Late Cretaceous dinosaurs

Hadrosaurids (), also hadrosaurs or duck-billed dinosaurs, are members of the ornithischian family Hadrosauridae. This group is known as the duck-billed dinosaurs for the flat duck-bill appearance of the bones in their snouts. The ornithopod family, which includes genera such as Edmontosaurus and Parasaurolophus, was a common group of herbivores during the Late Cretaceous Period. Hadrosaurids are descendants of the Late Jurassic/Early Cretaceous iguanodontian dinosaurs and had a similar body layout. Hadrosaurs were among the most dominant herbivores during the Late Cretaceous in Asia and North

Ceratopsidae (sometimes spelled Ceratopidae) is a family of ceratopsian dinosaurs including Triceratops, Centrosaurus, and Styracosaurus. All known species were quadrupedal herbivores from the Upper Cretaceous. All but one species are known from western North America, which formed the island continent of Laramidia during most of the Late Cretaceous. Ceratopsids are characterized by beaks, rows of shearing teeth in the back of the jaw, elaborate nasal horns, and a thin parietal-squamosal shelf that extends back and up into a frill. The group is divided into two subfamilies—Chasmosaurinae and Ce

Pachycephalosauria (; from Greek παχυκεφαλόσαυρος for 'thick headed lizards') is a clade of ornithischian dinosaurs. Along with Ceratopsia, it makes up the clade Marginocephalia. Pachycephalosaurs lived exclusively in the Northern Hemisphere during the Cretaceous period, with all members being found in North America and Asia. They were all bipedal, herbivorous/omnivorous animals with thick skulls. Skulls can be domed, flat, or wedge-shaped depending on the species, and are all heavily ossified. The domes were often surrounded by nodes and/or spikes. Partial skeletons have been found of several

Achillobator ( ; meaning "Achilles hero") is a genus of large dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous period about 96 million to 89 million years ago in what is now the Bayan Shireh Formation of Mongolia. The genus is currently monotypic, only including the type species A. giganticus. The first remains were found in 1989 during a Mongolian-Russian field expedition and later described in 1999. Remains at the type locality of Achillobator may represent additional specimens. It represents the first and largest dromaeosaurid known from the Bayan Shireh Formation.

Tyrannosauridae (or tyrannosaurids, meaning "tyrant lizards") is a family of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaurs that comprises two subfamilies containing up to fifteen genera, including the eponymous Tyrannosaurus. The exact number of genera is controversial, with some experts recognizing as few as three. All of these animals lived near the end of the Cretaceous Period and their fossils have been found only in North America and Asia.

Oviraptoridae is a group of bird-like, herbivorous or omnivorous maniraptoran dinosaurs. Oviraptorids are characterized by their toothless, parrot-like beaks and, in some cases, elaborate crests. They were generally small, measuring between one and two metres long in most cases, though some possible oviraptorids were enormous. Oviraptorids are currently known only from the Late Cretaceous in Asia, with the most well-known species and complete specimens found only in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia and northwestern China.

Bactrosaurus (; meaning "Club lizard," "baktron" = club + sauros = lizard) is a genus of herbivorous hadrosauroid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous, from about 96 to 85 million years ago. The position Bactrosaurus occupies in the Cretaceous makes it one of the earliest known hadrosauroids, and although it is not known from a full skeleton, Bactrosaurus is one of the best known of these early hadrosauroids, making its discovery a significant finding.

Hesperornithes is an extinct and highly specialized group of aquatic avialans closely related to the ancestors of modern birds. They inhabited both marine and freshwater habitats in the Northern Hemisphere, and include genera such as Hesperornis, Baptornis, Parahesperornis, Enaliornis, and Potamornis, all strong-swimming, predatory divers. Many of the species most specialized for swimming were completely flightless. The largest known hesperornithean, Canadaga arctica, may have reached a maximum adult length of .

Alectrosaurus (; meaning "alone lizard") is a genus of tyrannosauroid theropod dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period, about some 96 million years ago in what is now the Iren Dabasu Formation.

