Their remains have been found in the Dinosaur Park Formation, dating from 76.5 to 75.5 million years ago. As with all ceratopsians, the horns and frill of Styracosaurus likely evolved as sexually selected characteristics: males with bigger, more elaborate, more visible headgear had a better chance of intimidating their rivals in the herd and attracting available females during mating season. Its been suggested that dinosaurs acquire gizzard stones to help their digestion. Tyrannosaurus, more commonly known as T-Rex, is undoubtedly the most famous dinosaur. The Harpymimus remains that were studied were a skull and a partial skeleton. To date, no complete fossil of this armor-plated herbivore has been discovered, though Nodosaurus has a very distinguished pedigree, Its skull is toothless and is short with a distinctly steep snout. Able to grow to over two meters long, the Citipati is an omnivorous small theropod that thrived in the Late Cretaceous period about 81-75 million years. (2021, February 16). However, the lack of clarity about its diet made it even scarier. All of the specimens ever found that related to the Coloradisaurus were found around the same region. All Rights Reserved. The dates differ just a little in that it was discovered in 1948 in Mongolia. Strauss, Bob. Run away from the attacking predator (notably Gallimimus and small dinosaurs such as Lesothosaurus) Hide from the Its presence of beak-like snout allowed it to eat by stripping the leaves of plants. The stegosaurus was a herbivore that ate mostly plants. Dromiceiomimus means emu mimic because of how much it looked like an emu. [6] 4 Troodon Its name is a reference to the Harpy, a bird-like creature in Greek mythology. It is often confused as an aquatic dinosaur. At first, scientists only had a pair of arm bones that had long claws to study the Deinocheirus. According to the remains that were found of this dinosaur, its body and skeletons were built similarly to how most ornithomimids are structured. Diet: Herbivorous. WebYou might think the herbivores sound a bit less scary, but they were some of the hugest creatures that ever lived. 4 meters off the ground. This allowed them to judge distances accurately, helping with hunting. Donald E Hurlbert/Smithsonian Institution. Perhaps one third (or 500,000) of all described species are herbivores. One of the smallest small theropods in this list, the Shuvuuia is just over half a meter long, averaging about 60 centimeters in length. 10. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings for a better experience. Which among these herbivorous dinosaurs captured your attention the most? Pachycephalosaurus had a surprisingly bulky appearance with thick legs, tail, and neck. Prior to the discovery of the Nomingias remains, similar bone structures had only ever been discovered in birds. However, the biggest surprise from the Beipiaosaurus is the presence of primitive feathers. The stegosaurus was a smaller dinosaur, only measuring about 30 feet in length. WebYou might think the herbivores sound a bit less scary, but they were some of the hugest creatures that ever lived. The importance of the newly discovered, two-foot-long Aquilops ("eagle face") is that it lived in middle Cretaceous North America and thus represents an important link between early and late ceratopsian species. Studies have shown that learning about dinosaurs helps boost child development. Herbivore dinosaurs, the plant-eaters of the past, are record holders in many areas. Achelousarus lived in North America during the Late Cretaceous Period and the first remains were discovered in 1987 by American paleontologist Jack Horner. WebMost of the dinosaurs that existed on Earth were herbivores. Basically, the name means the . These methods are listed below. Saurolophus One of the few hadrosaurs known to have lived on two continents. This seemingly tiny advantage led to Ceratosaurus rising rather high in the Late Jurassic food chain. Strauss, Bob. With its long tail and forearms, the creature had a sleek appearance that truly resembled a larger version of the common Velociraptor. The pelvic and vertebral remain that were found in China gives it its name as experts believe that the Nanshiungosaurus existed around the region. Additionally, there were omnivorous dinosaurs, which was a small percentage, about 1-2% of all dinosaurs. This dinosaurs name literally translates to a bird. Hunters in herd Small predators such as Deinonychus, ally with their other species to hunt larger herbivores. Brontosaurus Vs. Blue Whale Whos bigger? Herbivore dinosaurs were the largest