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Abelisaurus
Taxon: Theropoda,
Neoceratosauria, Saurischia
Name means: Abeli
for Roberto Abel, director of the Museo Provincialle de Cipolleti
Pronounced: ah-BEL-i-SAWR-us
Length: 20 feet
(6.5 m)
Time: 70 million
years ago, Late Cretaceous
Place: Argentina
Diet: Meat
Details: Because
only the incomplete skull of a single Abelisaurus has ever been discovered,
little is known about this large carnivore. It had a long, narrow head
with no horns or ornamentation over its deep-set eyes. It may have had
a body style similar to Carnotaurus, another Argentinian meat eater
of the Cretaceous period. Carnotaurus carried itself on long, slender
hind limbs and had two, short forelimbs.
Abrictosaurus
Taxon: Ornithischia,
Heterodontosauridae
Name means: Abricto
is Greek for "awake"
Pronounced: a-BRIK-to-SAWR-us
Length: 4 feet (1.2
m)
Time: 195 million
years ago, Early Jurassic Period
Place: South Africa
Diet: Plants
Details: Like all
early bird-hipped plant eaters, Abrictosaurus had cheek teeth. When
predators came near, this small planteater escaped with quick bursts
of speed on two, powerful legs. Abrictosaurus was found in 1975.
Abrosaurus
Taxon: unknown
Name Means: Abro
is Latin for “break off”
Pronounced: AB-roh-SAW-rus
Length: unknown
Time: c. 135 million
years ago, Early Cretaceous
Place: China
Diet: Plants
Details: Another
long-necked, four-legged sauropod, Abrosaurus had a small head with
a nasal crest, and nostrils above the eyes. Found incomplete in 1986,
very little is known about this mysterious, plant-eating giant.
Acanthopholis
(a-CAN-tho-PO-liss) Not a valid name. Too few fossil remains have been
found to properly identify this animal.
Achelousaurus
Taxon: Centrosaurinae,
Ceratopsid
Name means: Achelous:
meaning river god
Pronounced: ak-e-LOH-uh-SAWR-us
Length: 20 feet
(6m)
Time: 84 –
65 million years ago, Late Cretaceous
Place: Montana,
U.S.A.
Diet: Plants
Details: Named after
a shape-changing Greek and Roman river god, this frilled horned dinosaur
did not possess the large horns of older and presumably ancestral species.
This primitive, hornless, frilled plant eater carried its stocky body
on four, sturdy legs and fed on plants. It had a nasal boss or knob
of bone on its snout and two long spikes at the back of the frill. Only
a single, partial skeleton has been found.
Aetonyx
(see Massospondylus)
Acrocanthosaurus
Taxon: Carnosauria,
Allosauridae, Saurischia
Name means: “high-spined
lizard”
Pronounced: ak-ro-KAN-tho-SAWR-us
Length: 30 feet
(8 – 12 m)
Time: 121 –
99 million years ago, Late Early and Early Late Cretaceous
Place: Southwestern
U.S.A. Oklahoma, Texas
Diet: Meat
Details: This giant
meateater had spines as much as two feet tall on its neck, back, and
tail which may have acted as a natural cooling system. The spines on
the back of Acrocanthosaurus were set in a ridge of flesh, not raised
as a bony sail as in some later meateaters such as Spinosaurus from
North Africa.
Acrocanthosaurus
appears to have qualities in common with the earlier giant allosaurs
of the Cretaceous and the giant meateaters of South America and North
Africa nearly fifty million years later such as Giganotosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus.
Since Acrocanthosaurus lived in lands between the habitats of these
earlier and later giant carnivores it is not surprising that Acrocanthosaurus
represents an evolutionary link to big meateaters before and after its
time.
Adasaurus
Taxon: Coelurosauria,
Saurischia
Name means: Ada
for an evil spirit from Mongolian mythology
Pronounced: AH-dah-SAWR-us
Length: 6 feet (2
m)
Time:. 70 million
years ago, Late Cretaceous
Place: Mongolia
Diet: Meat
Details: Like other
fearsome meat eating “raptor” dromaeosaurids, Adasaurus
had a slashing claw on the second digit of each hind foot. But Adasaurus'
"killer claw" was smaller than similar slashing weapons on
Deinonychus and Velociraptor.
Aegyptosaurus
Taxon: Titanosauria,
Saurischia
Name means: “Egyptian
lizard”
Pronounced: ee-JIP-to-SAWR-us
Length: 47 feet
(15 m)
Time: 99 –
94 million years ago, Late Cretaceous
Place: Egypt
Diet: Plants
Details: The fossils
of this rare giant planteater were destroyed in World War II. It was
found in Egypt and brought to a German museum where it was destroyed
in an anti-Nazi bombing raid by Allied planes. Though it was incomplete,
leg bones and vertebra fragments suggest it was a large, four-legged
plant eater.