Alvarezsauridae is a family of small, long-legged dinosaurs. Although originally thought to represent the earliest known flightless birds, they are now thought to be an early diverging branch of maniraptoran theropods. Alvarezsaurids were highly specialized. They had tiny but stout forelimbs, with compact, bird-like hands. Their skeletons suggest that they had massive breast and arm muscles, possibly adapted for digging or tearing. They had long, tube-shaped snouts filled with tiny teeth. They have been interpreted as myrmecophagous, adapted to prey on colonial insects such as termites, with t

Talarurus ( ; meaning "basket tail" or "wicker tail") is a genus of ankylosaurid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period, about 96 million to 89 million years ago. The first remains of Talarurus were discovered in 1948 and later described by the Russian paleontologist Evgeny Maleev with the type species T. plicatospineus. It is known from multiple yet sparse specimens, making it one of the most well known ankylosaurines, along with Pinacosaurus. Elements from the specimens consists of various bones from the body; five skulls have been discovered and assigned to the genus,

Therizinosauridae (meaning 'scythe lizards') is an extinct family of derived (advanced) therizinosauroid dinosaurs whose fossil remains have been found in mostly Late Cretaceous boundary. Even though representative fossils have only been found throughout Asia and North America, the range of Therizinosauridae is believed to have spanned much of the supercontinent of Laurasia based on several footprints and isolated remains in Europe and Africa. As of 2025, the family Therizinosauridae comprises nine definitive genera.

Centrosaurinae (from the Greek, meaning "pointed lizards") is a subfamily of ceratopsid, a group of large quadrupedal ornithischian dinosaur. Centrosaurine fossil remains are known primarily from the northern region of Laramidia (modern day Alberta, Montana, and Alaska) but isolated taxa have been found in China and Utah as well.

Garudimimus (meaning "Garuda mimic") is a genus of ornithomimosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous. The genus is known from a single specimen found in 1981 by a Soviet-Mongolian paleontological expedition in the Bayanshiree Formation and formally described in the same year by Rinchen Barsbold; the only species is Garudimimus brevipes. Several interpretations about the anatomical traits of Garudimimus were made in posterior examinations of the specimen, but most of them were criticized during its comprehensive redescription in 2005. Extensive undescribed ornithomimosaur remains at

Ornithomimidae is a family of theropod dinosaurs which bore a superficial resemblance to modern ostriches. Ornithomimids were cursorial, omnivorous or herbivorous dinosaurs known mainly from the Late Cretaceous Period of Laurasia (now Asia and North America), though they have also been reported from the Lower Cretaceous Wonthaggi Formation of Australia.

Leptoceratopsidae is an extinct family of neoceratopsian dinosaurs from Asia, North America and possibly Europe. Leptoceratopsids resembled, and were closely related to, other neoceratopsians, such as the families Protoceratopsidae and Ceratopsidae, but they were more primitive and generally smaller.

Lambeosaurinae /ˌlæmbiəˈsɔːraɪniː/ (meaning 'Lambe's lizards') is an extinct group of crested hadrosauroid dinosaurs.

Erlikosaurus (meaning "Erlik's lizard") is a genus of therizinosaurid that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period. The fossils, a skull and some post-cranial fragments, were found in the Bayan Shireh Formation of Mongolia in 1972, dating to around 96 and 89 million years ago. These remains were later described by Altangerel Perle and Rinchen Barsbold in 1980, naming the new genus and species Erlikosaurus andrewsi. It represents the second therizinosaur taxon from this formation (after Segnosaurus), with the most complete skull among members of this peculiar family of dinosaurs.

Chasmosaurinae is a subfamily of ceratopsid dinosaurs. They were one of the most successful groups of herbivores of their time. Chasmosaurines appeared in the early Campanian, and became extinct, along with all other non-avian dinosaurs, during the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. Broadly, the most distinguishing features of chasmosaurines are prominent brow horns and long frills lacking long spines; centrosaurines generally had short brow horns and relatively shorter frills, and often had long spines projecting from their frills.