animals ever to roam the Earth, and, in most cases, they werent very agile or fast either. Scutellosaurus These plant-eating dinosaurs also had cheek pouches to store the plant matter before chewing. To counter this they have adapted various ways of either defending themselves, or escaping from the predator. Interestingly, it had palates that separated its mouth to its nasal passages thus making it able to eat and breathe simultaneously. To get an accurate representation of its head shape, experts used dinosaurs with similar structures to capture the idea of the closest possible form. WebHerbivory is of extreme ecological importance and prevalence among insects. Utahraptor was the largest dromaeosaur by far at 7 meters (23 ft) in length. 5. Stegosaurus (Stegosaurus stenops) 6. Most dinosaurs were not carnivores. Just a single vertebra of this dinosaur is more than four feet thick. Studying its remains, experts believe that the Heyuannia roamed the Earth about 72 to 68 million years ago. They have listed it as a herbivore or possibly a carnivore without ever being able to prove either. Ornithopods began as small bipedal herbivorous dinosaurs, but some soon began to grow much larger, such as Camptosaurus. Unfortunately, there are only a few fossils discovered from the Hagryphus, fragmentary metatarsals from the left hand, and some pedal phalanges so the only way to reconstruct its form is to base its complete structure on the Chirostenotes a dinosaur that is believed to be extremely similar in shape. With no teeth and a horny beak, the National History Museum website indicates that despite its exact diet is unknown, it may have lived off plants and small animals during its day. The word herbivore comes from the Latin word herba, which means plant. The name refers to their diet of plants rather than meat. Cetiosaurus. Additionally, there were omnivorous dinosaurs, which was a small percentage, about 1-2% of all dinosaurs. By estimation, the holotype individual is approximately three to four meters long and weighed over 70 kilograms or 150 lbs. With this amazing feat of survival and the creatures unique features, its a shame that Ceratosaurus does not get as much attention as some of the other dinosaurs on this list. This is where the Nothronychus gets its name which means sloth-like claw. Judging by length, these are the ten biggest land-based carnivorous dinosaurs! Diet: Herbivorous. Web1. #6. The largest dinosaurs of the era were the sauropods, a collection of four-legged herbivorous species that possessed long necks and tails. However, do not be fooled by its simplicity as Giganotosaurus was slightly larger than Tyrannosaurus rex. ThoughtCo, Feb. 16, 2021, thoughtco.com/famous-horned-dinosaurs-that-werent-triceratops-1093807. WebMany of the dinosaurs of the Mesozoic Era (about 252 million to 66 million years ago) were longer and more massive than modern elephants, hippopotamuses, and rhinoceroses. The Nothronychus are naturally sluggish dinosaurs that have pot-bellied abdomens. Remains of a Citipati guarding its eggs has shown that many of todays feathered friends take after their ancestor when it comes to nourishing their young. Despite his size, Deltadromeus has unusually slim legs, giving him a raptor-like appearance and suggesting he was a swift runner. The remaining 65% were herbivores! Almost all amphibians, lizards and snakes are carnivores or insectivores. 10. This dino was also seen by experts as caring parents, having partially open nests and many indicators of nourishing parents. Its exciting that we have found fossils of these herbivore dinosaurs on every continent, even Antarctica. Interestingly (because of its long neck), this dinosaur had no ability to hold its neck over about 5. This 20-foot-long, three-ton (1000kg) quadripedal herbivore lived a few million years before Triceratops, and it was closely It is through this fossil that professionals uncovered that the position birds assume when brooding their eggs is similar to how dinosaurs tend to their unhatched offspring. So, Pachycephalosaurus would have rammed you with a skull 30 times thicker than that of a human, but it would have also tried to consume you for dinner. Herbivores play an important role in the food chain, and therefore, with the impact that dinosaurs have had on the history of the world, naturally we cannot ignore the importance of herbivore dinosaurs. This 20-foot-long, three-ton herbivore lived a few million years before Triceratops, and it was closely related to three other ceratopsians, Styracosaurus, Coronosaurus, and Spinops. How can palaeontologists