List of Appalachian dinosaurs facts for kids
This is a list of dinosaurs whose remains have been recovered from Appalachia. During the Late Cretaceous period, the Western Interior Seaway divided the continent of North America into two landmasses; one in the west named Laramidia and Appalachia in the east. Since they were separated from each other, the dinosaur faunas on each of them were very different. For example, nodosaurs were common in Appalachia, but they were rare in Laramidia, and there were only specialized forms, such as Edmontonia and Panoplosaurus. This is an example of how isolated faunas develop differently.
List of Appalachian dinosaurs
| Name | Period | Diet | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acrocanthosaurus | Lower Cretaceous | carnivore | A large carcharodontosaur from Texas and Oklahoma. Possible teeth known from Maryland. |
| Ampelognathus | Upper Cretaceous | herbivore | A small ornithopod from Texas. |
| Appalachiosaurus | Upper Cretaceous | carnivore | Large tyrannosauroid from Alabama. |
| Arkansaurus | Lower Cretaceous | omnivore | Early ornithomimid from Arkansas. |
| Astrodon | Lower Cretaceous | herbivore | Large herbivorous sauropod found in Maryland. |
| Astrophocaudia | Lower Cretaceous | herbivore | Large herbivorous sauropod found in Texas. |
| Cedarosaurus | Lower Cretaceous | herbivore | Large herbivorous sauropod found in the Trinity Group of Texas. |
| Claosaurus | Upper Cretaceous | herbivore | Primitive hadrosauromorph. Its only known fossil specimen found appeared to have been washed into the Western Interior Seaway. It is believed to be from Appalachia because it was found closer to the Appalachia side of the sea and is unknown from Laramidia. |
| "Coelosaurus" | Upper Cretaceous | omnivore | May be synonymous with Ornithomimus. Its remains have been found New Jersey. |
| Convolosaurus | Lower Cretaceous | herbivore | A small ornithopod that was endemic to Texas. |
| Deinonychus | Lower Cretaceous | carnivore | A dromaeosaur whose remains have been found in Oklahoma. Possible teeth found in Maryland. |
| Diplotomodon | Upper Cretaceous | carnivore | Dubious name for a species of tyrannosauroid from New Jersey, possibly a Dryptosaurus or a potentially new genus. |
| Dryptosaurus | Upper Cretaceous | carnivore | Medium-sized tyrannosauroid from New Jersey. It was the first theropod unearthed in North America. |
| Eotrachodon | Upper Cretaceous | herbivore | Hadrosaur from Alabama known from a nearly complete skeleton. |
| Hadrosaurus | Upper Cretaceous | herbivore | First known non-avian dinosaur skeleton from the United States. Discovered in 1858 in Haddonfield, New Jersey. |
| Hierosaurus | Upper Cretaceous | herbivore | A dubious genus of nodosaur unearthed in Kansas. |
| Hypsibema | Upper Cretaceous | herbivore | Little known hadrosaur first discovered in North Carolina in 1869. Better material of a second species was found in Missouri. |
| Lophorhothon | Upper Cretaceous | herbivore | Hadrosauromorph from Alabama with skull fragments discovered. In 2021, a more complete skeleton was unearthed. |
| Niobrarasaurus | Upper Cretaceous | herbivore | Another example of a nodosaurid dinosaur from Kansas. |
| Ornithotarsus | Upper Cretaceous | herbivore | Junior synonym of Hadrosaurus. |
| Parrosaurus | Upper Cretaceous | herbivore | Hadrosaur from Missouri. May possibly represent Junior synonym of Hypsibema missouriensis. Is the state dinosaur of Missouri. |
| Pawpawsaurus | Lower Cretaceous | herbivore | Nodosaur that was unearthed in Texas. |
| Priconodon | Lower Cretaceous | herbivore | Nodosaur from Maryland found only from fossilized teeth. |
| Protohadros | Lower Cretaceous | herbivore | Hadrosaur from eastern Texas, which was a part of Appalachia during the formation of the Western Interior Seaway. |
| Propanoplosaurus | Lower Cretaceous | herbivore | Nodosaurid dinosaur from Maryland. |
| Silvisaurus | Upper Cretaceous | herbivore | Herbivorous nodosaur from the state of Kansas. Like Claosaurus, the specimen found was probably washed into the Western Interior Seaway. It is believed to be from Appalachia because it was found closer to the Appalachia side of the sea. |
| Saurornitholestes | Upper Cretaceous | carnivore | A dromaeosaur endemic to Laramidia that possibly made its way to Appalachia via island hopping. Possible teeth have been found in Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina. |
| Sauroposeidon | Lower Cretaceous | herbivore | A massive sauropod whose remains have been unearthed in Texas and Oklahoma. |
| Teihivenator | Upper Cretaceous | carnivore | A dubious species of tyrannosaur that was unearthed in New Jersey. |
| Texasetes | Lower Cretaceous | herbivore | Another nodosaur from Texas. |
| Tenontosaurus | Lower Cretaceous | herbivore | An iguanodontid whose remains have been found in Texas, Oklahoma and Maryland. |
| Zephyrosaurus | Lower Cretaceous | herbivore | A small ornithopod endemic to Laramidia. Possible tracks have been discovered in Maryland and Virginia. |
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List of Appalachian dinosaurs Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.