Struthiosaurus (Latin struthio = ostrich + Greek sauros = lizard) is a genus of nodosaurid dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous period (Santonian-Maastrichtian) of Austria, Romania, France, and possibly Hungary. It was a small dinosaur, measuring in length and weighing .

Rhabdodontidae is a family of herbivorous iguanodontian ornithopod dinosaurs whose earliest stem members appeared in the middle of the Lower Cretaceous. The oldest dated fossils of these stem members were found in the Barremian Castrillo de la Reina Formation of Spain, dating to approximately 129.4 to 125.0 million years ago. With their deep skulls and jaws, Rhabdodontids were similar to large, robust iguanodonts. The family was first proposed by David B. Weishampel and colleagues in 2003. Rhabdodontid fossils have been mainly found in Europe in formations dating to the Late Cretaceous.

Richardoestesia is a morphogenus of theropod dinosaur teeth, originally described from the Late Cretaceous of what is now Canada, the United States, and possibly also Uzbekistan. It currently contains two species, R. gilmorei and R. isosceles, and a possible third, R. asiatica, although it has been classified in its own genus Asiamericana. It has been used as a morphotaxon to describe other theropod teeth widely displaced in time and space from the type species. If all teeth assigned to the genus are truly reflective of the animals biology and taxonomic state (as some teeth go as far back as t

Saltasauridae (named after the Salta region of Argentina where they were first found) is a family of armored herbivorous sauropods from the Upper Cretaceous. They are known from fossils found in South America, Africa, Asia, North America, and Europe. They are characterized by their vertebrae and feet, which are similar to those of Saltasaurus, the first of the group to be discovered and the source of the name. The last and largest of the group and only one found in North America, Alamosaurus, was in length and one of the last sauropods to go extinct.

Unenlagiinae is a subfamily of long-snouted paravian theropods. They are traditionally considered to be members of Dromaeosauridae, though some authors place them into their own family, Unenlagiidae, sometimes alongside the subfamily Halszkaraptorinae.

Saurolophinae is a subfamily of hadrosaurid dinosaurs. It has since the mid-20th century generally been called the Hadrosaurinae, a group of largely non-crested hadrosaurs related to the crested sub-family Lambeosaurinae. However, the name Hadrosaurinae is based on the genus Hadrosaurus which was found in more recent studies to be more primitive than either lambeosaurines or other traditional "hadrosaurines", like Edmontosaurus and Saurolophus. As a result of this, the name Hadrosaurinae was dropped or restricted to Hadrosaurus alone, and the subfamily comprising the traditional "hadrosaurines

Nanyangosaurus is a genus of herbivorous ornithopod dinosaur belonging to the Hadrosauromorpha that lived in the Late Cretaceous of present-day Henan Province, China.

Enigmosaurus (meaning "enigma lizard" or "enigmatic lizard") is a genus of therizinosauroid that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period. It was a medium-sized, ground-dwelling, bipedal herbivore that represents the third therizinosaur taxon from the Bayan Shireh Formation, although it is known from the lower part. The genus is monotypic, including only the type species E. mongoliensis, known from a well-preserved pelvis and other tentative body remains.

Albertosaurines, or dinosaurs of the subfamily Albertosaurinae, lived in the Late Cretaceous of United States and Canada. The subfamily was first used by Philip J. Currie, Jørn H. Hurum, and Karol Sabath as a group of tyrannosaurid dinosaurs. It was originally defined as "(Albertosaurus + Gorgosaurus)", including only the two genera. The group is the sister clade to Tyrannosaurinae. In 2007, it was found that the group also contained Maleevosaurus, often synonymized with Tarbosaurus. However, this classification has not been accepted and Maleevosaurus is still considered a juvenile Tarbosaurus

Khankhuuluu ( ; ) is an extinct genus of early tyrannosauroid theropod dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous of what is now the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. The genus contains a single species, Khankhuuluu mongoliensis, known from several skull bones and two partial skeletons, including shoulder, pelvic, and hindlimb bones, and several vertebrae from the back and tail. The remains were discovered in 1972 and 1973 and first described in 1977 as belonging to the Chinese Alectrosaurus. Later researchers recognized the uniqueness of the bones, and they were eventually named as belonging to a new species

Atacamatitan (meaning "Atacama Desert titan") is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous Tolar Formation of Chile.