Aeolosaurus
Taxon: Titanosauria
Name means: Aeolo,
Greek for god of the windsPronounced: EE-o-lo-SAWR-us
Length: 47 feet
(15 m)
Time: c. 70 million
years ago, Late Cretaceous
Place: Argentina
Diet: Plants
Description: One
of the last of the titanosaurids, this large, lumbering four-legged
plant eater had a long, flexible neck. Aeolosaurus was about the same
size as Aegyptosaurus. Some scientists believe this Argentinian sauropod
had dermal plates, or armor, and weighed as much as 10 tons. This fossil
discovery, like most, was far from complete.
Aepisaurus
(EE-pi-SAW-rus) Not a valid name. Too few fossils have been found to
identify properly this large four-legged planteater found in France
in 1853.
Afrovenator
Taxon: Theropoda,
Tetanurae
Name means: “African
hunter”
Pronounced: AF-ro-vee-NAY-tor
Length: 25 feet
(8-9 m)
Time: 132 –
127 million years ago, Early Cretaceous
Place: Niger, Africa
Diet: meat
Details: This primitive,
three-fingered meat eater was named in 1995 by Dr. Paul Sereno of the
University of Chicago from his team’s discoveries on a Sahara
Desert exploration. Afrovenator was grouped by Sereno along with the
Torvosaurids such as the huge Torvosaurus of western North America in
the Late Jurassic and the spinosaurids from Cretaceous North Africa.
Agathaumas
(AG-a-THAW-moss) Not a valid name. Probably Triceratops or Torosaurus.
Agilisaurus
Taxon: Ornithischia
Name means: “agile
lizard”
Pronounced: AJ-i-li-SAWR-us
Length: 4 feet (1.2
m)
Time: 169 –
159 million years ago, Late Jurassic Period
Place: China
Diet: Plants
Details: One of
a worldwide family of small, bird-hipped plant eaters, the hypsilophondontids.
Agilisaurus had several sharp, front teeth designed for slicing leaves.
Because Agilisaurus had a small body with strong back legs, it was likely
a fast runner. A near complete specimen was found and named in 1990
in China.
Agrosaurus
Not a valid name. Little is known of this rare Australian dinosaur,
as the location of its 1844 discovery was not recorded.
Agustina
[MARKED FOR FULL PG PICT]
Taxon: Sauropoda,
Macronaria
Name means: “for
Augustin”
Pronounced: ah-goo-STEE-nee-uh
Length: 25 feet
(8 m)
Time: 121 –
112 million years ago, Early Cretaceous
Place: Argentina
Diet: Plants
Details: This large,
armored sauropod was named in honor of its young discoverer, Argentine
research assistant Agustin Martinelli. The name was changed from “Augustia”
when it was discovered that the original was already in use as a scientific
classification. Agustinia was the size of an ice cream truck, and featured
strange, tall, armored neck spikes. The purpose of these neck spines
is mysterious, other than possible display. They may have even been
bare, without skin covering, and certainly were not a useful defense.
Alamosaurus
Taxon: Titanosauria
Name means: Alamo,
Spanish - a historic Texas landmark and fortress near the fossil site
Pronounced: AL-a-mo-SAWR-us
Length: 67 feet
(21 m)
Time: 71 - 65 million
years ago, Late Cretaceous
Place: Southwestern
United States: New Mexico, Texas, Utah
Diet: Plants
Details: This large,
whip-tailed sauropod was a giant of the prehistoric North American West.
Some of Alamosaurus' relatives had armor, but it is not known if Alamosaurus
shared that trait. It was roughly 30 tons in weight, as much as 12 elephants.
It was descended from South American dinosaurs which moved northward
once the land masses of the Americas were reunited near the end of the
dinosaurs, about 65 million years ago. It came the farthest north of
any known form of dinosaur native to South America at this time.
Albertosaurus
Taxon: Coelurosauria,
Tyrannosauroidea
Name means: Alberta,
named for Alberta, Canada
Pronounced: al-BUHR-to-SAWR-us
Length: 22 –
25 feet (7 – 8.5 m)
Time: c. 70 million
years ago
Place: Western North
America
Diet: Meat
Details: This ferocious
carnivore prowled around western North American 8 million years before
Tyrannosaurus rex arrived on the scene. Well equipped with a huge skull
and sharp, serrated teeth, Albertosaurus could saw through flesh with
ease. Its two-fingered hands were small, as were its arms. But strong
back legs gave Albertosaurus strength and bursts of speed. Its brain
was comparatively large. This meateater probably had keen senses of
vision and smell compared to most dinosaurs, making it a highly efficient
scavenger and predator.
Alectrosaurus
Taxon: Coelurosauria,
Tyrannosauroidea
Name means: “Alectra’s
lizard” or “unmarried lizard”, Greek for without
Lektron, Greek for
bed [WHAT IS THIS?]
Pronounced: a-LEK-tro-SAWR-us
Length: 20 feet
(5 – 6 m)
Time: 98 –
88 million years ago, Late Cretaceous
Place: China, Mongolia
Diet: Meat
Details: A huge
meat-eater from the Late Cretaceous, Alectrosaurus was a puzzle to paleontologists
for many years. Only the arm bones and leg bones were found in the Gobi
Desert in the 1920s --- 100 feet apart. In the early 1970s, more specimens
were discovered, including a skull, complete with a smooth snout and
long, razor-sharp teeth.
