The A-Z list of Dinosaur Names and Pictures

Are you seeking a list of dinosaur names and their meanings? You’ve certainly heard of the T-Rex, Triceratops, and Stegosaurs, but you’re hungry for more. Don’t worry, we’ll provide you with more.

The word “dinosaur” means “terrible lizard.” The term was given to them by British scientist Richard Owen. He believed, after studying animal fossils for several years, that the bones belonged to a previously undiscovered group of creatures. The word dinosaur was created by combining two Greek words: deinos (which means terrible) and sauros (which means lizard).

Numerous dinosaur fossils are continuously being unearthed. Typically, the individual who discovers them or the palaeontologist who determines that it is a new species gives them their names. The name must then be validated by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. Oftentimes, they are named due to where they were discovered or anything peculiar about them. Oftentimes, a dinosaur’s name reflects the sort of dinosaur it is believed to be.

Check out our alphabetical list of dinosaur names. We’ll talk about what their names mean, see dinosaur pictures, and learn more about how the names came to be.

“A” Dinosaurs List

Aardonyx

Aardonyx lived in what is now South Africa during the early Jurassic period. It is a transitional type between prosauropods and sauropods, according to both morphological traits and potential evolutionary location. The fossils discovered belonged to animals measuring 7-9 metres in length, making Aardonyx one of the largest prosauropods.

The generic name Aardonyx comes from the Afrikaans word aard, which means “earth,” and the Greek word onyx, which means “claw.”

Abdarainurus

Abdarainurus was a sauropod that existed in what is now Mongolia during the Late Cretaceous period. Averianov and Lopatin described it in 2020.

The name Abdarainurus is derived from the Abdrant Nuru settlement and the Latin word urus (“tail”). Rinchen Barsbold, a Mongolian palaeontologist, is honoured by the genre epithet.

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“B” Dinosaurs List

Baalsaurus

Baalsaurus mansillai is a South American Titanosaurus from the Late Cretaceous period. It was named for an L-shaped tooth bone with three unique characteristics not found in other titanosaurs.

Baalsaurus is a generic name for the Phoenician and Canaanite deity Baal, the storm god and world ruler. The mansillai species name honours Juan Eduardo Mansilla, his discoverer and the technician of the outpost where the titanosaurus bones were discovered.

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“C” Dinosaurs List

Caenagnathasia

Caenagnathasia is a genus of Oviraptorosaurus from the Late Cretaceous of Uzbekistan. It was one of the tiniest nonavian dinosaurs known and the smallest member of this group. Caenagnathasia is derived from the name of another oviraptorosaurus, Caenagnathus, and the word asia, or Asia. The entire expression translates to “the recent Asian jaw.”

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“D” Dinosaurs List

Daanosaurus

Daanosaurus was a brachiosaurid sauropod that existed between 163 and 145 million years ago, during the Late Jurassic. It inhabited what is now Sichuan Province in China and was comparable to Bellusaurus.

The name “Daanosaurus” derives from the Da’an district in Zigong, Sichuan, and means “Da’an lizard.” The specific epithet honours the Chinese palaeontologist Fucheng Zhang.

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“E” Dinosaurs List

Echinodon

Echinodon is a tiny dinosaur that lived in England during the start of the Cretaceous epoch. In addition to being one of the oldest dinosaurs described, it is also one of the smallest.

Echinodon means “prickly tooth” (Greek echino means “pointed, prickly” and Greek odon – “tooth”). The second component of the name honours Samuel H. Beckles, who discovered his fossils.

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“F” Dinosaurs List

Fabrosaurus

Fabrosaurus was a herbivorous dinosaur genus that existed between the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic periods.

Fabrosaurus means “Fabre’s lizard” in honour of Jean Fabre, a French geologist and Ginsburg’s colleague on the expedition that discovered the fossil in Southern Africa’s Basutoland.

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“G” Dinosaurs List

Galeamopus

Galeamopus is a kind of sauropod from the Late Jurassic. Initially, the typical species (Galeamopus hayi) was categorised as one of several species of the renowned Diplodocus. Galeamopus pabsti was described in 2017, marking the introduction of the second species to the scientific community.