Gobihadros is a genus of basal hadrosauroid dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous period in what is now the Bayanshiree Formation (dated to the Cenomanian-Santonian) of Mongolia. It contains only the type species Gobihadros mongoliensis, which has an estimated length of .

Euronychodon ("European claw tooth") is the name given to a genus of coelurosaur dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Europe and Asia. A small-sized dinosaur estimated to measure around in length, Euronychodon is known from teeth only. These are similar to those of another coelurosaur tooth genus, Paronychodon.

Neimongosaurus (meaning "Nei Mongol lizard") is a genus of herbivorous therizinosaurian theropod dinosaur that lived in China during the Late Cretaceous period. Its fossils are known from the strata of the Iren Dabasu Formation. It is known from two specimens, discovered in 1999 by researchers from the Ministry of Land and Resources and described two years later. One species, N. yangi, is known, named after Chinese palaeontologist Yang Zhongjian.

Erketu (meaning "Erketü tengri") is a genus of somphospondylan dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous, roughly between 96 million and 89 million years ago. It is known from the Bayanshiree Formation of Mongolia, and its fossils were found between 2002 and 2003 during field expeditions. Erketu was first described in 2006 and later on in 2010 due to some cervicals that were left behind in the expedition. This genus represents the first sauropod described from the Bayanshiree Formation. The elongated cervical vertebrae indicate that it probably had the longest neck relative to its

Tyrannosaurinae (or tyrannosaurines) is one of the two extinct subfamilies of Tyrannosauridae, a family of coelurosaurian theropods that consists of at least three tribes and several genera. All fossils of these genera have been found in the Late Cretaceous deposits of western North America and east Asia. Compared to the related subfamily Albertosaurinae, tyrannosaurines overall are more robust and larger though the alioramins were gracile by comparison. This subfamily also includes Lythronax, one of the oldest known tyrannosaurid genera, as well as the youngest and most famous member of the g

Vespersaurus (meaning "western lizard") is a genus of noasaurid theropod dinosaur from the Cretaceous Rio Paraná Formation in the Paraná Basin, Brazil. The type and only species is V. paranaensis, which would have lived in the giant prehistoric Botucatu Desert.

Shanxia (named after the Shanxi Province) is a monospecific genus of ankylosaurid dinosaur from the Shanxi Province that lived during the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian-Campanian, ~99-71 Ma) in what is now the Huiquanpu Formation. Shanxia may possibly represent a junior synonym of Tianzhenosaurus, an ankylosaurine also known from the Huiquanpu Formation of China.

Kangnasaurus (meaning "Farm Kangnas lizard") is a genus of elasmarian ornithopod dinosaur found in Late Cretaceous rocks of South Africa. It is known from a tooth and possibly some postcranial remains dating between the middle-Campanian to Maastrichtian Kalahari Deposits Formation.

Clasmodosaurus (meaning "fragmentary tooth reptile") is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Mata Amarilla Formation and the Cerro Fortaleza Formation. It lived during the Late Cretaceous in what is now Argentina. It is known from five fossilized and assorted teeth, but is diagnosed by a unique combination of characters.

Tsagantegia (; meaning Tsagan Teg) is a genus of medium-sized ankylosaurid thyreophoran dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period. The genus is monotypic, including only the type species, T. longicranialis. The specimen consists of a very partial individual, comprising the skull and lacking postcranial remains. Since it only preserves the skull, Tsagantegia is mainly characterized by its elongated snout and the flattened facial osteoderms, greatly differing from other ankylosaurs. ==Discovery and naming== The first, and only, discovery of Tsagantegia fossils occurred in 198

Sonidosaurus (meaning "Sonid lizard", after Sonid, the large geographical area that includes the type locality) is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous. It was a titanosaur which lived in what is now Inner Mongolia. The type species, Sonidosaurus saihangaobiensis, was described by Xu, Zhang, Tan, Zhao, and Tan in 2006. It was a small titanosaur, about 9 meters (30 ft) long. It was first discovered in the Saihangaobi, Iren Dabasu (Erlian) Formation, in 2001 in a quarry which would later yield the remains of Gigantoraptor.

