A List of Dinosaurs with Pictures for You
There are so many dinosaurs out there, and data is always changing. It can be hard to keep track of which dinosaur is which and the characteristics they have based solely on their name.
This list of dinosaurs with pictures offers some unique facts about 13 more popular dinosaur species and images to help you understand what they might have looked like.
List of Dinosaurs with Pictures
1. Parasaurolophus
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Parasaurolophus is an herbivorous dinosaur. Technically, it is a genus of dinosaurs that means “near-crested lizard”. Under this genus, there are three current species, which are P. walkeri, P. tubicen, and P. cyrtocristatus.
The picture does not specify which of the three species they created. However, it is likely P. walkeri. This is the type of species that stands for the genus, and it has a curved crest, but fairly straight spines along the back.
Based on fossil records, it appears to be a Cretaceous Period species found in North America. It could walk on either two or four legs, like other hadrosaurids. They are different from other beaked dinosaurs in that they have narrower beaks. Theories behind this suggest that the genus could have been a more select eater.
This artist works in depth with 3D modeling software. To get such accurate dinosaurs, they break apart the animal into bones, muscles, and structures. However, some liberties have to be made as there isn’t a lot known about these dinosaurs, including coloring.
2. Spinosaurus
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Spinosaurus, though it enjoys swimming in the water, is a dinosaur. It is carnivorous and is thought to be the largest known carnivorous dinosaur. Its name comes from the giant spine shaped like a sail on its back.
There is a lot of speculation on what the purpose of the sail is. There are some arguments for regulating temperature, being used for mating, and even storing water and lipids. They survived mostly on fish, but have been found to eat other dinosaurs and even pterosaurs.
New research into Spinosaurus shows that it had a tail that is similar to that of a salamander. This allows them to move freely in the water, instead of being regulated to minimal direction changes.
While this picture doesn’t show the tail, there is a link to a video where its potential swimming prowess is shown.
3. Eoraptor
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At first glance, this might come across as a Velociraptor. However, despite their similar appearance, they are drastically different species. First, Euroraptor is one of the oldest dinosaurs to have been found. They were thought to be alive around 23 to 190 million years ago. In fact, it is considered to be very closely related to the ancestors of all dinosaurs.
Additionally, these dinosaurs aren’t even that closely related to Velociraptors. They aren’t in the group dromaeosaurs and are part of the sauropodomorph group, which is composed of all herbivores.
This picture is a little incorrect. The artist did mention that they realized they put one too many fingers on each hand of the dinosaur, so they should have two instead of three. However, it is also very representative of older versions of Eoraptor, which was thought to be a predator and not an herbivore.
4. Brachiosaurus
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Brachiosaurus is one of the most well-known long-necked dinosaurs. This acrylic painting covers a lot of the characteristics of a Brachiosaurus, including its long neck, stocky build, and even its head shape.
It existed around the late Jurassic Period, specifically in the area we now know as North America. Bones were first found in Colorado. However, they have also been found in Algeria, Portugal, and Tanzania.
Research has recently revealed that large dinosaurs such as this were considered gigantotherms, which means their temperature was regulated simply because of their size. However, their size isn’t known.
Most of the fossils that have been successfully uncovered have not been from fully-grown dinosaurs. It is suggested that they could reach over 82 feet long and 62 tons. It is also estimated that they aren’t even the largest dinosaur species and that other sauropods are thought to have been bigger and heavier.
5. Diplodocus
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Diplodocus looks very similar to the Brontosaurus in appearance. However, they were longer and thinner. They could get up to 175 feet long, which would make them quite a bit longer than Brontosaurus, but they were also lighter due in part to their thin frame. Diplodocus was actually the longest animal to have ever existed on land.
Interestingly, they aren’t the tallest, as that would go to Brachiosaurus. Being the longest means they had a long neck and a long, whip-like tail. Its tail is made up of many tiny bones, most small enough to fit in the palm of your hand.
Another big difference is that Diplodocus tended to live in groups. Where Brontosaurus was often solitary, Diplodocus could be found in herds of up to 100 individuals.
6. Nodosaur
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This Nodosaur is a relatively new species of dinosaur to be discovered. It was found in 2011 by a team in Canada while mining. The dinosaur was well preserved, appearing to almost be a mummy rather than just bones.
The genus was classified as borealopelta, which means “northern shield” and was thought to live during the Cretaceous Period. It is closely related to Ankylosauridae, but there are some differences, even just on the surface.
It didn’t have the till clubs that Ankylosauridae had, but instead had armor that was rough with sharp points to keep enemies at bay. It was thought to be 18 feet long and around 3,000 pounds. Many liken it to a rhinoceros.