Galeamopus is derived from the Latin words galeam (helmet) and opus (need). Their literal German equivalent is the name “William.” The name also honours two Williams: Utterback, who discovered the holotype in 1902, and Holland, who described it scientifically in 1924. In addition, the name references the sauropod’s cranium. In turn, the species was named after the American palaeontologist Oliver P. Hay.

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“H” Dinosaurs List

Hadrosaurus

Hadrosaurus is an ornithopod that lived in North America during the end of the Cretaceous period. Hadrosaurus was the first dinosaur to be described from this continent based on a rather complete skeleton. The solitary species in this genus, Hadrosaurs foulkii, has been the official state dinosaur of New Jersey, United States, since 1991.

The scientific justification for the name Hadrosaurus is that it derives from the Greek, hadros, which means “bulky” or “big,” and sauros, which means “lizard.”

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“I” Dinosaurs List

Iberospinus

Iberospinus is a genus of medium-sized spinosaurids, presumably belonging to the Baryonychinae family. Iberospinus lived in what is now Portugal during the early Cretaceous epoch.

Iberospinus is derived from the Latin word Ibero, which means Iberian Peninsula, and spinus (“spike”). It refers to one of the most well-known characteristics of spinosaurs, the vertebrae’s extended spinous processes. The genre name honours Carlos Natario, who discovered the remains.

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“J” Dinosaurs List

Jainosaurus

Jainosaurus is a genus of Maastrichtian titanosaurian sauropod dinosaurs from India and broader Asia (approximately 68 million years ago).

The name refers to the Jaina lizard. It is dedicated to the Hindu palaeontologist Sohan Lal Jain.

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“K” Dinosaurs List

Kaatedocus

Kaatedocus siberi is a species of sauropod from the United States that lived during the late Jurassic period. Hans-Jakob “Kirby” Siber – born in 1942 – was an honorary doctor of the University of Zurich who supported the excavations that led to the discovery of the remains of K. siberi.

Kaate means “little” in the Wron (Absaroka) language, one of the North Wyoming Native American tribes, while docus (Greek: dokos, which means “beam”) is a reference to the diplodocus ( Diplodocus ). Therefore, the generic name can be interpreted as “small beam.”

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“L” Dinosaurs List

Labocania

Labocania is a type of giant theropod that existed in Baja California, Mexico, during the Campanian stage of the late Cretaceous Period, 73 million years ago. The generic name is derived from the formation’s name, La Bocana Roja, which can be translated as “Red estuary.”

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“M” Dinosaurs List

Macelognathus

Macelognathus is a Late Jurassic dinosaur genus that is now extinct. It was first thought to be a turtle, then a dinosaur. It existed roughly 150 million years ago in what is now Wyoming, North America. Macelognathus was first described in 1884 by Othniel Charles Marsh.

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“N” Dinosaurs List

Naashoibitosaurus

Naashoibitosaurus was a huge flat-headed hadrosaurid that lived in southern North America during the late Cretaceous epoch. “Creek Lizard” is the meaning of the name. John Ostrom, an American palaeontologist most recognised for discovering and describing deinonychus but also dealing with hadrosaurides, is honoured with the genre epithet.

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“O” Dinosaurs List

Oceanotitan

Oceanotitan dantasi is a species of sauropod whose fossils have been discovered in what is now Portugal. Oceanotitan can be interpreted “ocean giant” and alludes to the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, where the remains of this dinosaur were discovered.

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“P” Dinosaurs List

Pachycephalosaurus

Pachycephalosaurus is the most well-known, largest, and most recent of the thick-headed dinosaurs (pachycephalosaurs) that lived at the end of the Cretaceous period in what is now North America.

The name Pachycephalosaurus translates to “thick-headed lizard.” The species epithet of the sole significant species is derived from its place of discovery (Wyoming).

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“Q” Dinosaurs List

Qantassaurus

The Qantassaurus was a tiny herbivorous dinosaur with a bird-pelvis that lived 115 million years ago in early Cretaceous Australia. This dinosaur’s generic name is Qantas, the national airline of Australia. Intrepidus is the Latin word for “brave” and “fearless.”

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“R” Dinosaurs List

Rahiolisaurus

Rahiolisaurus was a big carnivorous theropod discovered in what is now India during the Late Cretaceous period. It was one of several Abelisaurides found in the Lamet Formation. A team of palaeontologists led by Fernando Novas named and characterised Rahiolisaurus in 2010.

