DINOSAUR TIME
Interactive Dinosaur Timeline
Follow dinosaur evolution from its Triassic origins through Jurassic diversification to the end-Cretaceous impact and the survival of birds.
Late Triassic
Origins
The earliest widely accepted dinosaurs were small members of ecosystems still dominated by other archosaurs.
Triassic–Jurassic boundary
Opportunity after extinction
The end-Triassic extinction removed many competitors and dinosaur lineages expanded into new terrestrial roles.
Middle–Late Jurassic
Giants and specialised bodies
Sauropods, plated stegosaurs and large theropods formed familiar Jurassic ecosystems.
Early Cretaceous
Feathers and flowering landscapes
Feathered dinosaurs diversified while flowering plants began transforming terrestrial food webs.
Late Cretaceous
Regional radiations
Fragmented continents supported distinctive tyrannosaurs, horned dinosaurs, hadrosaurs and titanosaurs.
K–Pg boundary
Impact and survival
The Chicxulub impact collapsed food webs. All non-avian dinosaurs disappeared; birds carried Dinosauria onward.