Checklist of cool dinosaurs with photos and details. Uncover the best dinosaurs of the Mesozoic Period!
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Cool Dinosaurs
Cool dinosaurs are dinosaurs which have talents, bodily traits or life which can be a bit of out of the atypical. Chasmosaurus, for instance, has an enormous bony frill behind its head; Tarbosaurus had even smaller arms than T. rex; and Carnotaurus is a singular predatory dinosaur with horns.
We’re not saying that well-known dinosaurs corresponding to T. rex are boring – removed from it – however on this web page we’ve targeting lesser-known dinosaurs that true dinosaur followers will recognize.
Different Dinosaur Lists
High 10 Cool Dinosaurs Checklist With Photos And Information
What’s your favourite cool dinosaur? Are there some other cool dinosaurs that you just assume ought to be on this record? Tell us within the feedback part on the backside of the web page!
10. Tarbosaurus
- Sort of dinosaur: Theropod
- The place discovered: Asia
- Interval: Late Cretaceous
- Dimension: 39 ft. / 12 m
- Cool characteristic: Asia’s T. rex
Whereas tyrannosaurids corresponding to T. rex, Albertosaurus and Gorgosaurus have been terrorizing North America in the course of the Late Cretaceous, their cousin Tarbosaurus was doing the identical in Asia.
The title Tarbosaurus means “alarming lizard”, which is apt for such a fearsome animal.
Though not fairly as huge as Tyrannosaurus, Tarbosaurus was nonetheless a big tyrannosaurid, reaching 39 ft. / 12 m in size and as much as 5 metric tonnes / 5.5 brief tons in weight.
Its arms, nonetheless, weren’t fairly as spectacular. T. rex could also be identified for its small forelimbs, however these of Tarbosaurus have been even smaller.
Arms clearly weren’t necessary for big tyrannosaurids. Tarbosaurus hunted giant dinosaurs corresponding to sauropods and hadrosaurs (its tooth marks have been discovered on the fossilized stays of Saurolophus and different dinosaurs).
9. Euoplocephalus
- Sort of dinosaur: Ornithischian
- The place discovered: North America
- Interval: Late Cretaceous
- Dimension: 23 ft. / 7 m
- Cool characteristic: Tail membership
Euoplocephalus, whose title means “well-armed head”, was a member of Thyreophora, a gaggle of dinosaurs generally known as “armored dinosaurs”. This group accommodates two sub-groups: Stegosauria and Ankylosauria; Euoplocephalus belongs to the latter.
This 2.5 (metric) tonne Cretaceous Interval dinosaur was constructed like a tank, with thick bony armored plates masking its highly effective physique. It was additionally well-armed, with a formidable bony membership on the finish of its tail. Regardless of its fearsome look, Euoplocephalus was herbivorous, geared up with a beaked mouth for consuming low-growing foliage.
Euoplocephalus appeared barely earlier than its larger and better-known cousin, Ankylosaurus. It turned extinct round 10 million years earlier than the top of the Cretaceous Interval.
8. Deinocheirus
- Sort of dinosaur: Theropod
- The place discovered: Asia
- Interval: Late Cretaceous
- Dimension: 33 ft. / 10 m
- Cool characteristic: Lengthy arms with 10 in. / 25 cm lengthy claws.
Deinocheirus is an ornithomimosaur (ostrich-dinosaur). Dinosaurs on this group have been typically fast-moving bipedal animals, with an look and way of life just like the residing hen after which the group is known as.
Deinocheirus was the most important ornithomimosaur, and in contrast to others within the group, appears to not have been constructed for pace. It might have relied as an alternative on its giant measurement as a protection towards predators.
The arms of Deinocheirus have been nearly 8 ft. / 2.4 m lengthy; a number of the longest of any bipedal dinosaur. The lengthy arms and highly effective claws have been probably used for digging or reaching for foliage.
Deinocheirus was most likely an omnivore that foraged in aquatic environments.
7. Chasmosaurus
- Sort of dinosaur: Ornithischian
- The place discovered: North America
- Interval: Late Cretaceous
- Dimension: 16.5 ft. / 5 m
- Cool characteristic: Big bony frill behind the top
Chasmosaurus was a herbivorous, beaked dinosaur in the identical household, Ceratopsidae, because the extra well-known Triceratops.
Like different ceratopsians, Chasmosaurus had a horn on its nostril and above every eye, however that’s not why it’s on this record of cool dinosaurs: what made Chasmosaurus stand out was its monumental frill.
The frill is unlikely to have been used both as a weapon or as armor. It’s because it was not a strong plate of bone; it was extra like a body, with two giant openings that may have been coated in pores and skin.
Though it’s not possible to know for certain, paleontologists assume that in actual life the frill could have been brightly coloured and / or patterned, and used for show or courtship functions.
6. Ceratosaurus
- Sort of dinosaur: Theropod
- The place discovered: North America / Europe
- Interval: Late Jurassic
- Dimension: 20 ft. / 6 m
- Cool characteristic: Armed with three horns: one on the snout; one other above every eye.
