Dinosaur Encyclopedia

Austroraptor

Austroraptor cabazai

Austroraptor was a large predatory dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of South America. It belonged to the dromaeosaurids, the group often as···

Argyrosaurus

Argyrosaurus superbus

Argyrosaurus was a large long-necked plant-eating dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of South America. It belonged to the titanosaurs, the gr···

Adeopapposaurus

Adeopapposaurus mognai

Aeolosaurus

Aeolosaurus rionegrinus

Aeolosaurus was a long-necked plant-eating dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of South America. It belonged to the titanosaurs, the sauropod ···

Ophthalmosaurus

Ophthalmosaurus icenicus

Ophthalmosaurus was a fast-swimming marine reptile that lived during the Jurassic. It was not a dinosaur, even though it lived at the same t···

Adamantisaurus

Adamantisaurus mezzalirai

Adamantisaurus was a long-necked plant-eating sauropod from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil. It belonged to the titanosaurs, the group of saur···

Aerosteon

Aerosteon riocoloradensis

Aerosteon was a large meat-eating theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of South America. It is especially important because its fossil···

Amargasaurus

Amargasaurus cazaui

Amargasaurus was a long-necked plant-eating dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of South America. It is one of the most unusual sauropods eve···

Mussaurus

Mussaurus patagonicus

Mussaurus was an early plant-eating sauropodomorph from what is now Argentina. It became famous because the first fossils belonged to tiny h···

Carnotaurus

Carnotaurus sastrei

Carnotaurus was a large meat-eating dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of South America. It is one of the most recognizable theropods ever di···

Notohypsilophodon

Notohypsilophodon comodorensis

Notohypsilophodon was a small herbivorous dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of South America. It is one of the more unusual small dinosaurs ···

Noasaurus

Noasaurus leali

Noasaurus was a small carnivorous theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of South America. It is especially important because it gave it···

Megaraptor

Megaraptor namunhuaiquii

Megaraptor was a large meat-eating theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of South America. It is best known for its oversized hand claw···

Limaysaurus

Limaysaurus tessonei

Limaysaurus was a long-necked plant-eating dinosaur from the Cretaceous of South America. It belonged to the rebbachisaurids, a group of som···

Laplatasaurus

Laplatasaurus araukanicus

Laplatasaurus was a long-necked plant-eating dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of South America. It belonged to the titanosaurs, a major gro···

Irritator

Irritator challengeri

Irritator was a spinosaurid theropod from the Early Cretaceous of Brazil. It is one of the most unusual predatory dinosaurs because its skul···

Abelisaurus

Abelisaurus comahuensis

Abelisaurus was a meat-eating theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of South America. It is especially important because it gave its na···

Neuquensaurus

Neuquensaurus australis

Neuquensaurus was a long-necked plant-eating dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of South America. It belonged to the titanosaurs, a major sau···

Cathartesaurus

Cathartesaura anaerobica

Cathartesaurus was a long-necked plant-eating sauropod from the Cretaceous of South America. It was not one of the most massive sauropods ev···

Tuojiangosaurus

Tuojiangosaurus multispinus

Tuojiangosaurus was a plated herbivorous dinosaur from Jurassic China. It belonged to the stegosaur group, known for body armor made of upri···

Maiasaura

Maiasaura peeblesorum

Maiasaura was a large duck-billed dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of North America. It is best known for the remarkable fossil evidence co···

Olorotitan

Olorotitan arharensis

Olorotitan was a large duck-billed dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Asia. It is best known for the tall, elegant crest on top of its hea···

Oviraptor

Oviraptor philoceratops

Oviraptor was a small, lightly built theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Asia. It is one of the most famous feathered dinosaurs an···

Pentaceratops

Pentaceratops sternbergii

Pentaceratops was a large horned dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of what is now the southwestern United States. It is best known for its e···

Sauroposeidon

Sauroposeidon proteles

Sauroposeidon was a giant long-necked plant-eating dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of North America. It is famous for its extraordinary n···

Yangchuanosaurus

Yangchuanosaurus shangyouensis

Yangchuanosaurus was a large meat-eating theropod dinosaur from Jurassic China. It is one of the best-known predatory dinosaurs from Asia an···

Styracosaurus

Styracosaurus albertensis

Was Styracosaurus a dinosaur?Yes. Styracosaurus was a true dinosaur, specifically a horned ceratopsian from the Late Cretaceous of North Ame···

