DinoFact
When and Where Dinosaurs Lived
Facts about the age of dinosaurs — the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous — and where dinosaurs lived around the world.
- That supercontinent is called Pangaea.
- Dinosaurs lived on every continent on Earth.
- Allosaurus was a top hunter of the Jurassic.
- T. rex and Triceratops lived in the Cretaceous.
- The age of dinosaurs is also called the Mesozoic Era.
- The Jurassic period is named after the Jura Mountains.
- Stegosaurus lived in the Jurassic, not the Cretaceous.
- The Triassic was the first part of the age of dinosaurs.
- Dinosaurs lived on every continent, including Antarctica.
- Dinosaur fossils have been found on all seven continents.
- Those periods are the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous.
- There are dinosaur fossils on display on every continent.
- The Jurassic was when giant long-necked dinosaurs roamed.
- The Cretaceous was the last part of the age of dinosaurs.
- Over time, the continents drifted to where they are today.
- Yangchuanosaurus was a large Jurassic meat-eater from China.
- The earliest dinosaurs were small and lived in the Triassic.
- Long ago, all the continents were joined in one giant landmass.
- Torvosaurus was one of the biggest meat-eaters of the Jurassic.
- Did you know dinosaur fossils have been found on every continent?
- Tyrannosaurs dominated the northern continents in the Late Cretaceous.
- The extinction event is known as the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary.
- Abelisaurids were short-armed predators common in the southern continents.
- As the land split apart, different dinosaurs ended up on different continents.
- The end-Cretaceous extinction wiped out about three-quarters of Earth's species.
- The three periods of the Mesozoic Era are the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous.
- The Mesozoic Era is often called the 'Age of Reptiles' or the 'Age of Dinosaurs.'
- Stegosaurus lived in the Jurassic; T.rex lived at the very end of the Cretaceous.
- Archaeopteryx, from the Late Jurassic, shows a mix of dinosaur and bird features.
- Dinosaurs rose to dominance after an extinction event at the end of the Triassic.
- The first flowers appeared during the Cretaceous, changing many dinosaur habitats.
- Hadrosaurs are sometimes called the 'cows of the Cretaceous' due to their abundance.
- As continents drifted apart, dinosaur faunas on different landmasses grew more distinct.
- Titanosaurs were a diverse group of sauropods that survived to the end of the Cretaceous.
- Khaan means 'lord'. It was a Late Cretaceous omnivore from Mongolia — a small oviraptorid.
- Pangaea began breaking apart during the dinosaur age, isolating populations on new landmasses.
- Niebla means 'fog'. It was a Late Cretaceous carnivore from South America — a small abelisaur.
- At the time many dinosaurs lived, Earth's continents were joined in the supercontinent Pangaea.
- Non-avian dinosaurs went extinct about 66 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous Period.
- Yulong means 'Yu dragon'. It was a Late Cretaceous omnivore from China — known from baby specimens.
- Tsaagan means 'white'. It was a Late Cretaceous carnivore from Mongolia — a velociraptorine raptor.
- Sinornis means 'Chinese bird'. It was a Early Cretaceous carnivore from China — an early true bird.
- Some dinosaur groups thrived only on certain continents, like abelisaurs in the southern hemisphere.
- Equijubus means 'horse mane'. It was a Early Cretaceous herbivore from China — an early hadrosauroid.
- Viavenator means 'road hunter'. It was a Late Cretaceous carnivore from South America — an abelisaur.
- Genusaurus means 'knee lizard'. It was a Early Cretaceous carnivore from France — an early ceratosaur.
- Jainosaurus means 'Jain's lizard'. It was a Late Cretaceous herbivore from India — an Indian sauropod.
- Eocarcharia means 'dawn shark'. It was a Early Cretaceous carnivore from Niger — had blade-like teeth.
- Shunosaurus means 'Shu lizard'. It was a Middle Jurassic herbivore from China — had a small tail club.
- Magnapaulia means 'Paul's giant'. It was a Late Cretaceous herbivore from Mexico — a giant lambeosaur.
- The Early Cretaceous carnivore Gansus ('from Gansu') lived in what is now China — an early water bird.
- Yanornis means 'Yan bird'. It was a Early Cretaceous carnivore from China — an early fish-eating bird.
- Datai means 'great peace'. It was a Early Cretaceous herbivore from China — an early armored dinosaur.
- Volgatitan means 'Volga titan'. It was a Early Cretaceous herbivore from Russia — a Russian titanosaur.
- Sellosaurus means 'saddle lizard'. It was a Late Triassic herbivore from Germany — an early plant-eater.
- Xuwulong means 'Xu Wu's dragon'. It was a Early Cretaceous herbivore from China — an early hadrosauroid.
- Xixianykus means 'Xixia claw'. It was a Late Cretaceous carnivore from China — a small fast alvarezsaur.
- Banji means 'striped crest'. It was a Late Cretaceous omnivore from China — a small crested oviraptorid.
- Sapeornis means 'SAPE bird'. It was a Early Cretaceous herbivore from China — an early seed-eating bird.
- Ambopteryx means 'both wings'. It was a Late Jurassic omnivore from China — had bat-like membrane wings.