Algoasaurus
(AL-go-a-SORE-us). Not a valid name. Probably a young sauropod planteater
named for Algoa Bay in South Africa near where it was found.
Alioramus
Taxon: Coelurosauria,
Tyrannosauroidea, Theropoda
Name means: “different
branch”
Pronounced: AL-ee-o-RAY-mus
Length: 20 feet
(5 – 6 m)
Time: 65 million
years ago, Late Cretaceous
Place: Mongolia
Diet: Meat
Details: Alioramus
was considerably smaller than other tryrannosaurs. It had a greater
number of smaller teeth in a longer, more slender skull. The single
skeleton discovered so far indicates that it had a long snout with six
small horns.
Aliwalia
(ahl-i-WAHL-ee-a) Not a valid name. The few bones found of this animal
suggest a large primitive meateater. Its fossils were uncovered in South
Africa but was mixed in with those of Euskelosaurus when shipped to
Austria in late 1880’s.
Allosaurus
Taxon: Carnosauria,
Allosauridae
Name means: Allos,
Greek meaning different
Pronounced: AL-o-SAWR-us
Length: 31 –
37 feet (10 – 12 m)
Time: 154 –
144 million years ago, Late Jurassic
Place: Southwestern
United States, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, and possibly Tanzania,
West Africa
Diet: Meat
Details: During
the Late Jurassic Era, the mighty carnivorous Allosaurus likely ruled
the western U.S. More than 70 three-inch teeth lined his powerful jaws--hinged
in front to expand to accommodate bigger pieces of meat. Huge, muscular
back legs enabled Allosaurus to sprint at relatively high speeds for
a dinosaur. It shorter forearms featured three, razor sharp claws as
long as 10 inches in adults. Allosaurus also had short, pointed horns,
one above each eye. Because thousands of allosaur bones have accumulated
in one Utah quarry, the skeleton of Allosaurus is well-understood. The
bones may have been concentrated as some sort of quicksand-like trap
caught many predators over time in one location.
Alocodon
(AL-co-don) Not a valid name. A small plant-eater, it was named for
the vertical grooves in its teeth. The teeth are the only described
remains of this animal.
Altirhinus
Taxon: Iguanodontia,
Hadrosauroidea
Name means: “high
snout”
Pronounced: al-ti-RIEN-us
Length: 25 feet
(8 m)
Time: c. 140 million
years ago, Early Cretaceous
Place: Mongolia
Diet: Plants
Details: Once known
as Iguanodon bernissartenis, Altirhinus is a plant eater that was named
in 1998. It was one of many closely related members of the iguanodon
family which lived all across the world. Iguanodons including Altirhinus
appear Early in the Cretaceous Period when flowering plants also spread.
Perhaps Iguanodons were better-suited to eating these new forms of vegetation
than earlier planteaters. Certainly Iguanodons had sophisticated and
strong grinding teeth and jaws, as well as large thumb spikes. The spikes
may have been used in feeding or defense.
Altispinax
(AL-tee-SPY-nacks). Not a valid name. A large European meateater named
from a single tooth.
Alvarezsaurus
Taxon: Alvarezsauria,
Saurischia
Name means: “Alvarez’s
lizard”
Pronounced: AHL-vahr-ez-SAWR-us
Length: 7 feet (2
m)
Time: 90 –
84 million years ago
Place: Argentina
Diet: Meat
Details: This small,
bird-like meat eater was found by a riverbank near the Argentine National
University's Museum of Natural Science. Alvarezsaurus is the first known
example of a what make be a new family of lightly built meateaters from
the Southern Hemisphere. It was probably a fast runner.
Alwalkeria
(Al-wah-KERR-ee-a) Not a valid name. A small primitive meateater from
India named for a British paleontologist.
Alxasaurus
[full page illustration]
Taxon: Therizinosauria
Name means: Alxa,
meaning desert in Mongolian
Pronounced: AHL-shah-SAWR-us
Length: 12 –
13 feet (3.5 – 4 m)
Time: 112 –
99 million years ago, Early Cretaceous Period
Place: Mongolia
Diet: Unknown, perhaps
plants and insects
Details: This long-legged
and long-clawed animal had a toothless beak. The huge front limbs and
claws and absence of teeth suggest it may have eaten bugs or roots which
it dug with its claws. This dinosaur was named in 1995 for the Alxa
Desert of Inner Mongolia where it was found. Alxasaurus is considered
to be the most primitive member of the strange and mysterious therizinosaurs.
These animals were descended from meateaters but did not have sharp
meat-slicing teeth. Some animals related to Alxasaurus have been found
with a thick feathery or fur-like body covering. Others have been found
with stomach stones, suggesting that these animals may have digested
plants.
Amargasaurus
[full page illustration]
Taxon: Sauropoda,
Diplodocimorpha
Name means: La Amarga,
a canyon in Argentina
Pronounced: ah-MAHR-gah-SAWR-us
Length: 28 feet
(12 m)
Time: 132 –
127 million years ago
Place: Argentina
Diet: Plants
Details: One of
the most unusual looking of the sauropod planteaters, Amargasaurus had
a double row of spines running from its neck to its tail vertebrae.