Shunosaurus

Shunosaurus lii

Shunosaurus was a plant-eating sauropod dinosaur from Jurassic China. It was not one of the largest sauropods, but it is one of the most unu···

Pterodactylus

Pterodactylus antiquus

Pterodactylus was a small flying reptile from the Late Jurassic of Europe. It was not a dinosaur, although it lived at the same time as many···

Omeisaurus

Omeisaurus junghsiensis

Omeisaurus was a large long-necked plant-eating dinosaur that lived in what is now China during the Jurassic. It is one of the most famous s···

Compsognathus

Compsognathus longipes

Compsognathus was a small, slender carnivorous dinosaur that lived during the Late Jurassic in Europe. It is one of the best-known tiny ther···

Megalosaurus

Megalosaurus bucklandii

Megalosaurus was a large meat-eating theropod dinosaur from Jurassic England. Today it is known as one of the earliest named dinosaurs and o···

Pachycephalosaurus

Pachycephalosaurus wyomingensis

Pachycephalosaurus was one of the most unusual plant-eating dinosaurs of the Late Cretaceous. It is famous for its thick, rounded skull dome···

Argentinosaurus

Argentinosaurus huinculensis

Argentinosaurus was a gigantic long-necked plant-eating dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of South America. It is usually classified as a ti···

Achelousaurus

Achelousaurus horneri

Achelousaurus was a medium-sized horned dinosaur that lived in what is now Montana during the Late Cretaceous. It belonged to the centrosaur···

Apatosaurus

Apatosaurus ajax

Apatosaurus (Apatosaurus ajax) was one of the best-known long-necked dinosaurs of the Jurassic Period. With a huge body, a thick muscular ne···

Titanosaurus

Titanosaurus indicus (type species; often treated as dubious)

Titanosaurus is a famous name linked to the giant long-necked dinosaurs known as titanosaurs. In strict scientific usage, Titanosaurus refer···

Ceratosaurus

Ceratosaurus nasicornis

Ceratosaurus (Ceratosaurus nasicornis) was a predatory dinosaur from the Jurassic Period. It is famous for the horn on its nose and its dist···

Iguanodon

Iguanodon bernissartensis

Iguanodon (Iguanodon bernissartensis) was a large plant-eating dinosaur from the Cretaceous and one of the most historically important dinos···

Pteranodon

Pteranodon longiceps

Pteranodon (Pteranodon longiceps) was a giant flying reptile from the Cretaceous of North America. It is often called a “pterodactyl” in p···

Baryonyx

Baryonyx walkeri

Baryonyx (Baryonyx walkeri) was a distinctive theropod dinosaur from the Cretaceous of Europe. It belonged to the spinosaurids—a group of p···

Archaeopteryx

Archaeopteryx lithographica

Archaeopteryx (Archaeopteryx lithographica) is one of the most famous early birds in history. It lived during the Jurassic and is known for ···

Utahraptor

Utahraptor ostrommaysorum

Utahraptor (Utahraptor ostrommaysorum) was a giant “raptor” dinosaur from the Cretaceous of North America. It belongs to the dromaeosaurid···

parasaurolophus

Parasaurolophus

Parasaurolophus (Parasaurolophus walkeri) was a large duck-billed dinosaur from the Cretaceous of North America. It is best known for its lo···

dilophosaurus

Dilophosaurus

Dilophosaurus (Dilophosaurus wetherilli) was a large predatory dinosaur from the Jurassic Period and is best known for the pair of bony cres···

Seismosaurus

Diplodocus hallorum (often called “Seismosaurus” in older sources)

Seismosaurus is a famous name from dinosaur pop culture, often associated with one of the longest sauropods ever described. Many modern stud···

Acrocanthosaurus

Acrocanthosaurus atokensis

Acrocanthosaurus (Acrocanthosaurus atokensis) was one of the largest predators of Early Cretaceous North America. Its name means “high-spin···

Torosaurus

Torosaurus latus

Torosaurus (Torosaurus latus) was a giant horned dinosaur from the Cretaceous of North America. It is best known for its enormous frill—one···

Indominus rex

Indominus rex (fictional)

Indominus rex is a fictional genetically engineered hybrid from the Jurassic World film series. It was created by InGen as a new attraction—···

Pterodactyl

Pterodactylus antiquus

Pterodactyl is the popular name often used for Pterodactylus—a famous flying reptile from the Jurassic. Pterodactylus was not a dinosaur. I···

mosasaurus

Mosasaurus hoffmannii

Mosasaurus (Mosasaurus hoffmannii) was one of the largest and most famous marine reptiles of the Cretaceous Period. Although it is often gro···

