Carnivorous dinosaurs represented the terrestrial apex predators of the Mesozoic Era. Dominating primarily within the suborder Theropoda, these bipeds developed specialized adaptations ranging from laterally compressed zyphodont teeth designed for slicing flesh to reinforced osteological arches capable of pulverizing bone.
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.
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.
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.
TheropodaCeratosaurus nasicornis Marsh, 1884
A distinctive Late Jurassic theropod sporting a prominent nasal horn core and a line of small osteoderms along its back.
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.
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.
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.
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.
TheropodaTarbosaurus bataar Maleev, 1955
The Asian sister taxon to T. rex, an apex tyrannosaurid macropredator of the Late Cretaceous Nemegt Basin.
TheropodaTorvosaurus tanneri Galton & Jensen, 1979
A gigantic, heavily built megalosaurid macropredator, among the largest terrestrial carnivores of the Jurassic Period.
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.