List of European dinosaurs

Dinosaurs evolved partway through the Triassic period of the Mesozoic era, around 230 Ma (million years ago). At that time, the earth had one supercontinental landmass, called Pangaea, of which Europe was a part.^[1] So it remained throughout the Triassic. By the start of the Jurassic period, some 30 million years later, the supercontinent began to split into Laurasia and Gondwana. The largest inlet from Panthalassa, the superocean that surrounded Pangaea, was called the Tethys Ocean, and as this inlet cut deeper into the supercontinent, much of Europe was flooded.

By the Cretaceous, from 145 to 66 million years ago, the continents were beginning to approach their present shapes, but not their present positions, and Europe remained tropical. At times, it was a chain of island-microcontinents including Baltica and .

Europe is relatively rich in fossils from the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary, and much of what is known about European dinosaurs dates from this time. During the Maastrichtian the end of the Cretaceous dinosaurs were dominating western and Central Europe as the Tremp Formation in Spain dates back to that age. Examples of dinosaurs from Maastrichtian Europe are Struthiosaurus and Canardia.

Criteria for inclusion[]

• The creature must appear on the List of dinosaur genera.
• Fossils of the creature must have been found in Europe.
• This list is a complement to Category:Dinosaurs of Europe.

List of European dinosaurs[]

