6 Awesome Dinosaur Species You Should Know

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Therizinosaurus, theropod, dinosaur
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

You may have heard of the tyrant king of lizards, Pachycephalosaurus, late Cretaceous dinosaur. A herbivore with a distinctive, thick, dome-shaped skull and a low spiky snout.

PachycephalosaurusEncyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Dreadnoughtus, late Mesozoic dinosaur, titanosaur, sauropod

Dreadnoughtus
Dreadnoughtus, the largest dinosaur whose size can be calculated reliably. A very complete fossil of this sauropod was unearthed in 2009. In life Dreadnoughtus was 26 metres (85 feet) long and weighed about 65 tons.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Velociraptor, late Cretaceous dinosaur. This ferocious predator's feet bore large sickle-shaped claws on its second toes.

VelociraptorEncyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Contrary to what Jurassic Park would have you believe, although they reached up to 1.8 meters (6 feet) in length, Ankylosaurus, Ankylosauridae, dinosaurs

Ankylosaurus
Ankylosaurus.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc./Patrick O'Neill Riley

Compsognathus, late Jurassic dinosaur. A swift and agile predator, it was one of the smallest known dinosaurs.

Compsognathus
Compsognathus, late Jurassic dinosaur. It was a swift and agile predator and one of the smallest known dinosaurs.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The diminutive members of the genus Therizinosaurus, theropod, dinosaurs

TherizinosaurusEncyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The therizinosaurs are scary-looking late Cretaceous theropods from Asia and North America. They were probably not carnivorous, despite their nightmarish Freddy Krueger claws. These unusual dinosaurs had a small skull and leaf-shaped teeth but lacked teeth in the front half of the upper jaw.

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