How to use this gallery
Each card is organized at the genus level. Open a card to see a short reconstruction note, a broader evolutionary context and quick facts such as the time span represented by the bar dates used elsewhere on the site.
Field guide
Species gallery
Each card opens with a photo (Wikimedia Commons when available) and falls back to atlas vector art if the image is blocked. Real genera documented from fossils—appearance in reconstructions varies. Filter by branch, tap to expand. Pair with the timeline for ranges.
Why images vary so much
Some species are known from spectacular skeletons, while others are reconstructed from more fragmentary remains. Museum mounts, fossil specimens and life restorations all capture different parts of the evidence.
What a genus can and cannot do
A genus name is useful for comparison, but it does not erase uncertainty. Size, posture, feathering, display structures and behavior can all change as new fossils and analyses appear.
Patterns to watch for
Theropods repeatedly experiment with speed, feathers and predation; sauropodomorphs push herbivory toward giant size; many ornithischians evolve armor, horns, crests and other display or defense structures.
What Different Fossils Can Tell You
A species page is strongest when you know what kind of evidence sits behind the image and description.
Skulls and teeth
Feeding style, bite mechanics, sensory emphasis and even social display often begin with the head. Tooth shape and wear are especially important for inferring diet, but skulls also reveal muscle attachments and sensory openings.
Limbs and posture
Long hindlimbs, heavy forelimbs, hoof-like feet, grasping hands and tail stiffness all feed into movement models. Locomotion reconstructions come from whole-body proportions rather than one spectacular bone.
Skin, feathers and soft tissue
Exceptional preservation can record scales, feather impressions, keratin outlines and other soft-tissue clues. These finds are rare but powerful because they test and sometimes overturn long-standing visual assumptions.
Trackways, nests and eggs
Trace fossils capture moments of behavior: walking, nesting, growth around colonies and interactions with substrates. They do not replace bones, but they reveal activity in ways skeletons alone often cannot.