Different Types of Dinosaurs
Interested in learning about various types of dinosaurs?
Dinosaurs have fascinated people since they were first discovered in the 1800s. We have come so far in our understanding of these creatures since, but there is also still so much we don’t know.
There was huge diversity between each species, so many different types of species, and it was over such an unthinkably long period of time that they existed. They inspire so much curiosity in those both young and old!
We will be exploring this age old love, appreciation and fascination in this blog today. We’ll first go into the 20 most famous dinosaurs, some you’ll definitely have heard of and others may be new to you. We’ll be using some technical terms so if there’s anything you don’t understand or need a reminder on then check the later sections where we go into what it all means. We’ll be discussing the different diets of dinosaurs, the periods of time that they existed in, and the different types of dinosaurs themselves.
We hope you love it and learn a lot about differnt kinds of dinosaurs!
20 Most Famous Dinosaurs
Allosaurus
A large carnivorous theropod from the Late Jurassic period. They’re a successful, bipedal (they walk on two legs) predator which was assisted by the many sharp, serrated teeth in their huge skull. Their large tail helps balance them, which means they averaged around 8.5 meters long.
Ankylosaurus
A large herbivorous Ankylosauria from the Late Cretaceous period that is believed to be one of the last dinosaurs to exist. They walked on four legs, were between 6-8 meters long and had a broad, robust body. They would browse on leaves with their beak-shaped jaw that had rows of small leaf-shaped teeth.
Apatosaurus
A herbivorous sauropod from the late Jurassic period. Their name means ‘deceptive lizard’ and they were a very large, long-necked dinosaur that walked on four legs and had a whip-like tail. They had an average length of over 20 meters, lived in herds and were a browser style eater.
Archeopteryx
A small, carnivorous theropod from the late Jurassic period. They’re bird-like, only reaching around 0.5 meters long – similar to a raven. Their broad wings made them strong fliers, but they could walk too. They had jaws filled with sharp teeth, a long bony tail, and three toes with deadly claws.
Baryonyx
A large carnivorous theropod from the early Cretaceous period. They could be around 10 meters in length and their name means ‘heavy claw’. This describes the very large claw on its first finger. They had a mouth very similar to a crocodile, which was filled with sharp, finely serrated teeth which they caught fish with.
Brachiosaurus
A large herbivorous sauropod from the late Jurassic period. They had most of the classic features of a sauropod, and grew to around 20 meters in length. However they had longer forelimbs than usual so their long trunk was steeper and tail shorter. As a browser, they ate from a height of around 9 meters.
Carnotaurus
A carnivorous theropod from the late Cretaceous period. They were large but lightly built so they were likely a quick runner. They also had some specialised features for a theropod – a deep skull on a muscular neck and two horns on its head above the eyes. Scientists think these were likely used for fighting.
Dilophosaurus
A carnivorous theropod from the Early Jurassic period. They were around 7 meters long but slender, and were likely one of the first large predatory dinosaurs – helped by their long, curved teeth. Their name ‘two-crested lizard’ comes from the distinctive, arched double crests on top of their head, with an unclear purpose.
Diplodocus
A herbivorous sauropod from the Late Jurassic period. They were one of the more easily identifiable dinosaurs, with a classic sauropod shape – four sturdy legs as well as a long neck and tail. They were largely horizontal, and their long whip-like tail balanced them. They browsed for shrubs with their small peg-like teeth.
Gallimimus
A large omnivorous theropod from the Late Cretaceous period. They were around 6 meters long, and one of the fastest dinosaurs to exist. They’re considered one of the ‘ostrich dinosaurs’ and were likely feathered. As an omnivore they probably ate whatever was available – they had both a carnivorous toothless beak and herbivorous ridges in their mouths.
Giganotosaurus
A large carnivorous theropod from the Late Cretaceous period. Although their exact size is unclear due to incomplete fossil remains, they are still thought of as one of the largest known terrestrial carnivores. They’re likely to have been about 12.5 meters long, and their teeth were long and serrated – almost blade-like, making them a likely apex predator.
Iguanodon
Large herbivorous ornithopod from the Early Cretaceous period. They were quite advanced and could shift from their usual four legs to two, and were relatively large at around 10 meters in length. They had distinct thumb spikes which were likely for defence, and they had many sharp teeth – like an iguana’s but larger!
