic Sauropod Diplodocus walked the Earth about 150 million years ago in the late Jurassic Era. At the time of its discovery, Diplodocus was the longest dinosaur on record. It has since been out-measured by the likes of the Supersaurus or the rarely-mentioned Futalgnkosaurus, but Diplodocus played an important role in fueling […]
Eoceratops
Eoceratops was a Cretaceous Ceratopsid Eoceratops was an herbivorous dinosaur that lived in the early Cretaceous Period, from 140 to 100 million years ago. Eoceratops was a member of the family Ceratopsidae, which includes other four-legged, horned dinosaurs. The first fossil was unearthed in 1898, but the fossil wasn’t recognized as a unique species until […]
Kentrosaurus
Kentrosaurus Was a Stegosaur with Plates and Spikes along Its Body So named in Greek as the “spiked lizard,” the Kentrosaurus (pronounced ken-tro-SOAR-us) lives up to its name by featuring some startlingly sharp spikey protrusions as well as some hard, flat plates from its body. This dinosaur was strictly a herbivore that moved around slowly […]
Parasaurolophus
Parasaurolophus was a Long-crested Duck-billed Dinosaur Parasaurolophus was an Ornithopod dinosaur that lived some 75 million years ago during the Cretaceous period in what is now North America. Parasaurolophus (pronounced pah-Ruhsaw-uh-lofe-Us) was a Hadrosaurid a group known for their bizarre head ornaments. In the case of Parasaurolophus, a large and elaborate cranial crest made it […]
Carnotaurus
Carnotaurus Was a Cretaceous Period Carnivore Carnotaurus may not have been as large nor as heavy as Tyrannosaurus Rex, but this carnivore would have made a formidable sight. From it’s bull like horns to it’s quite incredible speed on land Carnotaurus was a force to be reckoned with. Quick Facts Name Carnotaurus Prehistoric Era Late […]
Therizinosaurus
Therizinosaurus was a Large Maniraptoran Theropod with Huge Claws Therizinosaurus was an advanced herbivorous maniraptoran theropod, originally thought to be a strange sauropod, with a mix of both sauropod and theropod characteristics. These characteristics along with its large claws makes it rather unique and much of an oddity. The name Therizinosaurus, (pronounced Ther-uh-Zeen-oh-Sawr-us) comes from […]
Triceratops
Triceratops was a Late Ceratopsid Dinosaur A ceratopsid (horned) dinosaur, Triceratops lived during the late Cretaceous Period about 65 million years ago, in what is now known as North America. Meaning “three-horned face” when translated from the Greek language, Triceratops (pronounced Try-serra-tops) was one of the last non-avian dinosaurs to live before the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction. […]
Pachycephalosaurus
Pachycephalosaurus is a Rare Ornithiscian Herbivore An ornithischian dinosaur, Pachycephalosaurus lived during the Late Cretaceous Period about 65 million years ago. It was one of the last non-avian dinosaurs living on earth before the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event. Known as the bone-headed, or dome-headed, dinosaur this is the largest dinosaur of the Pachycephalosaria family to date […]
Giganotosaurus
Giganotosaurus Was a Cretaceous Theropod Giganotosaurus was a theropod dinosaur that lived during the early Cenomanian stage during the mid to late Cretaceous period, about 97 million years ago. A member of the Carnosaur family Carcharodontosauridae, Giganotosaurus belonged to the subfamily Giganotosaurinae. Giganotosaurus is the largest meat-eating dinosaur to have been discovered in South America […]
Pteranodon
Pteranodon Wasn’t a Dinosaur at All Pteranodon, pronounced “ter-AN-o-DON”, was a flying carnivorous reptile that lived during the Late Cretaceous period about 75-85 million years ago. Its name means “Winged and Toothless”, referring to its toothless beak, which was like that of modern birds, and its huge wingspan, which was much larger than any modern […]
Argentinosaurus