Therizinosaurus

Therizinosaurus cheloniformis

Therizinosaurus (Therizinosaurus cheloniformis) was one of the strangest-looking dinosaurs ever discovered. Although it belongs to the thero···

Giganotosaurus

Giganotosaurus carolinii

Giganotosaurus (Giganotosaurus carolinii) was one of the largest predatory dinosaurs ever discovered. It lived in Patagonia, Argentina durin···

Carnotaurus

Carnotaurus

Carnotaurus (Carnotaurus sastrei) was a large predatory dinosaur from the Cretaceous of Patagonia, Argentina. It is one of the most recogniz···

Brontosaurus

Brontosaurus excelsus

Brontosaurus (Brontosaurus excelsus)—often called the “thunder lizard”—was one of the most iconic long-necked dinosaurs of the Jurassic ···

Nigersaurus

Nigersaurus taqueti

Nigersaurus (Nigersaurus taqueti) was a highly specialized long-necked dinosaur from the Cretaceous of Africa. While many sauropods are know···

Bonatitan

Bonatitan reigi

Bonatitan (scientific name: Bonatitan reigi) was a titanosaur sauropod from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia, Argentina. Titanosaurs were am···

Baurutitan

Baurutitan britoi

Baurutitan was a titanosaur sauropod from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil. Titanosaurs were among the last surviving groups of long-necked sau···

Ligabueino

Ligabueino andesiensis

Ligabueino at a GlanceLigabueino is one of the smallest theropod dinosaurs known from South America. It comes from Early Cretaceous deposits···

Barrosasaurus

Barrosasaurus casamiquelai

Barrosasaurus (Barrosasaurus casamiquelai) was a titanosaur sauropod from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia, Argentina. Titanosaurs were long···

Malarguesaurus

Malarguesaurus florenciae

Malarguesaurus (Malarguesaurus florenciae) was a titanosauriform sauropod from the Late Cretaceous of Argentina. Like other sauropods, it wa···

Muyelensaurus

Muyelensaurus

Muyelensaurus (Muyelensaurus pecheni) was a titanosaur sauropod from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia, Argentina. Unlike many giant titanosa···

Pellegrinisaurus

Pellegrinisaurus powelli

Pellegrinisaurus (Pellegrinisaurus powelli) was a titanosaur sauropod from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia, Argentina. Titanosaurs were lon···

Coelophysis

Coelophysis bauri

Coelophysis was a small, lightweight theropod dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Triassic, long before giants like Tyranno···

Diplodocus

Diplodocus

Diplodocus was a gigantic long-necked dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Jurassic. It belongs to the sauropods, the group ···

Pitekunsaurus macayai

Pitekunsaurus macayai

Pitekunsaurus macayai is a titanosaur sauropod from Patagonia, Argentina. Titanosaurs were long-necked, plant-eating dinosaurs that became e···

Santanaraptor

Santanaraptor placidus

Santanaraptor (Santanaraptor placidus) is a small theropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of northeastern Brazil. It is best known becau···

Allosaurus

Allosaurus fragilis

Allosaurus was one of the main apex predators of the Jurassic in North America. It lived millions of years before Tyrannosaurus rex and domi···

Brachiosaurus

Brachiosaurus altithorax

Brachiosaurus was a towering long-necked dinosaur from the Jurassic of North America. Its long front legs gave it a giraffe-like posture.Siz···

Ankylosaurus

Ankylosaurus magniventris

Ankylosaurus was a tank-like armored dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of North America. Its body was covered in tough armor, and its tail e···

Stegosaurus

Stegosaurus stenops

Stegosaurus is one of the most recognizable dinosaurs thanks to its large back plates and spiked tail. This armored herbivore lived during t···

Spinosaurus

Spinosaurus aegyptiacus

Spinosaurus is one of the most distinctive dinosaurs ever discovered, instantly recognizable by the tall “sail” on its back. This giant pr···

Velociraptor

Velociraptor mongoliensis

Velociraptor is one of the most famous dinosaurs in popular culture, but the real animal was quite different from the movie version. In real···

Triceratops

Triceratops horridus

Triceratops is one of the most iconic dinosaurs of all time. This large, three-horned herbivore lived in western North America during the La···

Tyrannosaurus rex

Tyrannosaurus rex

OverviewTyrannosaurus rex (often called T. rex) is one of the most iconic dinosaurs ever discovered. It was a massive meat-eating theropod t···