Pachycephalosaurus
A herbivorous pachycephalosaurid from the Late Cretaceous period. Like most pachycephalosaurids they were a bipedal herbivore with strong legs and relatively small arms with five fingered hands. They had a beak for cropping plants, and the large bony dome on their head was surrounded by spikes. These may have been for head-butting contests or for display.
Parasaurolophus
They were a large herbivorous ornithopod from the Late Cretaceous period. They likely lived on four legs but could also support themselves on the back two. They were duck-billed, grinding down the plants they ate, and had a distinctive crest on their head. One theory says this may have been for making sounds – which scientists have been able to recreate!
Pteranodon
A carnivorous pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous period – not technically a dinosaur, but instead a ‘flying reptile’. One of the largest pterosaurs and a strong flier, the males had a 6 meter wide wingspan. They had toothless beaks with a long, thin point and primarily ate fish. They also had a boney crest pointing up and back from the skull.
Spinosaurus
A large carnivorous theropod from the Late Cretaceous period, whose name means ‘spine lizard’. This is due to their distinctive ‘sail’ made from tall neural spines growing on their back and covered in a thin skin. It could be up to 1.5 meters high! Spinosaurus was large – around 14 meters long, lived by water, and largely ate fish.
Stegosaurus
A herbivorous thyreophora (armoured) dinosaur from the Late Jurassic period. They were a large, slow dinosaur that would have used its powerful spiked tail to defend itself from predators. They are known for having kite-shaped plates sticking upright along their backs. These may have warned off predators, regulated body temperature, or been a recognition tool.
Triceratops
These were a relatively large, herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period. They are one of the most easily recognisable dinosaurs with their skull bearing 3 horns, a parrot-like beak, and a large frill that could reach almost a meter across. They were usually around 8 – 9 meters long and scientists think they lived individually.
Tyrannosaurus Rex
Or ’T-Rex’ for short, was a carnivorous theropod from the Late Cretaceous period. They’re amongst the biggest known land predators, and the largest carnivore in its environment at around 12 meters long – making them an apex predator. They had 60 huge, strong, pointed teeth with a powerful bite. Their massive skull was balanced by their long, heavy tail.
Velociraptor
Commonly nicknamed ‘raptor’, they were a carnivorous theropod from the Late Cretaceous period. They were relatively small, being just over 1.5 meters long – similar to a turkey! They were feathered, and had a large sickle-shaped claw on both feet for fighting and restraining prey. A large reinforced tail maintained their balance while they did so.
Different Dinosaurs Classified by Their Diet
Dinosaurs came in all shapes and sizes, and one of the best ways to classify them is by their diet. Some were fierce meat-eaters, known as carnivores, who hunted other animals for food. Others were gentle giants, called herbivores, that fed on leaves, plants, and trees. A few dinosaurs were omnivores, eating both plants and meat.
Understanding what dinosaurs ate helps us learn more about their behavior, how they survived, and the role they played in their prehistoric world. In this section, we’ll explore the different types of dinosaurs based on their diets, with images to help young children remember them easily.
Herbivores
This describes all types of animals which feed on plants. Even though dinosaurs are often thought of as aggressive meat-eating creatures which fought with and hunted one another, the majority of dinosaurs were actually herbivores – around 65% of them. In fact some of the largest dinosaurs that ever existed, the sauropods, were all herbivores.
The things a herbivore would eat would usually be trees, bushes, fruits, vegetables, or nuts. What they ate likely depended on what had evolved to exist at the time they were alive, and what was available in the part of the world they were living in. For example, flowering plants only appeared in the Cretaceous period, where they later became the most widespread plant available.
Scientists can usually tell a dinosaur’s diet by their teeth. Herbivores usually had wide, flat teeth that they used to grind down and mash tough plant material. However some sauropods couldn’t chew and had sharp or peg-like teeth that raked at leaves and shredded them smaller so that they could swallow them.
Carnivores
This literally means ‘meat eater’ – so a diet which is made up of eating other animals. Carnivorous dinosaurs, although so popular in people’s perceptions of them, were not the majority type.
