How to Identify Types of Dinosaurs

There are over 800 confirmed dinosaur species and thousands of unconfirmed species that roamed the earth's surface. Breaking dinosaurs down into similar groups can help identify them. With so many to identify, it's easier to study them based on the era they lived in, physical characteristics or habitat.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Identify Dinosaurs from different Periods

1. Learn about dinosaurs based on the periods of time they inhabited the earth. Look at the three periods of dinosaurs, ranging from 250 million years ago to 65 million years ago. They are the Triassic, the Jurassic and the Cretaceous periods.

2. Identify dinosaurs such as the Hererrasaurus or the Eoraptor from the Triassic period. These smaller, meat-eating dinosaurs are the oldest known to live.Larger, plant-eating dinosaurs and bird-type dinosaurs called the Pterosaurs followed in this period.

3. Find out about the next period of dinosaurs. The Jurassic Period probably has the most well-known dinosaurs in the group thanks to movies and books that focus on them. Larger dinosaurs like the Allosaurus took over the lands ruled by the smaller dinosaurs before this time.

4. Study the final era of dinosaurs. During the Cretaceous Period, the Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops were among many others that lived before complete extinction occurred at the end of this final period.

Identify Dinosaurs Based on Habits and Physical Characteristics

5. Put dinosaurs in groups according to diet or physical characteristics. The Theropods were all meat-eating dinosaurs that walked on two legs. This group includes the Tyrannosaurus.

6. Look for larger, plant-eating dinosaurs in the Sauropods group. Most, like the Apatosaurus and Diplodocus, walked on four legs and had long necks.

7. Find the smaller, plant-eating dinosaurs in a group called the Ornithopods. These smaller dinosaurs, like the Tsintaosaurus or the Iguanodon, walked on two legs.

8. Identify the Ceratopsians like the Triceratops. These horned dinosaurs were all plant-eaters.

9. Study the Stegosaurs with armor-like plates to protect them from meat-eaters. They were plant-eaters that walked on four legs.

10. Read about the Ankylosaurs, another well armored group of dinosaurs that were plant eaters and walked on four legs. These were usually a longer bodied dinosaur with long necks and tails.

11. Find the Pachycephalosaurs dinosaur group. All had very thick skulls and were believed to be plant eaters.

Tips & Warnings

• Many reference materials refer to plant eating animals as herbivores, meat eaters as carnivores and those that consume both, as omnivores.

Resources

• Yahoo! Kids dinosaurs
• Types of dinosaurs