The title Ceratosaurus means “horned lizard”. It refers back to the dinosaur’s fearsome array of horns – one on the nostril, and one other above every eye. One other distinctive characteristic of this Jurassic predator was a row of bony plates, generally known as scutes, that ran alongside its neck, again and tail.
Ceratosaurus could have used its horns to battle different males for dominance.
Armed with extra-long tooth, which projected as much as 3.7 in (9.3 cm) from the gum, Ceratosaurus was a mid-sized predator that will have specialised in catching fish and different aquatic prey. Some paleontologists counsel that its deep, skinny tail was used for swimming.
You will discover out extra about Ceratosaurus on this web page: Ceratosaurus Information
5. Carnotaurus
- Sort of dinosaur: Theropod
- The place discovered: South America
- Interval: Late Cretaceous
- Dimension: 30 ft. / 9 m
- Cool characteristic: Armed with fearsome horns
At round 30 ft. / 9m in size, Carnotaurus wasn’t the most important of the theropods, but it surely was one of the vital distinctive; above every eye was a outstanding horn. It is a characteristic seen in few different predatory dinosaurs.
Paleontologists are not sure as to the precise perform of Carnotaurus’s horns. The dinosaur additionally had a really highly effective neck, so it’s doable that the horns have been utilized by the males when preventing to ascertain dominance.
Weighing round 1.35 metric tonnes / 1.49 brief tons, Carnotaurus was comparatively athletic, and able to reaching speeds of as much as 35 mph / 56 kmh.
4. Carcharodontosaurus
- Sort of dinosaur: Theropod
- The place discovered: Africa
- Interval: Late Cretaceous
- Dimension: 41 ft. / 12.5 m
- Cool characteristic: Named after the good white shark
Carcharodontosaurus was a big theropod dinosaur that roamed North Africa within the Late Cretaceous. This fearsome predator weighed as much as 7 metric tonnes, and was the same measurement to North America’s T. rex.
The primary Carcharodontosaurus fossils to be discovered have been tooth, and it’s after its tooth that the dinosaur is known as; Carcharodontosaurus means “nice white shark lizard”. The 8 inch lengthy, serrated tooth resemble these of the modern-day ocean predator.
Armed with a mouthful of these fearsome tooth, and supported by mighty thigh muscle mass, Carcharodontosaurus probably preyed on sauropods. It is among the largest land predators that has ever lived.
3. Styracosaurus
- Sort of dinosaur: Ornithischian
- The place discovered: North America
- Interval: Late Cretaceous
- Dimension: 18 ft. / 5.5 m
- Cool characteristic: Giant horned frill
Some dinosaurs had horns, some had a big frill, however Styracosaurus took issues one step additional by having a big frill with horns on. Along with this unbelievable head-piece, this cool dinosaur has a rhino-like nostril horn that grew to round 2 ft. / 60 cm in size.
Styracosaurus’s shield-like frill was adorned with at least six giant horns. The precise perform of the horned frill is unknown, however the almost certainly rationalization is that it was used as a show to draw mates.
Styracosaurus is believed to have lived in herds as a result of giant numbers of fossils have been present in the identical location.
2. Europasaurus
- Sort of dinosaur: Sauropod
- The place discovered: Europe
- Interval: Late Jurassic
- Dimension: 20 ft. / 6.2 m
- Cool characteristic: A miniature Brachiosaurus
Sauropods have been the giants of the Mesozoic Period; dinosaurs corresponding to Brachiosaurus, Apatosaurus and Diplodocus have been colossal, long-necked, long-tailed animals that lumbered round on 4, tree-trunk-like legs. Sauropods are the most important land animals ever to have walked on Earth.
Europasaurus was completely different. Though it seemed like a typical sauropod, it was a lot, a lot smaller. Reaching an grownup size of 20 ft. / 6.2 m, Europasaurus was only a fifth of the dimensions of the most important sauropods.
Europasaurus is believed to have lived on an island that had grow to be remoted from the mainland. Its small measurement is an instance of a organic course of generally known as “insular dwarfism”, through which species evolve smaller physique sizes because of residing in a confined space.
1. Deinonychus
- Sort of dinosaur: Theropod
- The place discovered: North America
- Interval: Early Cretaceous
- Dimension: 9.75 ft. / 3 m
- Cool characteristic: Deinonychus was the dinosaur on which the “Velociraptors” of Jurassic Park have been primarily based.
The title Deinonychus means “horrible claw”, which is sufficient to warrant its inclusion in an inventory of cool dinosaurs. However that’s not all that makes Deinonychus particular; this mid-sized predator helped change the general public’s complete notion of dinosaurs. American paleontologist John Ostrom used it for instance of a new-breed of fast-moving, nimble and sensible dinosaurs; beforehand, dinosaurs had been thought to be being slow-moving, cumbersome and slow-witted.
The killer claws after which Deinonychus is known as are situated on the hind ft, one on every second toe. They have been round 4.7 in. (12 cm) in size.
But one more reason that Deinonychus ought to be included on this record of cool dinosaurs is that it’s the “true” velociraptor within the Jurassic Park movies. Though the dinosaurs within the movie have been primarily based on Deinonychus, author Michael Crichton used the title Velociraptor as a result of he felt it was extra dramatic.
