To provide you with additional information about how we collect and use your personal data, we’ve recently updated our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. Please review these pages now, as they apply to your continued use of our website.
Dinosaurs were reptiles that lived millions of years ago, with the earliest dinosaurs appearing during the Late Triassic period about 230 million years ago. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for about 135 million years, from the beginning of the Jurassic period until the end of the Cretaceous period, when most dinosaurs became extinct. Dinosaurs were diverse in size, shape, and lifestyle, ranging from small feathered dinosaurs the size of chickens to giant sauropods that measured up to 100 feet in length. Some dinosaurs were predators, while others were herbivores, and there were also omnivorous dinosaurs. The study of dinosaurs is called paleontology, and fossils of dinosaurs are used to learn about their anatomy, behavior, and the environment in which they lived.