Rhamphorhynchus — Rhamphorhynchus was a long-tailed pterosaur of the Jurassic period. Its name means ’beak snout’. Only 17.5 cm (7 in) long but with a wingspan of 100 cm (3 ft), it was less specialized than the later pterodactyloids. It had a long tail stiffened with ligaments which ended in a diamond-shaped vane. Rhamphorhynchus ate fish, frogs,and insects and it …

Plesiosaurs — Plesiosaurs Greek: plesios meaning ’near’ or ’close to’ and sauros meaning ’lizard’) were carnivorous aquatic (mostly marine) reptiles. After their discovery, they were somewhat fancifully said to have resembled “a snake threaded through the shell of a turtle”, although they had no shell. The common name ’plesiosaur’ is applied both to the ’true’ plesiosaurs (Suborder Plesiosauroidea) and to …

Plateosaurus — Plateosaurus (meaning ’flat lizard’) is a genus of plateosaurid prosauropod dinosaur that lived during the Norian and Rhaetian stages of the Late Triassic period, around 216 to 199 million years ago in what is now Europe. There are two currently recognized species, P. engelhardti and P. longiceps, although others have been assigned in the past. Discovered in 1834 …

Mastodon — Mastodons or Mastodonts are members of the extinct genus Mammut of the order Proboscidea and form the family Mammutidae; they resembled, but were distinct from, the woolly mammoth which belongs to the family Elephantidae. Mastodons were browsers while mammoths were grazers. Mastodons are thought to have first appeared almost four million years ago. They were native to both …

Iguanodon — Iguanodon is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur that lived roughly halfway between the first of the swift bipedal hypsilophodontids and the ornithopods’ culmination in the duck-billed dinosaurs. Most Iguanodon species lived between 140 to 120 million years ago, in the Valanginian to Barremian ages of the Early Cretaceous Period of Europe, although possible remains are known from North …

Diplodocus — Diplodocus is a genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaur whose fossils were first discovered in 1877 by S. W. Williston. The generic name, coined by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1878, is a Neo-Latin term derived from Greek in reference to its double-beamed chevron bones located in the underside of the tail. These bones were initially believed to be unique …

Corythosaurus — Corythosaurus meaning ’helmet lizard’ because of the shape of its crest (Greek korythos meaning ’helmet’ and sauros meaning ’lizard’) was a genus of duck-billed dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous Period, about 80 million years ago. It lived in what is now North America. The first specimen was discovered in 1912 by Barnum Brown in Red Deer River, Alberta, …

Brachiosaurus — Brachiosaurus meaning “arm lizard”, from the Greek brachion was a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived during the Late Jurassic Period. It was named thus because its forelimbs were longer than its hind limbs. One of the largest animals ever to walk the earth, it has become one of the most famous of all dinosaurs and is widely …

Baluchitherium — The correct Latin names for fossils in this group (the indricotheres) are a matter of uncertainty. It is also widely known as “Baluchitherium” (“beast of Baluchistan”), as it was first discovered in Baluchistan, western Province of Pakistan. This genus name, Baluchitherium Forster Cooper 1913, is now widely regarded as a synonym of his earlier genus Paraceratherium Forster Cooper …

Apatosaurus — Apatosaurus popularly (though incorrectly) known as Brontosaurus, is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived about 140 million years ago, during the Jurassic Period. It was one of the largest land animals that ever existed, with an average length of 23 meters (75 ft) and a mass of at least 23 metric tons (25 short tons). The name …