Paleontologists are uncertain as to why Amargasaurus had spines. According
to one theory the spines were a defense against predators which might
try to strike a killing bite to the neck. Other researchers have suggested
the tall spines may have acted as a cooling system, drawing heat away
from the animal’s body – which was relatively small among
the other giant planteaters it most closely resembles, the huge titanosaurs.
Amblydectes
(AM-blee-deck-tees) Not a valid name. It was named from footprints which
look like those of a duckbilled dinosaur.
Ammosaurus
(aka Amphisaurus)
Taxon: Sauropodomorpha
Name means: “sand
lizard” or “sandstone lizard”
Pronounced: AM-o-SAWR-us
Length: 8 –
13 feet (2.5 – 4 m)
Time: 195 –
180 million years ago
Place: Connecticut,
Nova Scotia, Arizona
Diet: Plants
Details: This primitive
planteater could walk on its hind legs or all fours, like all prosauropods.
More of this animal would be known but it was discovered by stone workers
in a Connecticut sandstone quarry in the 1800’s. Many of the bones
were left in the sandstone blocks that were placed into bridges in that
state. Only the rear half of the dinosaur was preserved by scientists.
It had a very strange discovery history, however. Discovered by quarrymen
in the sandstone beds of Connecticut, only the rear half of the fossil
survived. More Ammosaurus fossils were retrieved from a bridge when
it was demolished in 1969. What is now known --- including three vertebrae,
some hip bones and hind limbs --- Ammosaurus had a bulky body, small
feet, big hands with thumb claws, and a long tail.
Ampelosaurus
Taxon: Titanosauria
Name means: “vineyard
lizard”
Pronounced: AM-pel-o-SAWR-us
Length: 47 feet
(15 m)
Time: 71 –
65 million years ago, Late Cretaceous
Place: France
Diet: Plants
Details: Based on
an incomplete skeleton named in 1995, this large, long-necked plant-eater
had a bulky body with some armor and a long, stocky tail. Ampelisaurus
belongs to the titanosaur group of large planteaters with four legs
nearly equal in size, is the most common of all sauropods, worldwide
in the Cretaceous Period. Titanosaurs are not well-known in Europe,
and the only titanosaur known from North America is Alamosaurus.
Amphicoelias
(AM-fuh-SEAL-us) Not a valid name. This giant plant eating dinosaur
was named from a single backbone, the largest bone ever found. This
bone was reported by famous nineteenth century dinosaur paleontologist
Edwin Drinker Cope. Cope kept this nearly eight foot-long backbone in
his Philadephia home, but the enormous vertebra has disappeared.
Amphisaurus.
(AM-fee-sore-us) Not a valid name. See Anchisaurus.
Amtosaurus
(AM-toe-SORE-us)
Not a valid name. Known from bits of a skull found in Mongolia named
in 1882, Amtosaurus was thought to be an armored dinosaur but may be
from a duckbilled dinosaur instead. Not enough fossils are known to
determine if they represent a new kind of animal.
Amurosaurus
(A-murr-o-SORE-us) Not a valid name. Though this duckbilled dinosaur
was named in 1995 from two nearly complete skeletons found in Russia
it has never been scientifically described. So these large planteaters
may belong to already named species.
Amygdalodon
(A-mig-DUH-low-don) Not a valid name. A presumed large South American
plant-eater named from just a single tooth.
Anabisetia
(AN-a-Bih-SETT-ee-a). Not a valid name. A primitive Argentine bird-hipped
planteater only a few feet long, named for a female scientist but not
formally described.
Anamantarx
(an-ih-MAN-tarks) Not a valid name, but a spelling changed by the scientist
who found this armored dinosaur to Animantarx.
Anasazisaurus
Taxon: Hadrosaurinae
Name means: “Anasazi
lizard”
Pronounced: ahn-ah-SAH-zee-SAWR-us
Length: 31 feet
(10 m)
Time: 84 –
71 million years ago, Late Cretaceous
Place: New Mexico,
United States
Diet: Plants
Details: This hadrosaur,
which may be the same animal as Kritosaurus, was named in 1993 from
a skull found in the New Mexico desert.
Anatosaurus
(AN-at-toe-SORE-us) Not a valid name. A mistaken name for a duckbill,
a large planteater already named Edmontosaurus.
Anatotitan
Taxon: Hadrosaurinae,Ornithischia
Name means: Anas,
Latin for duck, Titan, Greek for giant
Pronounced: a-NAT-o-TIE-tan
Length: 31 –
40 feet (10 – 13 m)
Time: 65 million
years ago
Place: Montana,
South Dakota
Diet: Plants
Details: This large
duckbilled dinosaur weighed as much as four tons. It had strong, grinding
teeth, though the front half of its flattened muzzle was toothless.
Anatotitan had narrower, longer limbs than its close relative, Edmontosaurus.
Anchiceratops
Taxon: Ceratopsinae,
Ornithischia
Name means: Anchi,
Greek for near to, Keras, Greek for horn, Ops, Greek for eye or face
[HORNS NEAR THE FACE?]
