Biodiversity
Brain
EntomOLogy
Genetics
Marine BiOLogy
MicrobiOLogy
PaleontOLogy
ZoOLogy
AnthropOLogy
ArchaeOLogy
Astronomy
Climate Change
Earth
Physics
Beyond T. rex
Beyond
T. rex
Some dinosaurs have all the luck.
They get to be movie stars and popular toys, and their bones attract huge crowds at museums.
Apatatosaurus
excelsus
You know the ones we are talking about...
But these popular dinosaurs tell only a small part of the story. Paleontologists have identified over 400 different species of extinct dinosaurs.
To see some strange and unusual dinosaurs you've never heard of (unless you're a paleontologist), explore this cladogram.
HOW TO EXPLORE:
This cladogram is like a family tree. It's a way of organizing dinosaurs based on the unique characteristics they share, like a three-toed foot or a hole in the hip socket.
- Click on an orange dot to explore a "node." It shows how dinosaurs on a branch of this tree are related by the physical characteristics they share.
- Click on a dinosaur to discover more about it.
Ornithischia
A special feature shared by ornithischians is a special extra bone at the end of their upper jaw which supported a beak.
Dinosauria
A special feature shared by dinosaurs is a depression forming a hole in the hip.
Saurischia
A special feature shared by saurischians is a hand with a big thumb with the fingers getting shorter as you get further from the thumb.
Birds
A special feature shared by birds is a bony tail that is very short and made of fused tail bones.
Thyreophora
A special feature shared by thyreophorans is skin with bones embedded in it that formed nodules, plates and spikes.
Sauropoda
A special feature shared by sauropods is at least eleven, and sometimes more, bones in their necks.
Theropoda
A special feature shared by theropods is a foot with 3 main toes for support.
Click on a node
To discover what these groups have in common
Click on the
dinosaur names
to learn more about them
Credits:
All dinosaur illustrations: Rick Spears