Bipedal saurischian dinosaurs, historically dominated by carnivores and including the avian lineage.
TheropodaAcrocanthosaurus atokensis Stovall & Langston, 1950
A high-spined North American apex predator famous for hunting sauropods across Early Cretaceous river valleys.
TheropodaAlbertosaurus sarcophagus Osborn, 1905
A fleet-footed, gracile tyrannosaurid from the Late Cretaceous of western Canada known from prominent multi-individual bonebed associations.
TheropodaAllosaurus fragilis Marsh, 1877
The most abundant apex theropod of Late Jurassic North America, equipped with a kinetic skull and slashing serrated teeth.
TheropodaAnzu wyliei Lamanna et al., 2014
The 'Chicken from Hell', a gigantic, crested caenagnathid oviraptorosaur from the Hell Creek Formation.
TheropodaArchaeopteryx lithographica von Meyer, 1861
An iconic stem-avialan from the Late Jurassic Solnhofen limestone exhibiting transitional features bridging non-avian theropods and birds.
TheropodaAustralovenator wintonensis Hocknull et al., 2009
The 'cheetah of its time', a lightning-fast megaraptoran predator from the mid-Cretaceous of Australia.
TheropodaBaryonyx walkeri Charig & Milner, 1986
A specialized fish-eating spinosaurid from Early Cretaceous England sporting a 31-centimeter curved thumb claw.
TheropodaCarcharodontosaurus saharicus Depéret & Savornin, 1925
The 'shark-toothed lizard', a colossal North African apex predator rivaling Tyrannosaurus in length.
TheropodaCarnotaurus sastrei Bonaparte, 1985
A bizarre South American abelisaurid predator with bull-like cranial horns, vestigial forelimbs, and extreme cursorial speed.
TheropodaCaudipteryx zoui Ji et al., 1998
A ground-dwelling basal oviraptorosaur from Liaoning, China preserving true vaned feathers and gastroliths.
TheropodaCeratosaurus nasicornis Marsh, 1884
A distinctive Late Jurassic theropod sporting a prominent nasal horn core and a line of small osteoderms along its back.
TheropodaCeratosuchops inferodios Barker et al., 2021
The 'horned crocodile-faced hell heron', a newly described spinosaurid from the Isle of Wight.
TheropodaChindesaurus bryansmalli Long & Murry, 1995
A basal carnivorous dinosaur from the Chinle Formation of the Petrified Forest National Park.
TheropodaCoelophysis bauri Cope, 1887
A slender, agile early theropod from the Late Triassic, known from hundreds of well-preserved skeletons at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico.
TheropodaCompsognathus longipes Wagner, 1859
A petite, nimble Late Jurassic coelurosaur about the size of a chicken, historically famous as one of the smallest known dinosaurs.
TheropodaConcavenator corcovatus Ortega et al., 2010
A bizarre Early Cretaceous Spanish carcharodontosaurid featuring a sharp humped back and quill knobs on its arms.
TheropodaCryolophosaurus ellioti Hammer & Hickerson, 1994
The 'frozen crested lizard', a large Early Jurassic apex theropod discovered high in the Transantarctic Mountains.
TheropodaDeinonychus antirrhopus Ostrom, 1969
The agile dromaeosaurid whose discovery catalyzed the modern Dinosaur Renaissance and established the dinosaur-bird evolutionary link.
TheropodaDilophosaurus wetherilli Welles, 1954
An apex predator of the Early Jurassic possessing a pair of delicate, semicircular cranial crests along its skull.
TheropodaDromaeosaurus albertensis Matthew & Brown, 1922
The namesake of the dromaeosaurid family, possessing a robust skull and crushing bite force for its size.
TheropodaGallimimus bullatus Osmólska et al., 1972
The largest known ornithomimid 'ostrich dinosaur', famous for its immense running speed across ancient Mongolia.
TheropodaGasosaurus constructus Dong & Tang, 1985
A basal tetanuran carnivore discovered during the construction of a natural gas facility in Sichuan, China.
TheropodaGiganotosaurus carolinii Coria & Salgado, 1995
A titanic South American carcharodontosaurid apex carnivore rivaling Tyrannosaurus in overall body length.