Carnivorous dinosaurs would often have powerful jaws and large, long and sharp teeth. But it depends upon exactly which animals they were eating – whether it was mammals, fish, reptiles, or even insects. Some dinosaurs would hunt and eat other dinosaurs, like the powerful apex predator the Tyrannosaurus Rex. Others would hunt only the young as they were more vulnerable and easier to catch.
Omnivores
This describes a diet which is made up of a variety of different food – from both plants and animals.
There were not a huge amount of dinosaurs who were able to eat both plants and other animals, and it’s thought to have only been between 1 to 2%. Omnivorous dinosaurs would likely have been agile and opportunistic and could adapt well to different environments.
Scientists could tell a dinosaur was an omnivore by their teeth too – they had sharp, deadly teeth but these were often mixed alongside the broader teeth better suited for grinding plants. Of course, as with all of the dinosaurs, scientists would also be able to look at and analyse the contents of their stomachs to see exactly what they had eaten. But this is only possible if the fossil remains were preserved well enough, which is quite rare.
Piscivorous
These are carnivorous animals that survive on eating fish.
Usually you could tell if a dinosaur was piscivorous in a couple of ways. One key feature was claws which they would have used to grab and hook fish out of the water with. The other is a long, narrow snout with they could use underwater to quickly lunge and bite fish with. Alternatively, a completely different method would be looking at where the fossilised remains were usually found – if they were always found in or nearby to places which had water sources then it’s likely that fish made up part of their diet.
Piscivorous dinosaurs are technically carnivores as they eat fish, which are of course themselves animals. This means however that all piscivorous dinosaurs were carnivores, but not all carnivores were piscivorous!
See below for a list of the different diets and what dinosaurs fall under each category.
Herbivores
- Triceratops
- Protoceratops
- Styracosaurus
- Centrosaurus
- Chasmosaurus
- Parasaurolophus
- Edmontosaurus
- Maiasaura
- Corythosaurus
- Lambeosaurus
- Ankylosaurus
- Euoplocephalus
- Nodosaurus
- Saichania
- Polacanthus
- Stegosaurus
- Kentrosaurus
- Tuojiangosaurus
- Huayangosaurus
- Wuerhosaurus
- Pachycephalosaurus
- Homalocephale
- Brachiosaurus
- Diplodocus
- Apatosaurus
- Argentinosaurus
- Camarasaurus
- Brontosaurus
- Mamenchisaurus
- Alamosaurus
- Plateosaurus
- Massospondylus
- Riojasaurus
- Iguanodon
- Hypsilophodon
- Camptosaurus
- Dryosaurus
- Leaellynasaura
- Tenontosaurus
- Heterodontosaurus
Carnivores
- Tyrannosaurus rex
- Velociraptor
- Allosaurus
- Spinosaurus
- Giganotosaurus
- Carnotaurus
- Megalosaurus
- Ceratosaurus
- Baryonyx
- Suchomimus
- Carcharodontosaurus
- Albertosaurus
- Daspletosaurus
- Tarbosaurus
- Troodon
- Deinonychus
- Utahraptor
- Dromaeosaurus
- Coelophysis
- Dilophosaurus
- Herrerasaurus
- Compsognathus
- Monolophosaurus
- Cryolophosaurus
- Proceratosaurus
- Sinraptor
- Mapusaurus
- Yangchuanosaurus
- Oviraptor
- Ornitholestes
- Majungasaurus
- Rajasaurus
- Eoraptor
- Struthiomimus
- Gallimimus
- Therizinosaurus
Omnivores
- Oviraptor
- Therizinosaurus
- Gallimimus
- Struthiomimus
- Ornithomimus
- Troodon
- Sinornithosaurus
- Anzu
- Citipati
- Falcarius
- Beipiaosaurus
- Chirostenotes
- Nothronychus
- Erlikosaurus
- Caudipteryx
Piscivorous
- Spinosaurus
- Baryonyx
- Suchomimus
- Irritator
- Oxalaia
- Hesperonis
- Gilmoreosaurus
- Siamosaurus
- Rugosodon
- Yangchuanosaurus
Dinosaurs Across the Periods
We’ve also mentioned a few time periods when discussing the dinosaurs so we thought it would be useful to explain these and go over what happened in them.
The Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods are all part of what’s called the Mesozoic Era. This is commonly called the ‘age of reptiles’ and was between over 252 million years and 66 million years ago. This Era was the one in which the world’s supercontinent, named Pangaea, began separating into the continents we now recognise today.
Dinosaurs first appeared in the Middle Triassic period, and they later became the Earth’s dominant animal somewhere between the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic periods.
It’s also important to note that just because dinosaurs existed in the same period does not mean that they would have met. As you will see, each period covered many millions of years so it was entirely possible for species to evolve and die out within just a period. And secondly, even though dinosaurs are large, so too is planet Earth! Although Earth and its continents were more connected, there were still often distinct areas that different dinosaur species lived in. For example, whilst they both lived in the Late Cretaceous period, the Spinosaurus existed in Northern Africa and the Carnotaurus lived in South America.
Triassic Period
252 – 201 million years ago.
Just before the Early Triassic period began there was a large extinction event which wiped off the majority of life on Earth that existed at the time. The Pangaea supercontinent had not yet begun to separate and was a hot, dry environment.
The Middle Triassic period is when dinosaurs began to appear. Pangaea started to separate and life on Earth had developed quickly after the mass extinction. Archosaurs were the main group on the planet – the ‘ruling reptiles’ which had all grown larger and larger. There were many animals that were part of this group, such as birds, crocodiles, dinosaurs, and other animals which died out at later times. Dinosaurs were relatively primitive at first, and there was not quite as much diversity between them at this time.
In the Late Triassic period, the weather was much more varied with spells of hot weather and rain. This warming led to a boom in the dinosaur evolution on land as the continents also continued to separate from one another.
Jurassic Period
201 – 145 million years ago.
The Jurassic period is the most well-known of these three time periods for having dinosaurs, largely because of the success of the Jurassic Park books and movies! The climate during the Jurassic period was overall more tropical and humid, and the Pangaean supercontinent separated into two distinct pieces with many more bodies of water emerging.
Another extinction event at the end of the Triassic period wiped out a large number of animals on Earth, leading there to be little competition in the Early Jurassic period for dinosaurs and other archosaurs to be the dominant animals. Theropods such as Dilophosaurus were at the top of the food chain at this time.
In the Middle Jurassic period dinosaurs really flourished. You would have been able to find large herds of sauropods like the Brachiosaurus and Diplodocus roaming around, and also newer and larger predators such as the Allosaurus.
In the Late Jurassic period archaic birds also began to evolve. As the continents continued to separate it encouraged the evolution of new dinosaurs. For example, the increasing number of larger predator dinosaurs prompted the evolution of armour-bearing dinosaurs like the Stegosaurus or Ankylosaurus.
Cretaceous Period
145 – 66 million years ago.
The Cretaceous period was the longest period of the Mesozoic Era but was only split into two sections. It was when the Earth’s continents began to take shape into something we would find recognisable today, and dinosaur diversity reached its peak.
In the Early Cretaceous period the weather changed and became more seasonal, with the poles getting colder too. Flowering plants appeared for the first time, quickly evolved and became the dominant plant group, as well as there being an increase in the number and variety of birds. There was a decline in the diversity of sauropods. There were a great variety of dinosaurs that existed at this time – armoured, carnivorous and herbivorous, thick-skulled, and also feathered.
The Late Cretaceous period saw the Earth cooling. Tropical areas were restricted only to the equator and the planet had regular seasons. Tyrannosaurs, Ankylosaurus’, and also duck-billed dinosaurs dominated the food web at the time. Much variety and diversity continued, and the largest known dinosaurs existed at this time – the Titanosaurians. These were a group of sauropods, the last of the long-necked ones. Thought to be the largest of these, the Argentinosaurus, could reach a length of 35 meters!
The end of the Cretaceous period saw another mass extinction event, the most famous of them all. A large meteor between 10 and 15 kilometres wide smashed into Earth 66 million years ago and 75% of life became extinct, including the dinosaurs.
See below for examples of dinosaurs which existed at each of these different times.