Tianzhenosaurus (meaning “Tianzhen lizard”) is a genus of ankylosaurid dinosaurs known from the Late Cretaceous Huiquanpu Formation of Shanxi Province, China. The genus contains two species, T. youngi (the type species) and T. chengi. Some researchers have suggested that Tianzhenosaurus may represent a junior synonym of Saichania, an ankylosaurine from the Barun Goyot and Nemegt formations.

Mosaiceratops is a genus of ceratopsian dinosaur that lived in the upper Cretaceous Xiaguan Formation in what is now the Henan Province of China. It was described by Zheng, Jin, and Xu in 2015 as the type species Mosaiceratops azumai. Although phylogenetic analyses have found it to be the basalmost neoceratopsian, the authors noted that several features in the premaxilla and nasal bones are shared with Psittacosaurus, indicating that neoceratopsians evolved premaxillary teeth twice and that the latter is not as primitive as previously thought.

Duonychus (meaning "two claws") is an extinct genus of therizinosaurid theropod dinosaurs that lived during the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian to early Coniacian age) of what is now Mongolia. It is known from a partial skeleton, including several vertebrae, most of the forelimbs, and part of the pelvic girdle, found in outcrops of the Bayanshiree Formation. The remains were discovered in 2012 by the Mongolian Academy of Sciences and briefly mentioned in later conference abstracts. The genus contains a single species, Duonychus tsogtbaatari, which was formally described in 2025.

Beibeilong (Chinese: , ) is a genus of large caenagnathid dinosaurs that lived in China during the Late Cretaceous epoch, about 96 million to 88 million years ago. The genus contains a single species, Beibeilong sinensis. The species was named and described in 2017 through analysis of an embryonic skeleton (nicknamed Baby Louie) and partial nest with large eggs that were discovered in the Gaogou Formation of China (Henan Province) between 1992 and 1993.

Qianjiangsaurus (meaning "Qianjiang lizard") is an extinct genus of hadrosauroidean ornithopod dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous Zhengyang Formation of China. The genus contains a single species, Q. changshengi, known from a partial skeleton. Qianjiangsaurus is one of the few hadrosauroids named from south China, and it indicates important fauna connections between similarly aged formations in Mongolia.

Majungasaurinae (after Majungasaurus, itself named after the city of Mahajanga in Madagascar) is a subfamily of large carnivorous theropods from the Upper Cretaceous, found in Madagascar, India, Spain, and France. It is a subgroup within the theropod family Abelisauridae, a Gondwanan clade known for their thick and often horned skulls and vestigial arms. The two subfamilies of Abelisauridae are Carnotaurinae, best known from the South American Carnotaurus, and Majungasaurinae, consisting of Madagascar's Majungasaurus and its closest relatives. Their ancestors emerged in the Middle Jurassic, an

Rinconsauria is an extinct clade of titanosaurian sauropods known from the late Cretaceous period of Argentina. All members of this clade are fairly small compared to the largest titanosaurs, at less than around long. The membership of Rinconsauria is highly unstable; some phylogenetic analyses find the clade to be restricted to the two genera that define the clade, Rinconsaurus and Muyelensaurus, but over twenty other titanosaur genera have been included in the clade by various analyses.

Opisthocoelicaudiinae is a subfamily of titanosaurian dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous. It was named by John McIntosh in 1990. Opisthocoelicaudiines are known from Mongolia, Argentina, and the United States. Two genera were assigned to Opisthocoelicaudiinae by Gonzalez et al. (2009): Alamosaurus and Opisthocoelicaudia (the type genus), a conclusion also found by Díez Díaz et al. (2018). The hands of opisthocoelicaudiines lacked wrist bones and phalanges.