7. Styracosaurus
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Styracosaurus is often found around Alberta, Canada, and Montana, US. They are closely related to Triceratops and belong to the same group of dinosaurs.
In the beginning, the Ceratopsians group had dinosaurs that walked on two legs. They didn’t have the frills and horns we see with later species. However, around the end of the Cretaceous Period, the group adapted.
They started to walk on four legs and developed thick horns and frills. Despite their intimidating appearance, they are solely herbivores. It is a genus of dinosaurs instead of its own species, and there are a couple of individual species underneath it. However, there is a lot of debate on whether the species are truly individual species, or if they may belong to another group.
8. Carnotaurus and Antarctopelta
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This picture does an excellent job of showing dinosaurs in action. Specifically, it shows a moment where the predator Carnotaurus, is about to attack an herbivorous dinosaur known as Antarctopelta.
The picture is fairly modern, showing some of the possible colors and uses of feathers that dinosaurs may have had.
Carnotaurus is a unique carnivore of the time. It is said to have a short skull, spiked armor across the body, horns over the eyes, which were small, and had smaller arms than even a T-Rex. Even its bite force was weak, though its jaws could open wide. But what it did have was speed, and was able to easily chase down agile prey.
Antarctopelta was an herbivore. Its bones are commonly found in Antarctica. It is a type of Nodosaur and was thought to have bony armor and spikes along its back for protection. It was related closely to ankylosaurids and had a similar strategy to survive, minus a tail club.
9. Tyrannosaurus Rex
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Of course, a dinosaur list can’t be complete without a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Easily one of the most recognizable dinosaurs, it was a carnivore that walked on two legs, had two tiny arms, and had a large head.
They were popular during the Cretaceous Period, and plenty of specimens of the species have been found to offer a lot of information about the species. Despite this, scientists don’t know much about whether these dinosaurs had scales or feathers, and what color their skin might have been.
Though in movies it is often shown to be a terrifying and murderous carnivore, new research supports the idea that they might have been scavengers. There is still debate over the information.
10. Chasmosaurus
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Another species related to Triceratops is the Chasmosaurus. It has the standard large head frills and horns that come with other dinosaurs in the Ceratopsians group. It was one of the earliest dinosaurs with long frills.
It had a pretty small body, but the frill certainly made up for the small size, being almost the same length as the head. Additionally, it seems that Chasmosaurus had different horns among each dinosaur, even of the same species. There is some suggestion that the different horns come from the differing genders, however.
Right now, there are thought to be 18 different species under the genus. Not much is known about this species, despite being found in the very early 1900s.
11. Mosasaurus
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Technically, a Mosasaurus isn’t a dinosaur. Dinosaurs are specifically land animals, though they can occasionally swim in the water. However, the Mosasaurus lives its entire life in the water. For this reason, it’s just an ancient aquatic reptile.
However, it was alive during the late Cretaceous Period and shares a lot in common with dinosaurs. It would eat almost anything it could get its mouth on, including sharks, Plesiosaurs, fish, and seabirds.
Mosasaurus was one of the most heavily built aquatic reptiles. Its build leads many scientists to suggest that it enjoyed slow and larger prey, rather than hunting or chasing smaller creatures.
12. Stegosaurus
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Stegosaurus is a plated dinosaur that was found in the late Jurassic Period. It has large triangular plates across its back and a heavily spiked tail. Despite being a large dinosaur, around 21 to 30 feet in length, it had a relatively small brain.
There have been quite a few studies on the use of large plates across the back. Recently, some research has shown that the plates alternate across the back, instead of running in two parallel lines.
These plates also have blood vessels in them, which has promoted a theory that they were used to assist with temperature regulation. The blood vessels close to the surface would be able to dissipate heat and keep the body cooler. In cooler weather, they could have easily absorbed some of the warmth from the sun when turned correctly.
For a while, there was a misconception that the dinosaur had an extra brain near the tail, but it is more likely that the enlarged area was actually used to store glycogen, as we see in many animals currently alive.
13. Nasutoceratops
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Nasutoceratops is a genus of Ceratopsian dinosaurs. It was the second one to ever be discovered in the southwest part of the United States. Since there aren’t as many species of Ceratopsian dinosaurs in the south as in the north, it was thought that something happened to create geological barriers.
These geological barriers created isolated populations that then evolved on their own. This is one theory of how Nasutoceratops came to be. However, there still is a lot unclear, as only the bones of the skull and a few random pieces have ever been found.
Currently, there is only one known species, which is N. titusi. They appear to have horns that look very similar to those of cattle, where they curve inwards and upwards at the tip to make pretty strong weapons for both defending and attacking.