Pronounced: ANG-ki-SER-a-tops
Length: 20 feet
(6 m)
Time: 84 –
65 million years ago, Late Cretaceous
Place: Alberta,
Canada
Diet: Plants
Details: A medium-sized
horned dinosaur with a large head and a long frill with a wavey frill
near its neck. It had two long, pointed horns at the brow and a shorter,
almost stubby horn at the snout. Some Anchiceratops had an extra knob
sticking up from the back of their frills – perhaps these were
the males. This dinosaur was first found by the man who discovered T.
rex, Barnum Brown. He named the first Anchisaurus specimen in 1914.
Since then five more skulls have been found, all in Alberta.
Anchisaurus
(also known as Yaleosaurus)
Taxon: Sauropodomorpha
Name means: Anchi,
Greek for near to
Pronounced: ANG-ki-SAWR-us
Length: 7 feet (2
m)
Time: 195 –
180 million years ago, Early Jurassic
Place: Connecticut,
Massachusetts, Nova Scotia
Diet: Plants
Details: Like Ammosaurus,
also known from the same time in New England, this prosauropod walked
on four legs, but could also walk on two. It had finely serrated, leaf-shaped
teeth for snipping leaves from their stems or vines. Ammosaurus had
relatively large eyes for its small head. Its neck was long and it strong
forelimbs with large, five digit hands. Near complete specimens have
been unearthed in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Anchisaurus was named
by famed Yale University dinosaur scientist Othniel C. Marsh in 1885.
Anchisauripus
(Ann-KEE-sore-ih-PUSS) Not a valid name. Not much more can be understood
of this animal than that it was some sort of meateating dinosaur, judging
from the single three-toed footprint found in Connecticut and named
in the early 1900’s.
Andesaurus
Taxon: Titanosauria
Name means: Andes,
South American mountain range
Pronounced: AN-de-SAWR-us
Length: 85 feet
(25 m)
Time: 112 –
94 million years ago, Early Cretaceous
Place: Argentina
Diet: Plants
Details: This gigantic
sauropod carried itself on four, sturdy legs. Though its exact length
is not known, the bones found suggest that it was one of the largest
of all dinosaurs. Each of its tail vertebrae were more than 2 feet long.
As in other titanosaurs, these tail bones had deep ball-and-socket joints,
much as is found in the human hip. This construction probably allowed
these dinosaurs to whip their long tails freely for defense. Andesaurus
was named in 1991.
Angaturama
(ANN-gah-TOO-rah-ma) Not a valid name. Named in 1996 from parts of a
single skull found in Brazil, it may be the same animal as the meat-eater
recently named Irritator.
Animantarx
(also known as Anamatarx)
Taxon: Ankylosauria
Name means: “living
fortress”
Pronounced: ann-ih-MAN-tahrks
Length: 10 feet
long (3 m)
Time: 99 –
90 million years ago, Late Cretaceous
Place: Utah
Diet: Plants
Details: This squat
dinosaur belonged to the nodosaurs,members of the ankylosaur group of
armored browsers without tail clubs. Animantarx’s name reflects
the elaborate armor of these animals, which covered all of their bodies,
even their eyelids. Animantarx was smaller than the later and better-known
armored dinosaurs of the Late Cretaceous American West which grew to
three times its length.
Ankylosaurus
Taxon: Ankylosauridae
Name means: Ankylo,
Latin/Greek for curved, crooked or bent
Pronounced: ANG-ki-lo-SAWR-us
Length: 30 –
35 feet (10 – 11 m)
Time: 71 –
65 million years ago, Late Cretaceous
Place: Montana,
Wyoming, Alberta
Diet: Plants
Details: Perhaps
the last and largest of the armored dinosaurs called ankylosaurs, Ankylosaurus
is often described as a "walking tank." The low-slung and
heavy animal showed an intricate arrangement of thick, bony plates across
its back, head, and other vulnerable areas. The bones of the last third
of its tail were held together rigidly by overlapping connections, and
the tail itself ended in a large, bulbous club. The stiffened tail and
club could be swung powerfully from side to side, and delivering a bone-crushing
blow to any predator unwary enough to approach too closely.
Anodontosaurus
Taxon: Ankylosauridae
Name means: “toothless
lizard”
Pronounced: an-o-DONT-o-SAWR-us
Length: 10 feet
long or less
Time: 76 - 79 million
years ago, Late Cretaceous
Place: Western Canada
Diet: Plants
Details: Anodontosaurus
was a small, plant eating ankylosaur named by Sternberg in 1929. It
was not actually toothless, but had teeth towards the back of the mouth.
Also known as Euoplocephalus.
Anoplosaurus
(AN-oh-plo-SORE-us). Not a valid name. Identified in 1879 in
England from few bones as an armored dinosaur. The bones may belong
to a duckbilled dinosaur or even a mix of bones of the two kinds of
dinosaurs.
