553Mesozoic
Bennettites
Bennettites
Tough pinnate leaves crowned cycad-like trunks around compact flower-like reproductive organs.
LIFE ARCHIVE
570 vanished lives
Browse extinct life from traces nearly 1.9 billion years old to historically recorded extinctions.
Explore geological time
Paleozoic
- Cambrian538.8–486.85 million years ago34 records ↗
- Ordovician486.85–443.1 million years ago12 records ↗
- Silurian443.1–419.62 million years ago14 records ↗
- Devonian419.62–358.86 million years ago41 records ↗
- Carboniferous358.86–298.9 million years ago60 records ↗
- Permian298.9–251.902 million years ago51 records ↗
Geography
Explore the atlas by continent, country and state. Follow fossil localities into regional guides, compare animals across time and return to the evidence in each species profile.
Dinosaurs by continent
Countries and states
- Dinosaurs of the United States13 atlas records ↗
- Dinosaurs of Canada7 atlas records ↗
- Dinosaurs of the United Kingdom5 atlas records ↗
- Dinosaurs Found in Texas1 atlas records ↗
- Dinosaurs Found in Montana4 atlas records ↗
- Dinosaurs Found in Argentina11 atlas records ↗
- Dinosaurs Found in China10 atlas records ↗
FIELD GUIDES
Field guides
Giants, strange body plans and lives within human memory. Follow a question into the atlas, then explore the animals behind it.
554Paleozoic
Nematothallus
Nematothallus
Carbonized cell sheets and tangled tubes came from an enigmatic early terrestrial organism.
555Paleozoic
Palaeodictyoptera
Palaeodictyoptera
Two pairs of net-veined wings could not fold, and some species carried thoracic winglets and piercing mouthparts.
556Paleozoic
Pambdelurion
Pambdelurion whittingtoni
Large frontal appendages, rows of swimming flaps and an annulated soft body link lobopodians with true arthropods.
557Paleozoic
Onychodus
Onychodus jandemarrai
A pair of curved lower-jaw tusks and a kinetic skull helped this lobe-finned fish restrain prey.
558Paleozoic
Pteraspis
Pteraspis rostrata
A streamlined head shield extended into a rostrum, while a dorsal spine and lateral horns stabilized the jawless fish.
559Paleozoic
Cheirolepis
Cheirolepis trailli
Tiny rhomboid scales, a deeply forked tail and broad gape marked an early ray-finned fish radiation.
560Paleozoic
Capetus
Capetus palustris
A broad flat skull and dense pointed teeth belonged to a large aquatic temnospondyl.
561Mesozoic
Drepanosaurus
Drepanosaurus unguicaudatus
A sickle-shaped hand claw, grasping feet and hooked tail tip formed a highly arboreal reptile.
562Mesozoic
Effigia
Effigia okeeffeae
A toothless beak, long neck and bipedal legs made this crocodile relative converge on later bird-like dinosaurs.
563Mesozoic
Monolophosaurus
Monolophosaurus jiangi
A single crest running from snout to skull roof gave this medium theropod a distinctive profile.
564Mesozoic
Deltadromeus
Deltadromeus agilis
Long hind limbs and a lightly built skeleton indicate a large, fast-moving theropod.
565Mesozoic
Jobaria
Jobaria tiguidensis
A relatively short neck, strong limbs and primitive vertebrae belonged to a large non-neosauropod herbivore.
566Cenozoic
Inkayacu
Inkayacu paracasensis
A near-human-height diving bird preserves feathers and melanosomes that opened direct study of ancient penguin color.
567Cenozoic
Kairuku
Kairuku grebneffi
A slender trunk, long bill and large flippers produced a taller silhouette than modern penguins.
568Cenozoic
Palaeotherium
Palaeotherium magnum
A short face, low-crowned teeth and three-toed feet belonged to a European herbivore near horse relatives.
569Cenozoic
Moropus
Moropus elatus
A horse-like head and enormous curved claws belonged to a herbivorous perissodactyl walking on its knuckles.
570Cenozoic
Eotitanops
Eotitanops borealis
Only tapir-sized and hornless, it already possessed the short face and teeth of early brontotheres.