Triassic Period
- Coelophysis
- Plateosaurus
- Herrerasaurus
- Eoraptor
- Shuvosaurus
- Rutiodon
- Mussaurus
- Postosuchus
- Hyperodapedon
- Liliensternus
- Aleosaurus
- Chindesaurus
- Cygnosaurus
- Teyuwasu
- Sanjuansaurus
- Procompsognathus
- Staurikosaurus
- Syntarsus
- Marasuchus
- Teratophoneus
- Fukuiraptor
- Saurornitholestes
- Pisanosaurus
- Dromomeron
- Lufengosaurus
- Chindesaurus
- Matheronodon
- Dromaeosaurus
- Ischigualastia
- Massospondylus
Jurassic Period
- Apatosaurus
- Brachiosaurus
- Stegosaurus
- Allosaurus
- Diplodocus
- Camarasaurus
- Ceratosaurus
- Plateosaurus
- Mymoorapelta
- Megalosaurus
- Iguanodon
- Coelurus
- Kallosaurus
- Othnielosaurus
- Camptosaurus
- Falcarius
- Eotrachodon
- Choyrodon
- Lourinhanosaurus
- Baryonyx
- Ornitholestes
- Dryosaurus
- Matheronodon
- Eustreptospondylus
- Neovenator
- Rhabdodon
- Hypsilophodon
- Cionodon
- Gallimimus
- Shunosaurus
- Xenoposeidon
- Tendaguria
- Syntarsus
- Tehuelchesaurus
- Piatnitzkysaurus
Cretaceous Period
- Tyrannosaurus rex
- Triceratops
- Velociraptor
- Spinosaurus
- Ankylosaurus
- Stegosaurus
- Parasaurolophus
- Brachiosaurus
- Brachylophosaurus
- Corythosaurus
- Edmontosaurus
- Pachycephalosaurus
- Maiasaura
- Therizinosaurus
- Giganotosaurus
- Dromaeosaurus
- Iguanodon
- Saurolophus
- Pliosaurus
- Alamosaurus
- Deinonychus
- Kritosaurus
- Hadrosaurus
- Hypsilophodon
- Eotrachodon
- Fukuiraptor
- Nodosaurus
- Troodon
- Archaeopteryx
- Shantungosaurus
- Rugosa
- Chasmosaurus
- Microceratus
- Matheronodon
- Kryptops
Differnt Types of Dinosaur Groups
Dinosaurs lived millions of years ago and came in many shapes and sizes. Scientists classify them into different groups based on their physical features, how they moved, and what they ate. Some dinosaurs had long necks and tails, while others had sharp claws and powerful jaws. Understanding these groups helps us learn more about how dinosaurs lived and adapted to their environments.
In this section, we’ll explore the different types of dinosaurs, each with a description to help young children learn about them easily. By breaking down their unique traits, we can make learning about these fascinating creatures fun and educational for kids.
1. Theropods
These were a really diverse group of dinosaurs. They all were bipedal – so they walked on two strong legs, and often had shorter arms which could help them grab at prey. Their bones were hollow to make them lighter, and most of them had three toes and claws on each limb. Most theropods were carnivorous and ate meat.
They were a range of different sizes – the Compsognathus was around the size of a chicken, but the Tyrannosaurus Rex was around the same size as the largest African elephant.
Modern day birds are believed to have evolved from theropods, so if you think about it – birds are a living group of dinosaurs!
Here’s a few examples of Theropod dinosaurs.
- Tyrannosaurus rex
- Velociraptor
- Allosaurus
- Spinosaurus
- Carnotaurus
- Giganotosaurus
- Baryonyx
- Deinonychus
- Troodon
- Dilophosaurus
2. Sauropods
These were often the largest types of dinosaurs. In fact, the largest sauropod to exist is the largest known creature that’s ever walked the Earth.
They typically stood on four short but stocky legs and had a large and long torso, a small head on a very long and tall neck, and a long and often whip-like tail. These tall necks helped them eat from heights other animals couldn’t reach – like how the giraffe does. This in fact inspired the name of a large sauropod named the Giraffatitan. And their long tails worked to balance the long necks.
They were all herbivores. Their teeth were often spoon or peg-shaped and they used them to gather food. They would then swallow it without chewing and the presence of bacteria or stones they had also swallowed would help them digest food in their gut.
