Dinosaur Discoveries: Windows on a Prehistoric World

The Natural History Museum

Natural History Museum

Dinosaurs are one of the great
success stories of evolution, dominating the Earth for 160 million years. Spectacular new discoveries about
their lifestyles are being made all the time, demonstrating the extraordinary
diversity of life in the age when these reptiles ruled the world.

Stegosaurus stenopsThe Natural History Museum

The most complete Stegosaurus skeleton in the world, this individual lived about 150 million years ago, during the Late Jurassic Period. Experts are studying the skeleton to uncover more about its evolution and behaviour.

Protoceratops andrewsiThe Natural History Museum

This Protoceratops andrewsi skull was found in Mongolia in the 1920s. It shows the dinosaur's specially adapted jaws, a beak for slicing leaves and scissor-like teeth for chopping food.

Polacanthus foxiiThe Natural History Museum

An impression of the armoured skin of Polacanthus foxii, an armour-plated herbivore. The dinosaur relied on a thick coat of bony armour and rows of spikes as defence from predators.

Iguanodon anglicusThe Natural History Museum

Iguanodon teeth, found by accident in southeast England in 1822. They inspired the theory that giant reptiles used to live on Earth.

Baryonyx walkeriThe Natural History Museum

When amateur collector William Walker found this Baryonyx walkeri claw bone, he had made the most important European dinosaur discovery in a century. This led to the first description of a fish-eating dinosaur.

Tyrannosaurus rexThe Natural History Museum

A skull cast of Tyrannosaurus rex, one of the largest carnivores ever to have walked the Earth. Its powerful jaw and saw-edged teeth were ideal for crushing bone and piercing flesh.

Triceratops horridusThe Natural History Museum

A skeleton cast of Triceratops horridus, a three-horned plant-eater with a large neck frill, that across the plains of North America.

Hypsilophodon foxiiThe Natural History Museum

With a lightweight skeleton and slim, flexible legs, Hypsilophodon foxii relied on speed to escape predators. This mounted skeleton allows scientists to study its anatomy.

Diplodocus carnegiiThe Natural History Museum

A skeleton cast of Diplodocus carnegii. The first bone of this 26m sauropod was found in 1898 in Wyoming, USA. Within three years, palaeontologists had uncovered enough fossil bones to build a complete skeleton.

Dromaeosaurus albertensisThe Natural History Museum

A skeleton cast of Dromaeosaurus albertensis. A carnivore, pack hunter and fast runner, with a light skeleton, long legs and powerful claws. Dromaeosaurus was well-suited to hunting larger prey.

Edmontosaurus regalisThe Natural History Museum

With a wide, flat beak and powerful grinding teeth, Edmontosaurus regalis was a duck-billed herbivore with an efficient chewing style.

Mantellisaurus atherfieldensisThe Natural History Museum

The skull from one of the most complete skeletons of Mantellisaurus discovered in Britain. It was found on the Isle of Wight in 1917, and shows the dinosaur's upright stance and powerful arms.

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