Anserimimus
Taxon: Coelurosauria,
Ornithomimosauria
Name means: anser,
Latin for goose, Mimos, Greek for mimic
Pronounced: AN-ser-i-MIME-us
Length: 10 feet
(3 m)
Time: 80 –
70 million years ago, Late Cretaceous
Place: Mongolia
Diet: Small animals
Details: Anserimimus
was a relatively small member of the ostrich-like dinosaur group –
all of which were lightly built for speed and agility, with long legs.
This dinosaur is based on a single specimen without a skull, but is
presumed to be toothless or nearly so, like other ornithomimids. Without
teeth, this small meat-eater may have used its strong arms and shovel-like
claws to dig for insects or scoop out dinosaur eggs from nests. It also
may have hunted little mammals and lizards.
Antarctosaurus
Taxon: Titanosauria
Name means: Antarctic,
for the region
Pronounced: an-TARK-to-SAWR-us
Length: 100 feet
(30 m)
Time: 99 –
65 million years ago, Late Cretaceous
Place: Argentina,
Chile, Uruguay, Brazil
Diet: Plants
Details: This giant,
long-necked sauropod was among the biggest dinosaurs ever to walk the
Southern Hemisphere. It weighted as much as 50 tons. Like other titanosaurs,
it probably had a tiny head with weak jaws and teeth only towards the
front of its mouth. First found in Argentina in 1916, other specimens
were later found in Uruguay and Chile.
Antrodemus
(AN-truh-DEE-muss) Not a valid name. Named from fragments of what is
probably Allosaurus.
Apatodon
Not a valid name. Based on a piece of backbone of a meateater
which may have been Allosaurus. The fossil was first thought to be part
of a lower jaw, and then lost.
Apatosaurus
(also known as “Brontosaurus”)
Taxon: Diplodocidae
Name means: Apato,
Greek for fraud
Sauros, Greek for
lizard
Pronounced: a-PAT-o-SAWR-us
Length: 70 feet
to 90 feet long (21 – 26 m)
Time: 154 –
144 million years ago, Late Jurassic Period
Place: Oklahoma,
Utah, Wyoming, Colorado
Diet: Plants
This animal was
known as “Brontosaurus” until in 1911, when it was discovered
that the fossils given that name actually belonged to the previously
named Apatosaurus. Adding to the confusion, this long-necked sauropod
was for many years reconstructed with the head of the wrong dinosaur
found in the same quarry. Although originally given a boxy, Camarasaurus-like
skull, Apatosaurus is now recognized as one of the whip-tailed diplodocid
dinosaurs. Apatosaurus had a long, low snout tipped with peg-like teeth.
Although no longer one of the very longest known dinosaurs, Apatosaurus
truly was three times the length of a schoolbus and more solidly built
than most other diplodocid planteaters.
Aragosaurus
Taxon: Sauropoda,
Saurischia
Name means: “Aragón
lizard”
Pronounced: AR-uh-goh-SAW-rus
Length: 60 feet
long (18 meters)
Time: Early Cretaceous,
130 to 120 million years ago.
Place: Spain
Diet: Plants
Much like North
America’s Camarasaurus, this bulky four-legged planteater had
a powerful, muscular tail and heavy body. Only a single, partial fossil
was found in Spain and named in 1987.
Aralosaurus
Taxon: Hadrosaurinae
Name means: Aral
for Sea, Sauros, Greek for lizard
Pronounced: AR-a-lo-SAWR-us
Length: 20 feet
to 28 feet long (6 – 8 m)
Time: 94 –
86 million years ago
Place: Kazakhstan
Diet: Plants
Details: This Cretaceous
duckbill, similar to Canada's roman-nosed hadrosaur, Gryposaurus, had
a toothless beak and a stiff tail. Its fossils were found in a group,
suggesting that like other duckbills, it lived in herds.
Araucanoraptor
(AR-oo-CAN-o-RAP-tor) Not a valid name. Based on very fragmentary remains
of what may have been a relative of the child-sized meateater, Troodon.
Archaeoceratops
Taxon: Ceratopsia
Name means: “ancient
horned face”
Pronounced: AHR-kee-o-SER-a-tops
Length: 3 feet (
1 meter)
Time: 144 –
99 million years ago, Early Cretaceous
Period
Place: China
Diet: Plants
Details: One of
the first and smallest of all horned dinosaurs. A partial skeleton of
this animal was located in Chinese Mongolia and named by Chinese and
Japanese scientists in 1996.
Archaeopteryx
[full page illustration]
Taxon: Avialae,
Archaeopterygidae
Name means: “ancient
wing”
Pronounced: AHR-kee-OP-ter-iks
Length: 1.5 feet
long (45 cm)
Time: 151 –
144 million years ago, Early Jurassic Period
Place: Germany
Diet: Meat, insects
Details: Known from
eight specimens, one of which has been stolen, this is the oldest known
bird. With the feathers of a bird and the teeth, claws and tail of a
tiny, predatory dinosaur, Archaeopteryx provided the first good evidence
that the two groups - birds and dinosaurs - were linked. Until its tiny
feather impressions were detected in the finely grained Bavarian limestone
where it is found, one specimen of Archaeopteryx was mistaken for a
small meateating dinosaur, Compsognathus.
