dinosaur

Table of Contents

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images, Videos & Interactives

dinosaurs to scale

dinosaur phylogeny

Find out whether dinosaurs really had feathers

How were dinosaurs discovered?

Archaeopteryx: The holy grail of fossils

Dinosaur National Monument

Learn about the discovery of dinosaur “Sue” and the competition between collectors

The origins of birds.

Silhouette of a bird with outstretched wings holding a "Hello, my name is ?" badge, next to a set of four large, weathered bones on a dark background.

For Students

dinosaur summary

Read Next

illustration of the walking titanosaurus, Patagotitan mayorum

Titanosaurs: 8 of the World's Biggest Dinosaurs

Tyrannosaurus Rex attacking two Struthiomimus dinosaurs.

Did Dinosaurs Really Have Feathers?

Three parasaurolophus stand on a rock beach. Pterasaurs fly over head and a small mammal watches the dinosaurs as they meander along the water's edge.

What Happened to the Dinosaurs?

Therizinosaurus, theropod, dinosaur

6 Awesome Dinosaur Species You Should Know

Illustration of a group of Brachiosaurus dinosaurs in the water. Sauropod late Jurassic to early Cretaceous

Did Humans Live at the Same Time as Dinosaurs?

Discover

Hemp (Cannabis sativa).

9 Mind-Altering Plants

Illustration for Demystified "How Dangerous is Quicksand"

How Deadly Is Quicksand?

New Zealand. Political/Physical map. Includes locator.

Where Is “Old Zealand”?

Groups of depositors in front of the closed American Union Bank, New York City. April 26, 1932. Great Depression run on bank crowd

Causes of the Great Depression

Ahura Mazda - relief of the Zoroastrian god Ahura Mazda at the ancient ruins of Persepolis in Iran. Also known as Ormazd Zoroastrianism,

Which Religion Is the Oldest?

Rural Irish landscape, Sligo, Ireland.

Why Is Ireland Two Countries?

King Cobra snake in Malaysia. (reptile)

9 of the World’s Deadliest Snakes

dinosaur: Facts & Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

News •

Were dinosaurs headed for extinction even before massive asteroid strike? Scientists offer new clues • Apr. 12, 2025, 5:23 AM ET (CNN)

Skye footprints clue to dinosaurs' drinking habits • Apr. 2, 2025, 9:12 AM ET (BBC)

Weird Mongolian dinosaur wielded 'big, sharp and nasty' claws • Mar. 25, 2025, 11:12 PM ET (Reuters)

Facts

Also Known As	Dinosauria

Photos and Videos

dinosaurs to scale

dinosaur phylogeny

Dinosaur National Monument

Find out whether dinosaurs really had feathers

How were dinosaurs discovered?

Archaeopteryx: The holy grail of fossils

Learn about the discovery of dinosaur “Sue” and the competition between collectors

Silhouette of a bird with outstretched wings holding a "Hello, my name is ?" badge, next to a set of four large, weathered bones on a dark background.

See All Videos, Images and Interactives →

Topics

saurischian ornithischian theropod Thyreophora Sauropodomorpha cerapod Carcharodontosaurus Giganotosaurus feathered dinosaur Archaeopteryx lizard snake turtle Australopithecus pterosaur dinosauromorph ichthyosaur Titanoboa alligator sauropterygian

Key People

Sir Richard Owen, detail of an oil painting by H.W. Pickersgill, 1845; in the National Portrait Gallery, London

Richard Owen

British anatomist and paleontologist

Paul Sereno

American paleontologist

John Ostrom

American paleontologist

Edward Drinker Cope, c. 1889

Edward Drinker Cope

American paleontologist

Marsh, Othniel Charles

Othniel Charles Marsh

American paleontologist

Henry Fairfield Osborn

Henry Fairfield Osborn

American paleontologist

Mantell, detail of an engraving

Gideon Algernon Mantell

British paleontologist

Earl Douglass

American paleontologist

Edwin H. Colbert

American professor, curator, and paleontologist

Barnum Brown

American paleontologist

Quiz

Sea otter (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, rare, completely marine otter of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Floats on back. Looks like sea otter laughing. saltwater otters

Animal Group Names

Model of a molecule. Atom, Biology, Molecular Structure, Science, Science and Technology. Homepage 2010 arts and entertainment, history and society

Science Quiz

Lion (panthera leo)

Deadliest Animals Quiz

Young chimpanzee dressed in a shirt and sweater vest, scratching his head thinking. (primates)

Wild Words from the Animal Kingdom Vocabulary Quiz

27 True-or-False Questions from Britannica’s Most Difficult Science Quizzes

vulture. An adult bearded vulture at a raptor recovery center. The Gypaetus barbatus also known as the Lammergeier or Lammergeyer, is a bird of prey and considered an Old World vulture.

Animal Factoids

Mute swan with cygnet. (birds)

Match the Baby Animal to Its Mama Quiz

List

illustration of the walking titanosaurus, Patagotitan mayorum

Titanosaurs: 8 of the World's Biggest Dinosaurs

Therizinosaurus, theropod, dinosaur

6 Awesome Dinosaur Species You Should Know

illustration of the walking titanosaurus, Patagotitan mayorum

Titanosaurs: 8 of the World's Biggest Dinosaurs

Two dinosaur heads showing feeding habits: meat eater ceratosaurus, plant eater psittacosaurus, dinosaurs

5 Questions About Dinosaurs Answered

Demystified

Illustration of a group of Brachiosaurus dinosaurs in the water. Sauropod late Jurassic to early Cretaceous

Did Humans Live at the Same Time as Dinosaurs?

Three parasaurolophus stand on a rock beach. Pterasaurs fly over head and a small mammal watches the dinosaurs as they meander along the water's edge.

What Happened to the Dinosaurs?

Pterodactyl Fossil. Pterodactilus Spectabilis

Why Are Pterodactyls Not Dinosaurs?

Tyrannosaurus Rex attacking two Struthiomimus dinosaurs.

Did Dinosaurs Really Have Feathers?

Three parasaurolophus stand on a rock beach. Pterasaurs fly over head and a small mammal watches the dinosaurs as they meander along the water's edge.

What Happened to the Dinosaurs?