Argentinosaurus was a Huge Cretaceous Sauropod Argentinosaurus lived during the late Cretaceous period about 95 million years ago and comes from the Titanosauria family of Sauropods, meaning armored giants. Occasionally known as the “Dino Don” the Argentinosaurus is one of the most famous sauropods of huge proportions that was discovered in the 1990’s. The name […]
Maiasaura
Maiasaura was a Nurturing Duck-billed Herbivore Maiasaura, pronounced “mah-ee-ah-sawr-uh”, was a large, duck-billed herbivore of average intelligence from the hadrosaur family. It’s name comes from the Greek words meaning “good mother lizard”, which refers to the evidence in the fossils showing that Maiasaura parents were nurturing of their young. This duck billed dinosaur lived in […]
Styracosaurus
Styracosaurus Was a Cretaceous Period Ceratopsian Syracosaurus, a member of the Centrosaurinae family, lived in the woodlands of North America in the late Cretaceous Period about 75 million years ago. This herbivore was amongst one of the last major dinosaurs to evolve before the end of the dinosaurs in the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction. Named Styracosaurus (pronounced […]
Ornitholestes
Ornitholestes is a Small Bipedal Carnivore Ornitholestes, pronounced “or-NITH-o-less-teez”, was a small but fast bipedal dinosaur that lived in the areas of modern day Wyoming and Utah. It was a hunter of small game, like lizards, and its name comes from the Greek words meaning “bird robber”. This theropod lived in the late Jurassic period, […]
Lambeosaurus
Lambeosaurus was a Hollow-Crested Hadrosaur Lambeosaurus, pronounced “LAM-bee-uh-SOR-us”, was a bipedal and quadrupedal plant-eating dinosaur from the hadrosaurid family that lived during the Late Cretaceous Period in North America. It is the largest known duck-billed dinosaur, but its most distinguishing feature is a hollow crest on its cranium. The name “Lambeosaurus” means “Lambe’s lizard”. It […]
Eoraptor
Eoraptor was a Very Primitive Dinosaur Eoraptor, pronounced “EE-oh-RAP-tor, was one of the earliest known dinosaurs. It’s name comes from the Greek, meaning “Dawn plunderer”. It lived in the Triassic period, about 228 million years ago. Eoraptor lived in what is today the northwestern region of South America. Eoraptor was from the saurischia, or “lizard-hipped”, […]
Dromaeosaurus
Dromaeosaurus was a Small, Cretaceous Theropod Dromaeosaurus, pronounced “DRO-me-uh-SAWR-us”, was a small theropod dinosaur from the late Cretaceous period, about 76 to 75 million years ago. Its name comes from the Greek words “dromeos” meaning “runner” and “saurus” meaning lizard. The meaning behind the name refers to its long legs which were obviously built for […]
Edmontosaurus
Edmontosaurus is a Cretaceous Hadrosaur Edmontosaurus, pronounced “ed-MON-toh-Sawr-us” was a crestless hadrosaurid, or duck-billed, herbivorous dinosaur. It consists of two species, Edmontosaurus regalis and Edmontosaurus annectens. It lived over a wide area in western North America during the Cretaceous Period. The fossils of the first species, E. Regalis, were identified as living 73 million years […]
Gallimimus
Gallimimus is the Largest Ornithomimid Dinosaur Gallimimus pronounced “Gal-ih-MY-mus”, was a dinosaur from the Ornithomimidae family, which was a genus of theropod dinosaurs that looked like modern day ostriches. It was actually the largest of the Ornithomimids. Its name comes from the Greek words meaning “rooster mimic”, referring to its similarity to a flightless bird. […]
Chasmosaurus
Chasmosaurus was a Creataceous Period Ceratopsid Dinosaur Chasmosaurus, pronounced “KAZ-mo-SAWR-us”, is a North American dinosaur that lived during the upper Cretaceous period, about 70-75 million years ago. Its name is from the Greek words meaning “cleft” or “opening” and “lizard”. The name refers to the fenestration in the frill around its neck. It was part […]
Avimimus
Avimimus was a Bird-like Theropod from the Cretaceous Avimimus (pronounced AH-vee-MIME-us) was a feathered theropod dinosaur that lived about 95 million years ago during the late Cretaceous period in what is now Mongolia. It’s name comes from the Greek words meaning “bird mimic” because of its distinction as the first discovered dinosaur, with so many […]