Archaeoraptor
(ARK-ee-oh-rap-tore) Not a valid name. Only recently discovered, details
of this small, birdlike animal are still largely unknown. Parts of the
specimen may have been deliberately altered by unethical fossil hunters.
First announced as a feathered raptor dinosaur, it is now thought to
be an artfully linked fake made of parts of two different and perhaps
individually important animals, one a bird, the other a raptor-like
dinosaur.
Archaeornis
(AHR-kee-OR-nis”). Not a valid name.
These remains are
now considered to belong to Archaeopteryx.
Archaeornithoides
Taxon: Coelurosauria,
perhaps Ornithomimosauria
Name means: “Archaeornis
form” -or- “known as first bird”
Pronounced: AHR-kee-OR-ni-THOY-deez
Size: 3 feet long
( 90 cm)
Time: Late Cretaceous,
84 to 80 million years ago
Place: Mongolia
Diet: Meat, insects
A poorly-known,
apparently bird-like dinosaur of which only fragmentary juvenile remains
have been found, so perhaps it grew considerably larger. Still, it is
one of the smallest of all dinosaurs. Archaeornithoides was named in
1992. Considered a this meat-eating dinosaur had three fingers. Only
the partial skull of a young Archaeornithoides has ever been found.
But that single specimen had three fingers like other ornithomimids.
Archaeornithomimus
Taxon: Ornithomimosauria
Name means: Archaio,
Greek for ancient
Ornithos, bird
Mimos, Greek for
mimic
Pronounced: AHR-kee-or-NITH-o-MIEM-us
Length: 11 feet
long (3.5 m)
Time: 112 –
99 million years ago, Early Cretaceous Period
Place: China
Diet: Meat
This ostrich like
dinosaur is perhaps the oldest known member of the ornithomimid group
of lightly built, largely tootheless meateaters, built for speed.
Arctosaurus
(ARK-to-SORE-us) Invalid name. This dinosaur was based upon crushed
fragments of a single vertebra of a small dinosaur found in Arctic Canada.
Argentinosaurus
[full page illustration]
Taxon: Titanosauria
Name means: “Argentine
lizard”
Pronounced: ahr-jen-TEEN-o-SAWR-us
Length: 85 feet
long, (25 meters)
Time: 99 –
94 million years ago, Late Early Cretaceous
Place: Argentina
The largest animal
ever to roam the earth. Agrentinosaurus was named in 1993. The first
of its remains were brought to scientists by a rancher in western Patagonia
in 1989 who initially mistook the five-foot long shin bone for a piece
of fossilized wood. Several vertebrae have been uncovered, as well as
parts of the hips. The largest backbones found are more than four and
one half feet wide and five feet tall, making them the most massive
bones ever found. As fossils filled with minerals, each backbone weighed
more than two tons.
Argyrosaurus
taxon: Titanosauria
name means: “Silver
lizard”
pronounced: AHR-gye-ruh-SAW-rus
size: 65 feet to
100 feet long (20 – 31 meters)
time: 73 million
to 65 million years ago
Place: Argentina,
Uruguay
Diet: Plants
The first large
planteater ever unearthed in South America, in the late 1800’s,
Argyrosaurus was likely larger than Apatosaurus, and one of the biggest
dinosaurs known. Only an oversized forelimb and scattered footbones
have been confirmed as fossilized Argyrosaurus bones. This sauropod’s
name refers to Argentina’s reputation as the “land of silver.”
Aristosaurus
(A-rist-oh-sore-us). Not a valid name for fragments of a primitive planteater
from South Africa known as Massospondylus.
Aristosuchus
(A-RISS-toe-SORE-us) Not a valid name. Fossils may not even be from
a dinosaur, but a crocodile.
Arkansaurus
(AR-kan-SORE-us) Not a valid name. Fragmentary fossils may belong to
a primitive ostrich-like dinosaur found in Arkansas.
Arrhinoceratops
Taxon: Ceratopsinae,
Chasmosaurinae
Name means: “without
nose-horn face”
Pronounced: a-RIEN-o-SER-a-tops
Length: 20 to 25
feet long (6 – 8 m)
Time: 71 –
65 million years ago, Late Cretaceous
Place: Alberta
Despite its “noseless”
name, this ceratopsian had a short, thick nose horn and a pair of medium
sized horns above its eyes. However, the structure of Arrhinoceratops
nose and face was shorter than other horned dinosaurs previously discovered.
Among its other unusual features, were three vertical holes down the
top center of its neck frill. Only two of these plant eating specimens
have been discovered, both in Alberta, Canada.
Arstanosaurus
(Ar-stan-o-sore-us) Invalid name. Fossil bits found in Kazakhstan indicate
what may have been either a horned dinosaur or a duckbilled dinosaur
Asiaceratops
Taxon: Ceratopsia
Name means: “Asian
horned face”
Pronounced: AY-zha-SER-a-tops
Length: 3 to 6 feet,
(1 – 2 m)
Time: 112 –
99 million years ago, Early Cretaceous
Place: Uzbekistan
, Kazakhstan in Central Asia
Diet: Plants
One of the few and
little known horned dinosaurs from Central Asia, not North America.
