Dinosaurs were the dominant terrestrial vertebrate animals for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period (about 230 million years ago) until the end of the Cretaceous period (about 65 million years ago), when the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event caused the extinction of most dinosaur species. The fossil record indicates that birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs during the Jurassic period, and most paleontologists regard them as t...
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Dinosaurs were the dominant terrestrial vertebrate animals for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period (about 230 million years ago) until the end of the Cretaceous period (about 65 million years ago), when the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event caused the extinction of most dinosaur species. The fossil record indicates that birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs during the Jurassic period, and most paleontologists regard them as the only clade of dinosaurs to have survived until the present day.
Dinosaurs were a varied group of animals. Paleontologists have identified over 500 distinct genera and more than 1,000 different species of dinosaur, and remains have been found on every continent on Earth. Some dinosaurs were herbivorous, others carnivorous. Some were bipedal, others quadrupedal, and others were able to shift between these body postures. Many species developed elaborate skeletal modifications such as bony armor, horns or crests. Although generally known for...
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