be so sure about what dinosaurs ate? They lived during the Cretaceous Period, and they weighed over 5 tons! Though large, it had a slender build. Herbivores often had weak jaws with small teeth made up of varied sizes for grinding plants. Herbivores include the brachiosaurus, apatosaurus, brontosaurus, Argentinosaurus, and more, which had a tremendously long neck enabling them to reach leaves from trees and at the same time it was able to use their tail as a counterbalance. Standing on his hind legs, with short forearms and a huge head, he looked quite like Tyrannosaurus although since T Rex wasnt to appear for many millions of years, they would never have met, or fought. The Garudimimus thrived in the late Cretaceous period, 99 to 89 million years ago. They have listed it as a herbivore or possibly a carnivore without ever being able to prove either. Its skull may have been used as a weapon against predators or rivals. Web1. Although it may seem like a generic Tyrannosaurus rex prototype with simple regional differences at first glance, do not be fooled by its simplicity. Centrosaurus is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous of Canada. As we already introduced you to this category, herbivorous dinosaurswere those that fed only on plants and vegetables and did not consume any meat. Stegosaurus had a small head with small cheek teeth. The right side of the skull that was found was well-preserved with most of its bones still intact. Aside from its long claws, its head had an odd beak like a duck and a back that had a hump like a camel. We can tell this in dinosaur fossils from the shape of the bones in the skull, which reveal the size of the eyes. They were only moderately sized, with the exception of Deinocherius, who was truly strange! WebA herbivore is any animal that only feeds on plants. As befitting a ceratopsian that lived during the early to middle Cretaceous period, Psittacosaurus lacked any significant horn or frill, to the extent that it took a while for paleontologists to identify it as a true ceratopsian and not an ornithischian dinosaur. Most of the bones that researchers have used in their study were incomplete so determining the size of this dinosaur was a bit of a headscratcher for the experts. The stegosaurus was a herbivore that ate mostly plants. The name of this dinosaur, Erlikosaurus, translates to Erliks Lizard. Herbivore Dinosaurs: Dinosaurs, as what we have observed in the media, are characterized as ferocious meat-eating reptilian predators. While it looked like its cousins, the ornithomimosaurs, the teeth of a Harpymimus are different. In fact, this dino is recorded to be the largest North American ornithomimosaur. Discovered in the 21st Century is the omnivorous dinosaur, Hagryphus, whose name means a combination of Ha, the Egyptian God of the Western Desert, and the Griffin, the mythological animal that combines the form of a lion and an eagle. Centrosaurus is represented by literally thousands of fossils, unearthed from massive "bonebeds" in Canada's Alberta province. In addition, some plant-eating dinosaurs, like the Ankylosaurus, were covered in plates of armor consisting of knobs and plates of bone covering their bodies to protect themselves from the attacks by predators. Its remains were mostly found in Mongolia. Sauropelta This ankylosaur's armor helped keep raptors at bay. Its name, Chirostenotes means narrow-handed. WebAnother well-known plant eating dinosaur is the stegosaurus. Ornithopods began as small bipedal herbivorous dinosaurs, but some soon began to grow much larger, such as Camptosaurus. It was also discovered that the Caudipteryx has gizzard stones or small stones that the dinosaur swallows. The Triceratops. No teeth means a meat-eating diet is not an option, so these animals were mainly herbivores. Herbivores play an important role in the food chain, and therefore, with the impact that dinosaurs have had on the history of the world, naturally we cannot ignore the importance of herbivore dinosaurs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous period about 72-68 million years ago, feeding on an omnivorous diet. For a dinosaur that has given its name to an entire prehistoric familthe nodosaurs, which were closely related to the ankylosaurs, or armored dinosaursnot a whole lot is known about Nodosaurus. This dinosaur was easily recognizable by the large plates on its back and the spikes on its tail. While deceptively agile, its slender jaws help prey on insects. 6m / 19.6 ft. The remaining 65% were herbivores! 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