Dinosaur families
Scientists sort dinosaurs into groups by the shape of their bones — especially hips, skulls and teeth. Each group has its own colour and icon on DinoVerse.
Two big branches: “lizard hips” and “bird hips”
🦎 Saurischia (lizard-hipped)
Theropods (like T. rex — and birds!) and sauropods (long-necks).
🐦 Ornithischia (bird-hipped)
Plant-eaters with a beak: ornithopods, ceratopsians, stegosaurs, ankylosaurs and pachycephalosaurs.
Confusingly, birds evolved from the “lizard-hipped” theropods, not the “bird-hipped” ornithischians — the bird-like hip evolved twice. A 2017 study (the “Ornithoscelida” hypothesis) even suggested regrouping theropods with ornithischians; the debate continues.
Dinosaur groups
- TheropodsTwo-legged hunters
Theropods were dinosaurs that walked on two legs. Many were meat-eaters with sharp teeth and claws, like Tyrannosaurus rex. Birds are theropods too, so you can still see one outside your window!
17 on DinoVerse
- SauropodsLong-necked giants
Sauropods were the biggest animals ever to walk on land. They had super-long necks for reaching lots of plants and tiny heads. Some were longer than three school buses!
8 on DinoVerse
- OrnithopodsBird-footed plant-eaters
Ornithopods were plant-eating dinosaurs with beaks. Some, like Iguanodon, had a spiky thumb. Others, the duck-billed dinosaurs, had hundreds of teeth for munching plants.
5 on DinoVerse
- CeratopsiansHorned and frilled faces
Ceratopsians were plant-eaters with beaky mouths and big frills on their heads. Many, like Triceratops, also had horns. Their frills and horns may have helped them show off and stay safe.
5 on DinoVerse
- StegosaursPlates and tail spikes
Stegosaurs were plant-eaters with tall plates on their backs and sharp spikes on their tails. They swung their spiky tails to fight off hungry hunters. Their heads were small for such big bodies.
2 on DinoVerse
- AnkylosaursArmoured tanks
Ankylosaurs were like living tanks. Their backs were covered in bony armour, and some had a heavy club on their tail. Even their eyelids could have armour!
3 on DinoVerse
- PachycephalosaursDome-headed dinosaurs
Pachycephalosaurs had thick, round domes on their heads, like built-in helmets. Scientists think they may have bonked heads or pushed each other with them. They walked on two legs and mostly ate plants.
2 on DinoVerse
Not dinosaurs (but often mixed up)
- PterosaursFlying reptiles
Pterosaurs were flying reptiles that lived at the same time as dinosaurs, but they were not dinosaurs. Their wings were made of skin held up by one very long finger. Some were as small as a sparrow, and some were as tall as a giraffe!
3 on DinoVerse
- PlesiosaursFour-flippered sea reptiles
Plesiosaurs were reptiles that swam in the sea using four big flippers. Some had extra-long necks, and others, called pliosaurs, had giant heads and teeth. They lived at the same time as dinosaurs but were not dinosaurs.
2 on DinoVerse
- MosasaursGiant sea lizards
Mosasaurs were huge sea lizards with strong tails and sharp teeth. They are related to today’s lizards and snakes, not to dinosaurs. The biggest mosasaurs were as long as a bus!
1 on DinoVerse
- IchthyosaursDolphin-shaped sea reptiles
Ichthyosaurs were sea reptiles shaped a lot like dolphins. They had giant eyes and swam fast to catch fish and squid. They lived in the ocean, but they were not dinosaurs.
1 on DinoVerse
- SynapsidsEarly cousins of mammals
Synapsids are the big family that mammals belong to. Early synapsids, like sail-backed Dimetrodon, lived even before the dinosaurs. Dimetrodon looks like a reptile, but it is actually more closely related to you than to any dinosaur!
1 on DinoVerse
- MammalsFurry milk-makers
Mammals are animals with fur that feed their babies milk, like dogs, whales and you! The first mammals were tiny and lived alongside the dinosaurs. After the big dinosaurs died out, mammals grew into giants like woolly mammoths.
1 on DinoVerse