TheropodaGuanlong wucaii Xu et al., 2006
A feathered, crested early tyrannosauroid from the Late Jurassic of China that lived 90 million years before T. rex.
TheropodaHerrerasaurus ischigualastensis Reig, 1963
An early predatory dinosaur from the Late Triassic Ischigualasto Formation of Argentina whose precise phylogenetic position near the root of Saurischia remains debated.
TheropodaLiliensternus liliensterni Huene, 1934
A large, active predatory coelophysoid that roamed Late Triassic Germany.
TheropodaMajungasaurus crenatissimus Lavocat, 1955
A stocky, cannibalistic abelisaurid from Late Cretaceous Madagascar sporting a single midline horn on its skull.
TheropodaMapusaurus roseae Coria & Currie, 2006
A colossal South American carcharodontosaurid discovered in a massive multi-individual bonebed.
TheropodaMegalosaurus bucklandii Mantell, 1827
The first scientifically named non-avian dinosaur in history, described from Middle Jurassic rocks of England.
TheropodaMetriacanthosaurus parkeri von Huene, 1932
A medium-to-large European allosauroid theropod characterized by moderately tall vertebral spines.
TheropodaMicroraptor zhaoianus Xu et al., 2000
A four-winged, iridescent feathered dromaeosaurid that glided through Early Cretaceous Chinese forests.
TheropodaMonolophosaurus jiangi Zhao & Currie, 1993
A Middle Jurassic Asian theropod recognized by a prominent single midline ridge along its snout.
TheropodaOviraptor philoceratops Osborn, 1924
The famously misnamed 'egg thief' from the Gobi Desert that was actually a devoted parent brooding its own nest.
TheropodaSinornithosaurus millenii Xu et al., 1999
A feathered basal dromaeosaurid from China with remarkable cranial and dental specializations.
TheropodaSinraptor dongi Currie & Zhao, 1993
A large, agile metricanthosaurid theropod that was an apex predator of Late Jurassic China.
Featured SpecimenTheropodaSpinosaurus aegyptiacus Stromer, 1915
A giant sail-backed theropod possessing anatomical specializations associated with riparian ecosystems, with its aquatic locomotion subject to ongoing scientific debate.
TheropodaStaurikosaurus pricei Colbert, 1970
An early predatory dinosaur from the Late Triassic Santa Maria Formation of Brazil, often placed within Herrerasauridae with debated phylogenetic affinities.
TheropodaStruthiomimus altus Lambe, 1902
An agile, ostrich-mimic theropod that sprinted across Late Cretaceous western North America.
TheropodaSuchomimus tenerensis Sereno et al., 1998
A massive spinosaurid predator with crocodile-like jaws and a low dorsal sail that stalked Cretaceous Niger.
TheropodaTarbosaurus bataar Maleev, 1955
The Asian sister taxon to T. rex, an apex tyrannosaurid macropredator of the Late Cretaceous Nemegt Basin.
Featured SpecimenTheropodaTherizinosaurus cheloniformis Maleev, 1954
A bizarre herbivorous theropod of Late Cretaceous Mongolia bearing the longest claws of any known animal—up to 1 meter in length.
TheropodaTorvosaurus tanneri Galton & Jensen, 1979
A gigantic, heavily built megalosaurid macropredator, among the largest terrestrial carnivores of the Jurassic Period.
TheropodaTroodon formosus Leidy, 1856
A small, large-brained Late Cretaceous theropod with acute stereoscopic vision and large eyes.
Featured SpecimenTheropodaTyrannosaurus rex Osborn, 1905
The apex macropredator of Late Cretaceous western North America, possessing bone-crushing jaws and acute stereoscopic vision.
TheropodaUtahraptor ostrommaysi Kirkland et al., 1993
The colossal king of the dromaeosaurids, a 6-meter, half-ton apex ambush predator with 24-centimeter foot claws.
Featured SpecimenTheropodaVelociraptor mongoliensis Osborn, 1924
A turkey-sized, feathered dromaeosaurid predator of the Late Cretaceous Gobi Desert, armed with specialized sickle claws.
TheropodaYangchuanosaurus shangyouensis Dong et al., 1978
A colossal Chinese allosauroid that was the Asian equivalent of North America's Allosaurus.