Nomen dubium

Invalid

Nomen nudum

Name	Period	Diet[2]	Country	Notes
Acanthopholis	Cretaceous	herbivore	England	An ankylosaur.
Adynomosaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	Spain	The first non-avian dinosaur described in 2019.
Aepisaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	France	A dubious sauropod.
Agrosaurus	Triassic	herbivore	England	Mistakenly thought to be from Australia; now considered possibly the same as Thecodontosaurus.
Ajkaceratops	Cretaceous	herbivore	Hungary	The first definitive ceratopsian from Europe.
Allosaurus	Jurassic	carnivore	Portugal (other species are known from the United States)	The European species is Allosaurus europaeus.
Alocodon	Jurassic	(herbivore)	Portugal	Possibly a neornithischian.
Altispinax	Cretaceous	carnivore	England	Includes "Becklespinax".
Amanzia	Jurassic	herbivore	Switzerland	A non-neosauropod eusauropod, possibly a turiasaur.
Ampelosaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	France	A titanosaur known to possess spike-like osteoderms.
Anoplosaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	England	An ankylosaur formerly considered to be an ornithopod.
Aragosaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	Spain	A Camarasaurus-like sauropod from Spain.
Archaeopteryx	Jurassic	carnivore	Germany	Possibly a bird.
Arcovenator	Cretaceous	carnivore	France	One of the few abelisaurs from the Northern Hemisphere.
Arenysaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	Spain	One of the last lambeosaurine hadrosaurs.
Aristosuchus	Cretaceous	carnivore	England	A compsognathid.
Asylosaurus	Triassic	herbivore/omnivore	England	Similar to Thecodontosaurus; its remains survived bombing during World War II.
Atsinganosaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	France	A member of the clade Lirainosaurinae.
Aviatyrannis	Jurassic	carnivore	Portugal	tyrannosauroid.
Balaur	Cretaceous	herbivore/omnivore	Romania	Either a bird or a non-avialan paravian.
Barilium	Cretaceous	herbivore	England	Almost called "Torillion".
Baryonyx	Cretaceous	carnivore	Spain, Portugal, England	A spinosaurid adapted to catch fish.
Betasuchus	Cretaceous	carnivore	Netherlands	One of the few known non-avian dinosaurs from the Netherlands.
Bihariosaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	Romania	Actually a nomen nudum and invalid.
Blasisaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	Spain	One of the last lambeosaurines, together with Arenysaurus.
Bothriospondylus	Jurassic	herbivore	England	Type species was found in England. Attributed remains from France and Madagascar have been assigned to other genera.
Bradycneme	Cretaceous	(carnivore)	Romania	Either a troodontid or alvarezsaur.
Burianosaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	Czech Republic	An ornithopod named after paleoartist Zdenek Burian.
Calamosaurus	Cretaceous	(carnivore)	England	Either a compsognathid or an ornithomimosaur.
Calamospondylus	Cretaceous	(carnivore)	England	Possibly a primitive oviraptorosaur.
Callovosaurus	Jurassic	herbivore	England	One of the oldest dryosaurids.
Camarillasaurus	Cretaceous	carnivore	Spain	A primitive spinosaur.
Camelotia	Triassic	herbivore	England	One of the largest dinosaurs of the Triassic period.
Canardia	Cretaceous	herbivore	France	It represents a lineage of hadrosaurs previously unknown in Europe.
Cardiodon	Jurassic	herbivore	England	Its remains are the first sauropod remains ever found.
Ceratosaurus	Jurassic	carnivore	Portugal and Switzerland? (other species are known from the United States)	Remains from Portugal and possibly Switzerland have been attributed to Ceratosaurus.
Cetiosauriscus	Jurassic	herbivore	England	Once thought to be a primitive diplodocoid.
Cetiosaurus	Jurassic	herbivore	England	The first sauropod correctly identified as such.
Chondrosteosaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	England	A dubious sauropod with a convoluted taxonomic history.
Compsognathus	Jurassic	carnivore	Germany and France	One of the smallest non-avian dinosaurs.
Concavenator	Cretaceous	carnivore	Spain	A strange carcharodontosaurid with a hump-back and possibly feathers.
Craspedodon	Cretaceous	herbivore	Belgium	Maybe a ceratopsian.
Craterosaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	England	Possibly an Early Cretaceous stegosaur.
Cruxicheiros	Jurassic	carnivore	England	A basal tetanuran.
Cryptosaurus	Jurassic	herbivore	England	An ankylosaur.
Cumnoria	Jurassic	herbivore	England	A relative (or species) of Camptosaurus.
Dacentrurus	Jurassic	herbivore	England, France, Spain and Portugal	A large stegosaur and the first of its kind to be discovered.
Darwinsaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	England	One of the many iguanodonts from Early Cretaceous England. May be the same as Hypselospinus.
Delapparentia	Cretaceous	herbivore	Spain	May be the same as Iguanodon.
Demandasaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	Spain	A rebbachisaurid.
