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, […]
Jurassic Period Dinosaurs
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
Brachiosaurus
Brachiosaurus was a High Browsing Sauropod From the Late Jurassic Brachiosaurus, pronounced “BRACK-ee-uh-Sawr-us”, was a large quadrapedal sauropod dinosaur. It was a herbivore from the late Jurassic period, living about 140-155 million years ago. The name Brachiosaurus comes from the Greek meaning “arm lizard”. It’s front limbs were quite long in relation to the rest […]
Apatosaurus
From Brontosaurus To Apatosaurus – The Name Change When the first Apatosaurus fossil was discovered in 1877, the name was bestowed but forgotten because the archeologist who named this dinosaur became enraptured with another discovery. The second set of fossils were called Brontosaurus and thought to be a different dinosaur altogether. When researchers discovered […]
Allosaurus
Allosaurus – The Commonly Overlooked Carnivore Named with the Grecian term meaning “different lizard,” Allosaurus perplexed archeologists with a unique bone structure and vertebrae pattern. It’s for this difference and the debate those differences provoked that many paleontologists opted out of further discovery and discussion of this particular dinosaur. Classified as simply “a huge carnivore,” […]
Ceratosaurus
Ceratosaurus was a Horned Jurassic Predatory Theropod Ceratosaurus (pronounced sayr-AT-oh-sawr-us) means “horned lizard”. It’s from the Greek keratos, meaning “horn”, and sauros meaning “lizard”. It was a fearful predator that lived during the late Jurassic period, about 150 million years ago, with a huge tail, strong and stocky body, and heavy bones. The biggest rival […]
Stegosaurus
Stegosaurus is a Stegosaurid from the Late Jurassic Era Stegosaurus, pronounced STEG-o-SAWR-us, was named by Othniel Marsh in 1877. The name means “roof lizard” or “plated lizard” after the distinctive plates sticking out of it’s back. It is an armored stegosaurid dinosaur that lived during the Late Jurassic era about 150 to 155 million years […]
Archaeopteryx
Archaeopteryx was a Bird-Like Theropod Dinosaur Archaeopteryx lived around 150 million years ago during the Jurassic era, in what is now southern Germany. It lived before the continental shift and, at the time, Europe was a group of tropical islands much closer to the equator. Archaeopteryx (pronounced AR-kee-OP-ter-iks) comes from the Ancient Greek: archaios, meaning […]
Dilophosaurus
Dilophosaurus is a Commonly Misrepresented Dinosaur Dilophosaurus is one of the most misunderstood and misrepresented dinosaur species to have lived. As one of the earliest Jurassic theropods this dinosaur has suffered from poor fossil representation and imaginative Hollywood depictions. Below we will take a look at just what we do know about this bipedal carnivore. […]