Our last Daily Dinosaur is Hypacrosaurus (or Lambeosaurus) magnicristatus, whose first name (Hypacrosaurus) means “near the highest lizard,” because it was almost – but not quite – as large as the Tyrannosaurus. He seems much friendlier, too. Scroll down to see a headshot of this dinosaur, along with a colorful illustration of other members of the Lambeosaurus family, and some information about Hypacrosaurus magnicristatus. Be sure to check out the other Daily Dinosaurs, and look out for Gregory S. Paul’s Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs!

This image is taken from The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs by Gregory S. Paul. It may not be reproduced elsewhere without permission.

This image is taken from The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs by Gregory S. Paul. It may not be reproduced elsewhere without permission.

We seem to be on a roll with the armor-plated, spiny dinosaurs! Today’s Daily Dinosaur, Edmontonia rugosidens, is just as tough as the other two we have posted, and may have used its massive shoulder spikes to charge at enemies and defend itself. Read more below, or click here to see the other Daily Dinosaurs.

This image is taken from The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs by Gregory S. Paul. It may not be reproduced elsewhere without permission.

While perhaps not as well-known as yesterday’s Stegosaurus stenops, this spiny fellow also boasts impressive plated armor, making it tough for any sharp-toothed predator to take a bite! Gregory Paul again provides three illustrations of the skeleton and outer surface, helping us get to know Gastonia burgei. Scroll down to learn more, or click here to read about the other Daily Dinosaurs.

This image is taken from The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs by Gregory S. Paul. It may not be reproduced elsewhere without permission.

This image is taken from The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs by Gregory S. Paul. It may not be reproduced elsewhere without permission.

You’ll probably recognize today’s iconic Daily Dinosaur, the Stegosaurus stenops, by its large armored plates – they’re hard to miss! In The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs, Gregory S. Paul helps us get to know this dinosaur inside and out with three detailed drawings of its skin and bone structure. Scroll down to read more about Stegosaurus below, or click here to see more Daily Dinosaurs!

This image is taken from The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs by Gregory S. Paul. It may not be reproduced elsewhere without permission.

This image is taken from The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs by Gregory S. Paul. It may not be reproduced elsewhere without permission.

Today’s Daily Dinosaur, brought to you by Gregory S. Paul’s The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs, gives us a look under the skin of Datousaurus bashenesis. Datousaurus means either “chieftain lizard” or “big-head lizard” (from the Malay datou, or “chieftain”; or the Chinese, da tou, “big head”; and Greek sauros/σαυρος “lizard”). Read more about this dinosaur below, or check out the other Daily Dinosaurs here.

This image is taken from The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs by Gregory S. Paul. It may not be reproduced elsewhere without permission.

It’s easier to believe that dinosaurs are birds’ ancestors when you see the ostrich-like Struthiomimus edmontonicus. This guy is bigger than any bird you’ve seen, though; he stands 12 feet tall and weighs almost 400 pounds! Scroll down to read more about Struthiomimus, and be sure to check out the other Daily Dinosaurs.

This image is taken from The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs by Gregory S. Paul. It may not be reproduced elsewhere without permission.

Today, Daily Dinosaur presents the tyrannosaurids, the most advanced and sophisticated of the large theropods. Also probably the most memorable – one well-known member of this group is the Tyrannosaurus, who made his unforgettable (and frightening!) appearance in the Jurassic Park films. Read on about tyrannosaurids below, and check out the other Daily Dinosaurs here.

Tyrannosaurus shaded skull
This image is taken from The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs by Gregory S. Paul. It may not be reproduced elsewhere without permission.

Continued »

Here’s another two-fer: a look at the outer appearance and the internal skeleton of the Raptorex kriegstenis, from Gregory S. Paul’s The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs. The detailed illustrations allow us to see the dinosaur’s long legs and well-developed leg muscles, perfect for pursuing and ambushing prey at high speeds. Scroll down to read more about Raptorex or click here to see more Daily Dinosaurs!

This image is taken from The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs by Gregory S. Paul. It may not be reproduced elsewhere without permission.

This image is taken from The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs by Gregory S. Paul. It may not be reproduced elsewhere without permission.

The Yangchuanosaurus dongi, believed to be a species of Sinraptor, is a fierce member of the Carnosaurs, the large predatory avetheropods that roamed most continents from the Middle Jurassic to the end of the Dinosaur Era. With its jagged teeth and powerful neck muscles, Yangchuanosaurus dongi was able to cripple prey with slashing bites. Scroll down to learn more about this dinosaur, and check out the other Daily Dinosaurs here.

This image is taken from The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs by Gregory S. Paul. It may not be reproduced elsewhere without permission.

This image is taken from The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs by Gregory S. Paul. It may not be reproduced elsewhere without permission.

Today’s Daily Dinosaur, taken from the introduction of Gregory S. Paul’s The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs, showcases the skeletons of several gigantic dinosaurs and compares them to the skeletons of mammals. The human in the center is dwarfed by these gargantuan beasts! Scroll down for a brief excerpt about dinosaur gigantism from the book, and check out the other Daily Dinosaurs here!

This image is taken from The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs by Gregory S. Paul. It may not be reproduced elsewhere without permission.

Although dinosaurs evolved from small protodinosaurs, and many were small—birds included—dinosaurs are famous for their tendency to develop gigantic forms. The average mammal is the size of a dog, whereas the average dinosaur was bear-sized. But those are just averages. Predatory theropods reached as much as 10 tonnes, as big as elephants and dwarfing the largest carnivorous mammals by a factor or ten or more. Sauropods exceeded the size of the largest land mammals, mammoths, and the long-legged indricothere rhinos of 15 to 20 tonnes, by a factor of at least five.

We’ve explored the inside of a sauropod’s digestive tract; today, Daily Dinosaurs takes us under the skin of theropods and ornithischians to see how the skull structures and muscle configurations differ. Scroll down to read an excerpt from Gregory Paul’s The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs, which discusses the construction of the teeth and the possibility of beaks in theropods and ornithiscians.

Left: Theropod skull & muscles; Right: Ornithischian skull & muscles.

These images are taken from The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs by Gregory S. Paul. It may not be reproduced elsewhere without permission.

Among amphibians, tuataras, lizards, and snakes, the teeth tend to be set close to one another along fairly sharp-rimmed jaws, and the mouth is sealed and the teeth covered by nonmuscular lips when closed. This arrangement appears to be true of most theropods, and sauropods as well. An exception among theropods would be the spinosaurs, which have a more crocodilian arrangement in which at least the front teeth are widely spaced in separate sockets, so they may have been lipless and their snaggly teeth exposed when the jaws were closed. Some theropods and ornithischians evolved beaks, and it has been suggested that prosauropods had incipient beaks.

Baryonyx with exposed front teeth.

This image is taken from The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs by Gregory S. Paul. It may not be reproduced elsewhere without permission.

The name says it all – Giraffatitan brancai is the most giraffe-like dinosaur known. The name is also Gregory Paul’s favorite, as he admits in the introduction to The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs. Scroll down to learn more about Giraffatitan, and be sure to check out the other daily dinosaurs here.

This image is taken from The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs by Gregory S. Paul. It may not be reproduced elsewhere without permission.