Best Cretaceous

David Jablonski is an American paleontologist and evolutionary biologist known for his extensive research on the fossil record of marine invertebrates. As a professor at the University of Chicago, his work focuses on macroevolution, examining the large-scale patterns of biodiversity, extinction, and...

Borealopelta markmitchelli, a nodosaurid ankylosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Alberta discovered by miner Shawn Funk in 2011, preserves original skin, scales, and reddish-brown pigmentation in extraordinary three-dimensional detail.

Sinosauropteryx prima was a small compsognathid theropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous deposits of Liaoning, China. Described in 1996, specimens preserve a covering of simple filamentous structures, providing early direct evidence that non-avian dinosaurs could possess feather-like integument....

Scotty, catalogued as RSM P2523.8, is a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton discovered near Eastend, Saskatchewan, in 1991 and held by the Royal Saskatchewan Museum. Excavation and preparation of the specimen took many years because its bones were enclosed in hard sandstone; a 2019 study estimated its living...

Stan, catalogued as BHI 3033, is a substantially complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton found by Stan Sacrison in South Dakota in 1987 and excavated by the Black Hills Institute. The specimen preserves much of the skull and skeleton and shows several healed injuries, making it useful for anatomical and...

Sue, catalogued as FMNH PR 2081, is a large and unusually complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton discovered by Sue Hendrickson in South Dakota in 1990. The Field Museum in Chicago acquired the specimen at auction in 1997 for $8.36 million and placed it on public display after preparation. Sue preserves...

The T. rex Sue fossil represents an exceptionally well-preserved specimen of *Tyrannosaurus rex*. Discovered in South Dakota in 1990, it’s notable for its near-complete skeleton and remarkable state of preservation, offering unprecedented insight into the anatomy and biology of this iconic predator....

Mary Higby Schweitzer is an American paleontologist and a professor at North Carolina State University, recognized for her work in the field of molecular paleontology. She is best known for her 2005 reports detailing the discovery of pliable soft tissues and proteins, including blood vessel-like str...

The Chicxulub crater is a massive impact structure located beneath the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. It’s notable as the geological evidence for the asteroid that caused the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event, wiping out approximately 76% of plant and animal life on Earth. Scientists study it to u...

Velociraptor mongoliensis was a small dromaeosaurid theropod that lived in what is now Mongolia during the Late Cretaceous. Specimen IGM 100/25 forms part of the Fighting Dinosaurs fossil, which preserves a Velociraptor grappling with a Protoceratops, including the predator's enlarged sickle-shaped...

Sir Peter Crane is a prominent British paleobotanist recognized for his extensive research on the fossil history and evolution of early flowering plants. From 1999 to 2006, he served as the director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, overseeing one of the world's most important botanical research in...

John Bell Hatcher was an American paleontologist and prolific fossil collector active during the late 19th century. He is best known for his work in the American West, where he discovered the first fossils attributed to Triceratops in Wyoming in 1888. Often referred to as the "king of collectors," H...

Jan Smit is a Dutch micropaleontologist known for his extensive research on the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary. In 1980, he was part of the scientific team that helped identify the global iridium anomaly in the geological record, providing crucial evidence for the asteroid impact hypothesis. S...

Microraptor gui, a crow-sized dromaeosaurid from the Early Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of China, is notable for bearing pennaceous flight feathers on all four limbs, suggesting biplane-like aerodynamics.

Deinonychus antirrhopus was a dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of western North America. Yale specimen YPM 5205 formed part of the fossil material studied by paleontologist John Ostrom, whose 1969 description emphasized the animal's large sickle-shaped second toe claw, grasp...

Quetzalcoatlus northropi was a giant azhdarchid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous of what is now Texas. It is known from limited remains of a very large individual discovered in Big Bend National Park, so estimates of its exact proportions remain uncertain, but commonly cited wingspan estimates are...

Patagotitan mayorum is a giant titanosaurian sauropod known from fossils discovered in Chubut Province, Patagonia, Argentina. The species was formally described in 2017 from remains representing several individuals, with MPEF-PV 3400 designated as the holotype. It lived during the Late Cretaceous an...

Else Marie Friis is a Danish paleobotanist and a leading researcher in the study of early angiosperms, or flowering plants. Her significant work with Cretaceous fossil flowers from localities in Sweden and Portugal has provided critical evidence for understanding the early evolution and diversificat...

Triceratops horridus was a large herbivorous ceratopsid dinosaur from the latest Cretaceous of western North America. It is distinguished by a solid neck frill, a short nasal horn, and two long brow horns projecting above the eyes. USNM 1201 is a specimen held by the Smithsonian's National Museum of...

Spinosaurus aegyptiacus was a large spinosaurid theropod from the Late Cretaceous of North Africa, first described by Ernst Stromer in 1915 from Egyptian fossils. Elongated neural spines supported a tall sail along its back, while its narrow jaws and conical teeth were suited to gripping prey such a...

Wankel Rex, catalogued as MOR 555, is a partial Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton discovered by rancher Kathy Wankel near Fort Peck Lake in Montana in 1988 and excavated by the Museum of the Rockies. The specimen preserves a large portion of the skeleton and was the first T. rex found with a complete forel...

Ernst Stromer was a German paleontologist known for his significant discoveries of dinosaur fossils in Egypt. He is most famous for describing the genus Spinosaurus aegyptiacus in 1915, based on fossils recovered from the Bahariya Oasis. In addition to Spinosaurus, he also identified other large the...

David Dilcher is an American paleobotanist who earned his Ph.D. from Yale University in 1964 and became a pioneering figure in the study of fossil leaves. His extensive research has significantly advanced the scientific understanding of the origin, evolution, and diversification of angiosperms, or f...

Dreadnoughtus schrani is a giant titanosaurian sauropod known from Late Cretaceous rocks in Patagonia, Argentina, and formally described in 2014. The holotype, MPM-PV 1156, preserves a large proportion of the skeleton, including vertebrae, limb bones, and elements of the shoulder and pelvic girdles,...

Lawrence Lambe (1863-1919) was a Canadian geologist and paleontologist who worked for the Geological Survey of Canada and made significant contributions to the study of Cretaceous dinosaurs from the western Canadian sedimentary basin. Lambe described several important dinosaur genera from fossils fo...

Argentinosaurus huinculensis is a giant titanosaurian sauropod known from Late Cretaceous rocks of Neuquén Province, Argentina. Described in 1993, it is represented by fragmentary remains that include enormous vertebrae and limb bones, so reconstructions of its total length and mass involve substant...

Charles H. Sternberg (1850-1943) was a pioneering American fossil collector who made significant contributions to paleontology. Working initially under Edward Drinker Cope during the late 19th century, Sternberg developed innovative field techniques for fossil excavation. He established a family dyn...

Subadult T. rex discovered in Montana in 2001, central to ongoing scientific debate over whether Nanotyrannus lance is a valid genus; held at the Burpee Museum of Natural History in Rockford, Illinois.

David Norman is a British paleontologist and a professor at the University of Cambridge, where he also served as the director of the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences. His primary research focuses on the anatomy, classification, and biology of ornithischian dinosaurs, particularly early ceratopsians...