Dinheirosaurus	Jurassic	herbivore	Portugal	May be a species of Supersaurus (as S. lourinhanensis)
Dinodocus	Cretaceous	herbivore	England	Despite its similar-sounding name, it probably wasn't closely related to Diplodocus.
Dolichosuchus	Triassic	carnivore	Germany	A primitive theropod.
Draconyx	Jurassic	herbivore	Portugal	A close relative of Camptosaurus.
Dracopelta	Jurassic	herbivore	Portugal	An ankylosaur.
Dracoraptor	Jurassic	carnivore	Wales	The first non-avian theropod found in Wales.
Dromaeosauroides	Cretaceous	carnivore	Denmark	The first non-avian dinosaur genus named from Scandinavian remains.
Dubreuillosaurus	Jurassic	carnivore	France	Found in France.
Duriatitan	Jurassic	herbivore	England	Formerly a species of Cetiosaurus.
Duriavenator	Jurassic	carnivore	England	Formerly a species of Megalosaurus. Also informally known as "Walkersaurus".
Echinodon	Cretaceous	omnivore	England	The latest surviving heterodontosaurid.
Efraasia	Triassic	herbivore	Germany	Mixed up with a lot of other reptiles throughout its history.
Elopteryx	Cretaceous	(carnivore)	Romania	Either a troodontid or alvarezsaur.
Emausaurus	Jurassic	herbivore	Germany	A basal thyreophoran that may be either bipedal or quadrupedal.
Eotyrannus	Cretaceous	carnivore	England	A tyrannosauroid.
Eousdryosaurus	Jurassic	herbivore	Portugal	A dryosaurid ornithopod.
Erectopus	Cretaceous	carnivore	France	A basal carnosaur.
Eucamerotus	Cretaceous	herbivore	England	A sauropod with a convoluted history.
Eucercosaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	England	Possibly an ornithopod.
Euronychodon	Cretaceous	carnivore	Portugal (another species is known from Uzbekistan)	A tooth taxon that may be a troodontid.
Europasaurus	Jurassic	herbivore	Germany	An island-living sauropod that grew to small sizes.
Europatitan	Cretaceous	herbivore	Spain	A large sauropod.
Europelta	Cretaceous	herbivore	Spain	Represents Europe's most completely known ankylosaur.
Eustreptospondylus	Jurassic	carnivore	England	Some have suggested it could swim.
Galvesaurus	Jurassic/Cretaceous	herbivore	Spain	Also spelled "Galveosaurus". See article for more information.
Garrigatitan	Cretaceous	herbivore	France	A relative of Ampelosaurus.
Genusaurus	Cretaceous	carnivore	France	An indeterminate abelisauroid.
Gideonmantellia	Cretaceous	herbivore	Spain	A basal ornithopod similar to Hypsilophodon.
Gigantosaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	England	Not to be confused with Giganotosaurus. This is a sauropod.
Haestasaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	England	A small indeterminate sauropod with known skin impressions.
Halticosaurus	Triassic	carnivore	Germany	A dubious theropod.
Heptasteornis	Cretaceous	(carnivore)	Romania	Possibly an alvarezsaur.
Histriasaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	Croatia	One of the oldest rebbachisaurids.
Horshamosaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	England	Formerly a species of Polacanthus.
Hungarosaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	Hungary	A nodosaur.
Huxleysaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	England	Named after scientists Thomas Henry Huxley. May be the same as Hypselospinus.
Hylaeosaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	England	The third animal recognized as a non-avian dinosaur.
Hypselosaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	France	The first titanosaur known to science.
Hypselospinus	Cretaceous	herbivore	England	An iguanodont.
Hypsilophodon	Cretaceous	herbivore	England	One of the more well-known basal ornithischians.
Iguanodon	Cretaceous	herbivore	England, Belgium and Spain	The second non-avian dinosaur known to science, and the first known herbivorous non-avian dinosaur.
Iliosuchus	Cretaceous	carnivore	England	Once considered a tyrannosauroid.
"Ischyrosaurus"	Jurassic	herbivore	England	This name is preoccupied, but by what is unknown.
Iuticosaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	England	A sauropod.
Juratyrant	Jurassic	carnivore	England	A tyrannosauroid.
Juravenator	Jurassic	carnivore	Germany	It shows evidence of having both scales and feathers.
Koutalisaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	Spain	May be the same as Pararhabdodon.
Kukufeldia	Cretaceous	herbivore	England	Named after Cuckfield in England. May be the same as Barilium.
Lexovisaurus	Jurassic	herbivore	England, France	A stegosaur from the Middle Jurassic.
Liassaurus	Jurassic	(unknown)	England	May be the same as Sarcosaurus.
Liliensternus	Triassic	carnivore	Germany	An early predator often reconstructed with a crest on its snout.
Lirainosaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	Spain	A lithostrotian titanosaur.
Lohuecotitan	Cretaceous	herbivore	Spain	A lithostrotian titanosaur.
Lophostropheus	Triassic/Jurassic	carnivore	France	One of the few dinosaurs that lived in two separate geologic periods.