Unenlagiidae is a proposed family of eumaniraptoran paravians that includes the subfamilies Unenlagiinae and possibly Halszkaraptorinae. Fossils of both subfamilies have been found in both Gondwanan and Laurasian deposits. The biology of the group suggests that some members were semiaquatic specialists.

Diamantinasauria is an extinct clade of somphospondylan titanosauriform sauropod dinosaurs with close affinities to the Titanosauria, known from the early Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian-Turonian) of South America and Australia. It was named by Poropat and colleagues in 2021, and contains four (or five, depending on the placement of Wintonotitan) genera: Australotitan, Savannasaurus and Diamantinasaurus from the Winton Formation of Queensland, as well as Sarmientosaurus from the Bajo Barreal Formation of Patagonia. The existence of the clade indicates connectivity between Australia and South Ameri

Saltasaurinae is a subfamily of titanosaurian sauropods known from the late Cretaceous period of South America, India and Madagascar.

Datonglong is an extinct genus of herbivorous ornithopod dinosaur, belonging to the Hadrosauroidea, which lived in the Late Cretaceous period in present-day China. Its type species is Datonglong tianzhenensis.

Jinbeisaurus (meaning "northern Shanxi Province lizard" after Shanxi Province in China) is an extinct genus of tyrannosauroid dinosaurs from the Upper Cretaceous Huiquanpu Formation of Shanxi Province in China. The type and only species is Jinbeisaurus wangi. It is the first non-avian theropod named from Shanxi.

Hadrosauromorpha is a clade of iguanodontian ornithopods, defined in 2014 by David B. Norman to divide Hadrosauroidea into the basal taxa with compressed manual bones and a pollex, and the derived taxa that lack them. The clade is formally defined in the PhyloCode as "the largest clade containing Hadrosaurus foulkii, but not Probactrosaurus gobiensis". This results in different taxon inclusion depending on the analysis.

Tralkasaurus (meaning "thunder lizard") is a genus of abelisaurid dinosaur from the Huincul Formation from Río Negro Province in Argentina. The type and only species is Tralkasaurus cuyi, named in 2020 by Mauricio Cerroni and colleagues based on an incomplete skeleton. A medium-sized abelisaurid, Tralkasaurus exhibits a conflicting blend of characteristics found among the early-diverging abelisauroids with others that characterize the highly specialized clade Brachyrostra, and thus its position within the clade is poorly-resolved.

Ichthyornithes is an extinct group of toothed avialan dinosaurs very closely related to the common ancestor of all modern birds. They are known from fossil remains found throughout the late Cretaceous period of North America, though only two genera, Ichthyornis and Janavis, are represented by complete enough fossils to have been named. Ichthyornitheans became extinct at the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary, along with enantiornitheans, all other non-avian dinosaurs, and many other animal and plant groups.

Saltasauroidea is a superfamily of titanosaurs named by França and colleagues in 2016 based on their phylogenetic results, for a clade uniting Aeolosaurini and Saltasauridae, as well as the intermediate genera Baurutitan, Diamantinasaurus and Isisaurus. The group was not discussed in the text, but was supported by Carballido and colleagues in 2022 as a useful designation for subdividing titanosaurs. As there was no discussion about the intentions for the clade, Carballido gave it the definition of all taxa closer to Saltasaurus than Patagotitan, encompassing half of Eutitanosauria as the siste

Patagopterygiformes is an extinct group of large terrestrial ornithuromorph dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous of South America. It contains at most three genera: Patagopteryx, Alamitornis and possibly Kuszholia.

Brachyrostra (meaning "short snouts") is a clade within the theropod dinosaur family Abelisauridae. It includes the famous genera Carnotaurus, Aucasaurus, potentially Abelisaurus as well as their close relatives from the Cretaceous Period of Argentina and Brazil plus Caletodraco from France. The group was first proposed in an analysis conducted by Juan Canale and colleagues in 2008. They found that all South American abelisaurids described up to that point grouped together as a sub-clade of Abelisauridae, which they named based on the relatively unusual shape of their skulls (in comparison wit