Best Jurassic

The London Archaeopteryx, described by Richard Owen in 1863 and held at the Natural History Museum London, was the second specimen recognized and helped establish the genus as a transitional bird-dinosaur.

The Berlin specimen of Archaeopteryx is a Late Jurassic fossil from the Solnhofen limestone of Bavaria and one of the most complete examples of the genus. It preserves a toothed skull, clawed fingers, a long bony tail, and detailed impressions of asymmetrical flight feathers, combining traits associ...

CM 84 is the holotype skeleton of Diplodocus carnegii, a long-necked diplodocid sauropod excavated in Wyoming in 1899 and housed at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh. The species was named in honor of industrialist Andrew Carnegie, whose support enabled full-size plaster casts of...

Paul M. Barrett is a British vertebrate paleontologist who holds a senior research position at the Natural History Museum in London. His primary research focuses on the anatomy, evolution, and feeding mechanisms of ornithischian dinosaurs, particularly those from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods....

Elmer S. Riggs was an American paleontologist who worked for the Field Columbian Museum in the early 20th century. In 1903, he named the sauropod dinosaur Brachiosaurus based on fossils found in Colorado. He is also known for his 1903 argument that Brontosaurus was a junior synonym of Apatosaurus. H...

Stegosaurus ungulatus (USNM 4936) is a large stegosaurid from the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation of North America, with specimen USNM 4936 on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

Albert Oppel (1831-1865) was a German paleontologist whose work on Jurassic ammonites revolutionized stratigraphic dating. In his landmark 1856-1858 study, Oppel established the concept of biozones, defining rock layers by specific assemblages of fossil organisms. His meticulous analysis of ammonite...

Allosaurus fragilis is a large theropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation of western North America. Othniel Charles Marsh named the species in 1877, and numerous skeletons have since made Allosaurus one of the better documented large Jurassic predators. USNM 4734 is a historically i...

Megalosaurus bucklandii was a large carnivorous theropod dinosaur that lived during the Middle Jurassic in what is now England. William Buckland formally described Megalosaurus in 1824 from fossils found in Oxfordshire, making it the first non-avian dinosaur to receive a valid scientific name. The k...

FMNH P25107 is the holotype specimen of Brachiosaurus altithorax, a large sauropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation of Colorado. Elmer Riggs and his field team collected the partial skeleton in 1900, and Riggs named the species in 1903. The specimen, held by Chicago's Field Museum,...

Dinosaur National Monument is a protected area spanning northeastern Utah and northwestern Colorado, established in 1915 around a major dinosaur fossil quarry. At the Quarry Exhibit Hall, visitors can see more than 1,500 dinosaur bones preserved in an exposed rock face, including remains of large Ju...

Anchiornis huxleyi, a Late Jurassic troodontid from China, was the first dinosaur to have its feather coloration scientifically reconstructed via melanosome analysis, revealing a black-and-white speckled pattern with a red crown.

Werner Janensch (1878–1969) was a German paleontologist best known for leading the German Tendaguru Expeditions in what is now Tanzania between 1909 and 1913. These expeditions recovered enormous quantities of Late Jurassic dinosaur fossils, including the holotype of Brachiosaurus brancai, which Jan...

Rhamphorhynchus muensteri was a long-tailed pterosaur that lived in Europe during the Late Jurassic. Many specimens come from the fine-grained Solnhofen limestone of Germany, where exceptional preservation sometimes records wing membranes, a diamond-shaped tail vane, and stomach contents. Its elonga...

Supersaurus vivianae is a diplodocid sauropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation of western North America. The specimen associated with the catalog number BYU 9025 was recovered from the Dry Mesa Dinosaur Quarry in Colorado and contributed to the genus's scientific description in 198...

STM 31-2 is the holotype fossil of Yi qi, a small scansoriopterygid dinosaur from Late Jurassic rocks in Hebei, China, described in 2015. The specimen preserves feathers and a long, rod-like wrist element associated with traces of a membranous flight surface, a combination not otherwise known in din...

Mike P. Taylor is a British vertebrate paleontologist whose research focuses on the anatomy, taxonomy, and evolution of sauropod dinosaurs. He is a co-founder, alongside Matt Wedel and Darren Naish, of Sauropod Vertebra Picture of the Week (SV-POW!), a blog dedicated to discussions of sauropod verte...

Goblin Valley State Park is a protected landscape in central Utah known for dense concentrations of unusually shaped sandstone hoodoos locally called goblins. The formations developed through erosion of rock associated with the Jurassic Entrada Sandstone, producing isolated pillars and rounded figur...

Stenopterygius quadriscissus was a marine ichthyosaur that lived during the Early Jurassic and is especially well represented in the Posidonia Shale near Holzmaden, Germany. Fossils from these deposits preserve articulated skeletons, body outlines and, in some individuals, embryos inside the body ca...

Castorocauda lutrasimilis is an extinct docodont mammaliaform from Middle Jurassic deposits in China, described scientifically in 2006. Its preserved skeleton and fur impressions show adaptations for swimming and digging, including a broad, flattened tail and robust limbs, while its teeth indicate f...

Matthew J. Wedel is an American paleontologist noted for research on sauropod anatomy, especially vertebral air spaces and respiratory evolution.

The Upheaval Dome is a prominent impact crater located within Canyonlands National Park in Utah. Formed approximately 26 million years ago, it’s recognized for its distinctive circular ridge—a syncline—resulting from the force of the initial impact. Scientists continue to study this geological featu...

Ogrodzieniec Castle sits atop a Polish hilltop offering dramatic views and significant historical value. Constructed primarily during the late Gothic period, it’s noted for its well-preserved towers and defensive structures. The castle's strategic location along the Trail of the Eagles' Nests makes...

Ronan Allain is a French paleontologist and fossil-reptile curator in Paris, known for theropod research and for co-describing Laos's Ichthyovenator in 2012.

Ceratosaurus nasicornis is a theropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic, best known from fossils found in the Morrison Formation of western North America. It is distinguished by a blade-like nasal horn, smaller bony projections above the eyes, unusually large teeth, and a row of small osteoderms along...

Camarasaurus supremus is a species of Camarasaurus, a large herbivorous sauropod from the Late Jurassic Morrison Formation of western North America. Edward Drinker Cope named it in 1877 from fossils discovered in Colorado, and it was the type species of the genus. Camarasaurus had a relatively short...

John A. Whitlock is an American vertebrate paleontologist whose studies of sauropod skulls and teeth clarified how long-necked dinosaurs divided food resources.

Nucleolites scutatus is an extinct cassiduloid sea urchin described by Lamarck in 1816 and recognized by its compact, shield-like irregular test.

Compsognathus longipes is a small theropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of Europe, first described from a finely preserved specimen found in Bavaria, Germany, in 1859. Known individuals were around one meter or somewhat longer, with slender hindlimbs, a long tail, and small sharp teeth. Preserved...