Dinosaur Classification in the Jurassic Period
Dinosaur Classification
During the Mesozoic Era, otherwise known as the age of dinosaurs, there were three main periods. These were the Triassic, the Jurassic, and the Cretaceous. In this website we focus on the Jurassic period which is in the middle of the Mesozoic. It started about 201 million years ago, and ended about 145 million years ago.
In the Jurassic many new forms of dinosaurs appeared such as the Thyreophorans, the Ornithopods, and, at the very end, the first Marginocephalia. These along with the Theropods and Sauropods that evolved in the Triassic, are the major classifications of dinosaurs.
Major Dinosaur Classification Catagories
These are all of the major categories scientists use to classify dinosaurs, and a little bit about them.
Theropods
Theropods were amongst the first dinosaurs to exist. They are mostly carnivores, most have three-toed feet, they have lizard-like hips, they are bipedal, and they all have long tails for balancing well.
Sauropods
Sauropods are large dinosaurs that evolved during the Triassic. They are herbivores, they are quadrupedal, they have long necks and tails, and they have lizard-like hips.
Thyreophorans
Thyreophorans were armored dinosaurs that evolved in the Jurassic, and lived until the end of the Cretaceous. They had plate-like body armor, They had bird-like hips, they were quadrupedal, and they were herbivores.
Ornithopods
Ornithopods evolved during the Jurassic, and lived to the end of the Cretaceous. They had bird like hips, they were herbivores, and they had very strong jaws.
Marginocephalia
Marginocephalia were dinosaurs that had early ancestors from the late Jurassic, but they mainly lived in the Cretaceous. They were herbivores, they had bird-like hips, they were quadrupedal, and they had frills on their heads.