Loricatosaurus	Jurassic	herbivore	England and France	Most Lexovisaurus remains have been transferred to this animal.
Losillasaurus	Jurassic/Cretaceous	herbivore	Spain	A large sauropod.
Lourinhanosaurus	Jurassic	carnivore	Portugal	A bizarre theropod that may have swallowed gastroliths.
Lourinhasaurus	Jurassic	herbivore	Portugal	A macronarian sauropod.
Lusitanosaurus	Jurassic	herbivore	Portugal	Possibly dubious.
Lusotitan	Jurassic	herbivore	Portugal	Formerly thought to represent European remains of Brachiosaurus.
Lusovenator	Jurassic	carnivore	Portugal	A carcharodontosaurian theropod.
Macrurosaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	England	Possibly a sauropod.
Magnamanus	Cretaceous	herbivore	Spain	An iguanodont with unusually large hands.
Magnosaurus	Jurassic	carnivore	England	A megalosaurid theropod.
Magyarosaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	Romania	One of the smallest adult sauropods, reaching up to a maximum of 6 meters (20 feet) in length.
Mantellisaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	Belgium, England, Germany	A common ornithopod.
Mantellodon	Cretaceous	herbivore	England	May be the same as another English ornithopod, possibly Mantellisaurus.
Marmarospondylus	Jurassic	herbivore	England	A sauropod.
Matheronodon	Cretaceous	herbivore	France	An ornithopod with two unusually large teeth.
Megalosaurus	Jurassic	carnivore	England	The first non-avian dinosaur known to science.
Merosaurus	Jurassic	carnivore	England	Once thought to belong to Scelidosaurus.
Metriacanthosaurus	Jurassic	carnivore	England	A close relative of Allosaurus.
Miragaia	Jurassic	herbivore	Portugal	A stegosaur with an unusually long neck.
Mochlodon	Cretaceous	herbivore	Austria and Hungary	A rhabdodontid.
Morelladon	Cretaceous	herbivore	Spain	An ornithopod with a sail which is not as high as that in Ouranosaurus.
Morinosaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	France	A sauropod.
Neosodon	Jurassic	herbivore	France	Unlike practically all taxonomic genera, this has no referred species to it.
Neovenator	Cretaceous	carnivore	England	A large predator.
Newtonsaurus	Triassic	carnivore	England	Formerly "Zanclodon cambrensis".
Normanniasaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	France	A sauropod.
Notatesseraeraptor	Triassic	carnivore	Switzerland	Shows a combination of features normally found in different groups of early theropods.
Nuthetes	Cretaceous	carnivore	England	Either a dromaeosaur or a tyrannosauroid.
Oceanotitan	Jurassic	herbivore	Portugal	A sauropod.
Ohmdenosaurus	Jurassic	herbivore	Germany	A small basal sauropod.
Oligosaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	Austria	May be the same as Rhabdodon.
Oplosaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	England	A sauropod.
Ornithodesmus	Cretaceous	carnivore	England	A dromaeosaur formerly considered to represent a pterosaur.
Ornithomerus	Cretaceous	herbivore	Austria	May be the same as Rhabdodon.
Ornithopsis	Cretaceous	herbivore	England	A sauropod.
Orthomerus	Cretaceous	herbivore	Netherlands	A possibly dubious ornithopod from the Netherlands.
Ostromia	Jurassic	carnivore	Germany	A possible anchiornithid formerly thought to represent a pterosaur or an Archaeopteryx.
Owenodon	Cretaceous	herbivore	England	An ornithopod.
Paludititan	Cretaceous	herbivore	Romania	A contemporary of Magyarosaurus.
Pantydraco	Triassic	herbivore	Wales	A small basal sauropodomorph.
Pararhabdodon	Cretaceous	herbivore	Spain	The first known lambeosaurine from Europe.
Pareisactus	Cretaceous	herbivore	Spain	A rhabdodont known from a single bone from a hadrosaur bonebed.
Pelecanimimus	Cretaceous	carnivore	Spain	A primitive ornithomimosaur with 200 teeth.
Pelorosaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	England & Portugal	A sauropod with a confusing taxonomy.
Phyllodon	Jurassic	herbivore	Portugal	Tooth taxon; probably an ornithopod.
Piveteausaurus	Jurassic	carnivore	France	A theropod.
Plateosaurus	Triassic	herbivore	Germany, France, Switzerland and Norway (possible remains found in Greenland)	Fossils of this basal sauropodomorph genus have been found widespread across Europe.
Pneumatoraptor	Cretaceous	carnivore	Hungary	An indeterminate paravian.
Poekilopleuron	Jurassic	carnivore	England	A close relative of Megalosaurus.
Polacanthoides	Cretaceous	herbivore	England	May be the same as either Polacanthus or Hylaeosaurus.
Polacanthus	Cretaceous	herbivore	England	A relatively well known nodosaur.
Priodontognathus	Jurassic	herbivore	England	A dubious ankylosaur.
Proa	Cretaceous	herbivore	Spain	Named for its prow-shaped jaw.
Proceratosaurus	Jurassic	carnivore	England	A tyrannosauroid.
Procompsognathus	Triassic	carnivore	Germany	A coelophysoid.
Proplanicoxa	Cretaceous	herbivore	England	Probably the same as Mantellisaurus.
Pterospondylus	Triassic	carnivore	Germany	A possibly dubious coelophysoid.
Pyroraptor	Cretaceous	carnivore	France	Named because it was found after a forest fire took place.
Regnosaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	England	One of the first stegosaurs discovered.
Rhabdodon	Cretaceous	herbivore	France and Spain	A common ornithopod.
Rhadinosaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	Austria	Either a synonym of Struthiosaurus or a crocodilian.
Riabininohadros	Cretaceous	herbivore	Crimea (Russia/Ukraine)	Formerly assigned to Orthomerus.
Ruehleia	Triassic	herbivore	Germany	A basal sauropodomorph ("prosauropod").
Saltriovenator	Jurassic	carnivore	Italy	A ceratosaur that appeared for eighteen years as a nomen nudum called "Saltriosaurus". It was possibly the biggest predator of its time.
Sarcolestes	Jurassic	herbivore	England	A Jurassic ankylosaur.
Sarcosaurus	Jurassic	carnivore	England	Either a ceratosaur or a coelophysoid.
Scelidosaurus	Jurassic	herbivore	England	A primitive thyreophoran.
Schleitheimia	Triassic	herbivore	Switzerland	A derived non-sauropod sauropodiform or an basal sauropod, depending on the definition.
Scipionyx	Cretaceous	carnivore	Italy	The first dinosaur described from Italy. Preserved internal organs of this genus have been found.
Sciurumimus	Jurassic	carnivore	Germany	Once considered a megalosaurid; it is known for its feathered tail.
Sellacoxa	Cretaceous	herbivore	England	An ornithopod that may be the same as Barilium.
Soriatitan	Cretaceous	herbivore	Spain	A large, recently discovered sauropod.
Stegosaurus	Jurassic	herbivore	Portugal (most remains are known from the United States)	Remains of an indeterminate species have been found in Portugal.
Stenopelix	Cretaceous	herbivore	Germany	A basal ceratopsian.
Streptospondylus	Jurassic	carnivore	France	The second non-avian theropod known to science.
Struthiosaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	Austria, France, Romania and Hungary	One of the smallest ankylosaurs.
Suchosaurus	Cretaceous	carnivore	England and Portugal	Possibly the same as Baryonyx.
Syngonosaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	England	Either a synonym of Acanthopholis or an iguanodont.
Tanystrosuchus	Triassic	carnivore	Germany	A dubious theropod.
Tarascosaurus	Cretaceous	carnivore	France	Possibly an abelisaur.
Tastavinsaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	Spain	A clade called "Laurasiformes" was named which is attached to this genus, but not all scientists recover it.
Taveirosaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	Portugal, Spain	An indeterminate ornithischian.
Teinurosaurus	Jurassic	carnivore	Portugal	A theropod.
Telmatosaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	Romania	A small basal hadrosauromorph.
Tethyshadros	Cretaceous	herbivore	Italy	One of the smallest known hadrosauromorphs.
Thecocoelurus	Cretaceous	carnivore	England	Possibly an early ornithomimosaur.
Thecodontosaurus	Triassic	herbivore	England	Sometimes found in Carboniferous deposits.
Thecospondylus	Cretaceous	(carnivore)	England	Scientists are not sure if it is a saurischian or an ornithischian.
Therosaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	England	Confusingly, this genus was named for the type species of Iguanodon.
Torvosaurus	Jurassic	carnivore	Portugal and Germany (another species is known from the United States)	T. guerneyi was found in Portugal, and an indeterminate species is known from Germany.
Trimucrodon	Jurassic	herbivore	Portugal	Possibly an ornithischian.
Turiasaurus	Jurassic/Cretaceous	herbivore	Spain, Portugal	One of the largest known dinosaurs.
Valdoraptor	Cretaceous	carnivore	England	Possibly an early ornithomimosaur.
Valdosaurus	Cretaceous	herbivore	England	A dryosaurid.
Vallibonavenatrix	Cretaceous	carnivore	Spain	The first spinosaurid named since Ichthyovenator in 2012.
Variraptor	Cretaceous	carnivore	England	A dromaeosaur.
Vectaerovenator	Cretaceous	carnivore	England	This indeterminate theropod's remains were announced in a press release one month before the paper that names it was published.
Velocipes	Triassic	carnivore	Poland	Its dinosaurian status has been questioned.
Volgatitan	Cretaceous	herbivore	Russia	The only non-avian dinosaur known from the European part of Russia.
Vouivria	Jurassic	herbivore	France	Formerly thought to represent Bothriospondylus.
Wellnhoferia	Jurassic	carnivore	Germany	May be the same as Archaeopteryx.
Wiehenvenator	Jurassic	carnivore	Germany	Originally nicknamed "Das Monster von Minden".
Xenoposeidon	Cretaceous	herbivore	England	Possibly an early rebbachisaur.
Yaverlandia	Cretaceous	carnivore	England	Once thought to represent a pachycephalosaur, now thought to be a maniraptor.
Zalmoxes	Cretaceous	herbivore	Romania	A rhabdodontid.
Zby	Jurassic	herbivore	Portugal	A large sauropod.

Timeline[]

This is a timeline of selected dinosaurs from the list above. Time is measured in Ma, megaannum, along the x-axis.

See also[]

• Category: Cretaceous paleontological sites of Europe
• List of European birds

Notes[]