Here’s a few examples of Sauropod dinosaurs:
- Brachiosaurus
- Argentinosaurus
- Apatosaurus
- Diplodocus
- Brontosaurus
- Camarasaurus
- Giraffatitan
- Saltasaurus
- Mamenchisaurus
- Alamosaurus
- Futalognkosaurus
- Sauroposeidon
- Shunosaurus
- Barosaurus
- Euhelopus
3. Thyreophora
This type of dinosaur contains armoured dinosaurs, and is split into two main groups. Both of them were usually herbivores.
3.a Thyreophora (Stegosaurs)
In these four legged dinosaurs, their front legs tended to be shorter than their hind legs, their backs were arched, and they had short, wide feet. Their skull and brain were usually quite small so they likely weren’t known for their intelligence!
Most notably they had double rows of armoured plates running along their backs and hips, and spikes on the end of their tails. These may have been for temperature regulation purposes, or a display so they were recognisable to other dinosaurs. The tail spikes are likely to have been a defensive weapon.
Here’s a few examples of Stegosaurs dinosaurs:
- Stegosaurus
- Wuerhosaurus
- Tuojiangosaurus
- Shunosaurus
- Kentrosaurus
- Chialingosaurus
- Miragaia
3.b Thyreophora (Ankylosauria)
These dinosaurs also walked on four legs, but these tended to be shorter and each was the same length. This meant they likely waddled a little, and walked quite slowly and close to the ground.
They were also armoured, but in a very different way. Their whole backs tended to be covered in a mosaic of armoured plates, and in some dinosaurs could also have spikes or bumps too.
Here’s a few examples of Ankylosauria dinosaurs:
- Ankylosaurus
- Euoplocephalus
- Polacanthus
- Nodosaurus
- Saichania
- Talarurus
- Minmi
4. Ceratopsians
Most ceratopsians were four legged herbivores that had an upper jaw like a beak (named a rostral), and a bony frill on the back of their skulls. They also often had horns on their brows.
Early ceratopsians were small bipedal animals. However, they later evolved to become more recognisable animals that walked on four legs, had horns on their head, and had sophisticated frills over their neck. Although the exact purpose of these frills is unknown, scientists think they may have been to regulate temperature, protect the vulnerable neck from predators, to attach the neck and their strong chewing muscles, or any combination of the above.
Here’s a few examples of Ceratopsians dinosaurs:
- Triceratops
- Protoceratops
- Styracosaurus
- Centrosaurus
- Chasmosaurus
- Pentaceratops
- Torosaurus
- Pachyrhinosaurus
- Zuniceratops
- Psittacosaurus
- Nasutoceratops
- Einiosaurus
- Kosmoceratops
- Diabloceratops
- Mojoceratops
5. Ornithopods
These were a large group of bipedal herbivore dinosaurs. They were pretty successful, having been found in many different areas and different time periods. They were initially relatively small and bipedal but later evolved to become larger, more advanced, and walk on four legs in some species.
Their beaks were designed for cropping vegetation and plant matter as they grazed. They chewed their food well with wide and blunt teeth found inside their cheeks, in order to grind it down to be digested.
Here’s a few examples of Ornithopds dinosaurs:
- Iguanodon
- Hadrosaurus
- Parasaurolophus
- Maiasaura
- Edmontosaurus
- Corythosaurus
- Hypacrosaurus
- Lambeosaurus
- Saurolophus
- Shantungosaurus
- Rhabdodon
- Telmatosaurus
- Matheronodon
- Ouranosaurus
- Eotrachodon
6. Pachycephalosauria
These were a type of bipedal dinosaurs that were largely herbivores, if not sometimes omnivores. They never grew to huge sizes, and had good eyesight and smell compared to other dinosaurs.
However their most distinct feature is a marked thickening of their skulls, often at the forehead. This created a dome-like shaped head or a head with a wedge shape. Scientists are not exactly sure what the purpose of this was for. It may have been so members of the same species could recognise each other, for display, or for head-butting each other like how rams do nowadays.
Here’s a few examples of Pachycephalosauria dinosaurs:
- Pachycephalosaurus
- Stygimoloch
- Dracorex
- Homalocephale
- Prenocephale
- Goyocephale
- Stegoceras
- Sphaerotholus
- Malawisaurus
- Wannanosaurus
- Acrotholus
- Colepiocephale
We hope you learned a lot about different types of dinosaurs in this blog post. Check out our website for other resources to learn even more, or to get creative with colouring or printables.