Asiaceratops was only about 6 to 7 feet long. Much like its American
counterpart, Montanoceratops, this small horned dinosaur was comparatively
small for a horned dinosaur. It was named in 1989, helping to change
scientific views that horned dinosaurs lived only in Mongolia, and then
in larger sizes, in North America.
Asiamericana
(AY-zha-MER-i-KAHN-a) Not a valid name. Based on three teeth found in
the central Kyzylkum desert of Uzbekistan, Central Asia, this animal
was classified as a meat-eating dinosaur from the spinosaur family,
but the fossils may actually have been teeth of a carnivorous fish.
Asiatosaurus
Invalid name. (A-see-AT-uh-sore-us) Invalid name. A description for
a giant planteater from Mongolia based on Caramaraurus-like teeth. Osborn
to name the species in 1924.
Astrodon
(ASS-truh-don) A doubtful name. See Pleurocoelus. Maryland’s state
dinosaur was named “star tooth” for the shape, looking across
the surface, of its planteater’s tooth. Its species name, johnstoni,
in honor of a dentist. This 33 foot long sauropod was a relatively small
member of those giant planteaters and is likely the same animal as the
better-known Pleurocoelus
Atlantosaurus
Doubtful name. Named for the mythical Greek Titan, Atlas, this genus
is generally considered to be Apatosaurus.
Atlasaurus
Taxon: Sauropoda
Name means: “Atlas
lizard”
Pronounced: AT-luh-SAWR-us
Length: 40 to 47
feet (13 – 15 m)
Time: 169 –
159 million years ago, Middle to Late Jurassic Period
Place: Morocco,
North Africa
Diet: Plants
This animal was
named for the Atlas Mountains of Morocco (which were named after the
Greek god Atlas). Atlasaurus was a four-legged planteater which resembled
the later Brachiosaurus, though Atlasaurus was only half as long. Atlasaurus
is rare among sauropods for being known from a nearly complete skeleton
and skull. The light and relatively small fossil heads of these giant
animals are rarely located.
Atlascopcosaurus
Taxon: Ornithopoda,
Hypsilophodontidae
Name means: “Atlas
Copco lizard”
Pronounced: AT-las-KOP-ko-SAWR-us
Length: 6 to 9 feet
long (2 – 3 m)
Time: 121 –
99 million years ago, Early Cretaceous
Place: Australia
Diet: Plants
This hard-to pronounce
name was created in 1989 by paleontologist Tom Rich to honor the Atlas
Copco drilling company for its help in excavating this and other dinosaurs
from the hard rock of southern Australia. One of several small, plant
eating dinosaurs found in Australia when that continent was within the
Antarctic Circle, Atlascopcosaurus lived in winter darkness and even
saw snow. It was identified by its jaws and teeth. A plannteater of
less than 250 pounds, it walked on its hind legs, much like other hypsilophodontids,
a group known worldwide at this time. It is most similar in its appearance
to the small American hypsilophodontid, Zephyrosaurus.
Atreipus
(ah-TREE-ih-pus). Doubtful name. A small planteater from Pennsylvania
known only from trackways.
Aublysodon
A doubtful name created from a few ungrooved teeth, unlike other tyrannosaur
dinosaurs, a group to which it may have belonged. from few fossil remains.
This may be the same animal as Stygivenator. This dinosaur was one of
the earliest dinosaurs named in America, in 1868.
Augustia
(AW-guss-TEE-a) A doubtful name. See Agustinia.
Austroraptor (AW-strow-RAP-tore)
A doubtful name. See Ozraptor.
Austrosaurus
(AUS-tro-sore-us) A doubtful name. This sauropod was named for Australia’s
position within the Southern Hemisphere. Only teeth and a partial skull
have been found but it is thought that they belonged to a plant-eater
about 50 feet long from the Late Cretaceous.
Avaceratops
(Full Page Illustration)
Taxon: Centrosaurinae
Name means: “Ava’s
horned face”
Pronounced: AY-va-SER-a-tops
Length: 8 feet long
(2.5 m)
Time: 84 –
71 mya, Late Cretaceous
Place: Montana
Diet: Plants
This small, horned,
frilled horned dinosaur is perhaps the most complete ever found in Montana.
Some scientists first thought relatively tiny horned dinosaur was actually
a young Centrosaurus. Now it is generally considered to be an adult.
Like other horned dinosaurs, it fed on low growing plants. was named
in 1996 in honor of its discoverer, rancher Ava Cole.
Avimimus
(AY-vi-MIEM-us). A doubtful name. This 3 foot long Mongolian meat-eater
was very bird-like in its small and slight appearance. It may have hunted
insects and small reptiles. Some experts believe it had feathers because
of distinctive small bumps on the fossilized forearms. This dinosaur
may be made up of bones of several animals.
Avipes
A doubtful name. A tiny, primitive meat-eater known from few fossils,
Avipes may not have been a dinosaur, but a member of a group closely
related to the ancestors of dinosaurs.
Azendohsaurus
A doubtful name. A prosauropod, or early large plant-eater named after
the Azendoh village in Marrakesh, Morocco but known from only a few
teeth and parts of a jaw.
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