Best Theropod
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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....
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...
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...
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...
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.
Trix is the informal name given to a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton excavated in Montana in 2013 by a team associated with the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in the Netherlands. Catalogued as RGM 792.000 and also identified by the field number RCE R08001, the specimen preserves a large proportion of the...
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...
Tristan Otto, catalogued as MB.R.91216, is a Tyrannosaurus rex specimen discovered in Montana and named after the sons of its private owners. It has been publicly exhibited at Berlin's Museum für Naturkunde since 2015 and includes a notably well-preserved skull as well as substantial portions of the...
Yutyrannus huali is a large tyrannosauroid theropod known from Early Cretaceous fossils discovered in Liaoning Province, China. Described scientifically in 2012, it is represented by several specimens preserving long filamentous feathers, demonstrating that extensive feather-like covering occurred i...
Scipionyx samniticus is a small theropod dinosaur known from an exceptionally preserved juvenile fossil discovered in limestone in southern Italy. Formally described in 1998, the specimen preserves impressions and mineralized remains of internal soft tissues, including portions of the digestive trac...
Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis was a carnivorous dinosaur that lived during the Late Triassic, approximately 231 million years ago, in what is now northwestern Argentina. Fossils come from the Ischigualasto Formation and include relatively complete skeletons that reveal a lightly built, bipedal pre...
Carnotaurus sastrei was a large abelisaurid theropod that lived in what is now Argentina during the Late Cretaceous. Known from a notably complete skeleton described in 1985, it had paired horns above the eyes, a deep skull, powerful hind limbs, and extremely reduced forelimbs. Preserved skin impres...
Tarbosaurus bataar was a large tyrannosaurid theropod from the Late Cretaceous Nemegt Formation of Mongolia. It had a massive skull, robust teeth, powerful hind limbs, and very small two-fingered forelimbs, and it was closely related to Tyrannosaurus. Numerous specimens representing different growth...
NHMUK PV R9951 is the holotype skeleton of Baryonyx walkeri, a spinosaurid theropod discovered in Early Cretaceous rocks in Surrey, England, and formally described in 1986. The unusually complete specimen has an elongated crocodile-like skull, conical teeth, and a greatly enlarged claw on each hand....
Giganotosaurus carolinii is a large carcharodontosaurid theropod dinosaur from Late Cretaceous rocks in Patagonia, Argentina. The species was formally described in 1995 from a partial skeleton discovered by Rubén Carolini, whose surname supplied the species name. Its long, low skull and blade-like s...
Albertosaurus sarcophagus was a large tyrannosaurid theropod that lived in western North America during the Late Cretaceous, with important fossils found in Alberta's Horseshoe Canyon Formation. It was more lightly built than Tyrannosaurus and had proportionally long hind limbs suited to terrestrial...
Eoraptor lunensis is a small early dinosaur from the Late Triassic Ischigualasto Formation of northwestern Argentina, dating to about 231 million years ago. The specimen catalogued as PVSJ 512 is the substantially complete skeleton used as the holotype when the species was described. Its mixture of...
Gorgosaurus libratus was a tyrannosaurid theropod that lived during the Late Cretaceous in what is now western North America. Numerous skeletons from Alberta's Dinosaur Park Formation make it one of the more thoroughly documented tyrannosaurids, with specimens representing several growth stages. It...
Sinornithosaurus millenii was a small dromaeosaurid theropod from the Early Cretaceous deposits of Liaoning, China. Xu Xing and colleagues described it in 1999 from fossils preserving filamentous integument around the skeleton, making it one of the early discoveries demonstrating feather-like coveri...
Acrocanthosaurus atokensis was a large predatory theropod that lived in North America during the Early Cretaceous. Fossils are known principally from Oklahoma, Texas and nearby states, and the species belongs to Carcharodontosauridae within the broader allosauroid lineage. It is distinguished by unu...
Oviraptor philoceratops was a small oviraptorosaurian theropod described by Henry Fairfield Osborn in 1924 from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia. Its type specimen, AMNH 6517, was found above a nest that was initially attributed to the ceratopsian Protoceratops, inspiring the misleading name meaning...
Therizinosaurus cheloniformis was a large therizinosaurid theropod that lived during the Late Cretaceous in what is now Mongolia. It is known from incomplete remains, especially enormous forelimb elements and elongated, strongly curved hand claws, some of the longest claws known among terrestrial an...
Utahraptor ostrommaysi was a large dromaeosaurid theropod from the Early Cretaceous Cedar Mountain Formation of Utah and was formally described in 1993. Like related dromaeosaurids, it possessed an enlarged, curved claw on the second toe, with preserved claw cores exceeding 20 centimetres. Its robus...
Carcharodontosaurus saharicus was a large theropod dinosaur that lived in North Africa during the Late Cretaceous. Named for teeth resembling those of the great white shark, it belonged to Carcharodontosauridae, a group of large-bodied predators with deep skulls and blade-like, serrated teeth. Much...
Zhenyuanlong suni is a large dromaeosaurid theropod known from an exceptionally preserved Early Cretaceous fossil discovered in Liaoning, China, and described in 2015. The specimen preserves large wings with complex pennaceous feathers on the arms and tail, although its short forelimbs and relativel...