Rahiolisaurus is derived from the village of Rahioli and the Greek word sauros (“lizard”, “reptile”). The species name gujaratensis is derived from the Indian state of Gujarat.

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“S” Dinosaurs List

Sacisaurus

Sacisaurus is a member of the Silesauridae family, which is linked to dinosaurs. Sacisaurus was initially thought to be the ancestor of the bird-pelvis dinosaurs. Sacisaurus existed in present-day Brazil during the Late Triassic period, where its fossils were discovered.

Paleontologists discovered 11 or 15 sacizaura right femurs but not a single left! This is why it was named after a one-legged creature from native mythology known as Saci in Portuguese. The species was named after the city of Agudo.

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“T” Dinosaurs List

Tachiraptor

Tachiraptor admirabilis is a tiny predatory dinosaur that lived around 200 million years ago in what is now Venezuela. It gets its name from the state of Táchira, where it was discovered.

Raptor is a Latin word that means “robber.” The name of the genre refers to Simon Bolivar’s great heroic war, during which the city of La Grita (where the tachiraptor was discovered) played a key role.

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“U” Dinosaurs List

Uberabatitan

Uberabatitan is a Late Cretaceous (Maastricht) titanosaur found in modern-day Brazil. It is a monotypic sauropod, which means it is a taxon with only one species. It was formally described in 2008 by two well-known South American palaeontologists, Leonard Salgado and Ismar de Souza Carvalho, based on three partial skeletons.

Uberabatitan is a combination of the name of the city of Uberaba, near which the dinosaur’s remains were discovered, and the Greek titan (giant from Greek mythology). As a result, the name might be translated as “Uberaba Titan.” The type name ribeiroi recognises Luiza Carlos Borges Ribeiro for his assistance and support during palaeontological excavations in the state of Minas Gerais.

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“V” Dinosaurs List

Vagaceratops

Vagaceratops is a genus of ceratops that existed in Laramidia during the Late Cretaceous, 75-74 million years ago (now western North America).

The name Vagaceratops is a combination of the Latin word vagus (wanderer) and the Greek word ceratops (horned face) and relates to the Late Campaigns appearance of “this clade” in Alberta and Utah.

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“W” Dinosaurs List

Wakinosaurus

Wakinosaurus is a strange theropod that lived in today’s Japan during the early Cretaceous period. Masahiro Sato, an ice hockey player from Fukuoka, discovered a theropod tooth in 1990. Yoshihiko Okazaki was the first to report on the discovery that year.

Okazaki designated the type species Wakinosaurus satoi in 1992. The Wakino Subgroup of the Kwanmon Group, of which the Sengoku Formation is a member, is referenced in the generic name. Sato is honoured with the specific name.

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“X” Dinosaurs List

Xenoceratops

Canada is home to the centrosaur species Xenoceratops foremostensis. At the end of the Cretaceous period, Xenoceratops inhabited these areas.

The name Xenoceratops is derived from the Greek words xenos (alien) and ceratops (horn) (horned face). The second part of the scientific name foremostensis relates to the Alberta community of Foremost, near which this horned dinosaur was discovered.

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“Y” Dinosaurs List

Yamaceratops

Yamaceratops was a tiny, early Cretaceous ceratopsian whose skeleton was discovered in Mongolian chalk rocks.

Yama is a Tibetan deity who is the Lord of Death and the Dead and one of the eight Dharma Keepers. The pit has a domestic buffalo’s head and horns (a feature from which the ceratops were named). The genre epithet alludes to the location of discovery, which is the eastern section of the Gobi Desert.

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“Z” Dinosaurs List

Zalmoxes

Zalmoxes is a late Cretaceous ornithopod dinosaur that lived in Romania during the Maastrichtian period. The term Zalmoxes refers to Zalmoxis, the Dacian god of Greece. After a three-year hiatus, the Dacian god was said to have resurrected.

According to Greek legend, he was a slave of the Greek philosopher Pythagoras. The Dacian deity was likewise defied by the Dacian people, according to folklore, and he later acquired immortality. As a result of its taxonomic nomenclature after the resuscitation of its fossil, the dinosaur is known as Zalmoxes.

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