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153 free Dinosaurs trivia questions with answers — nature quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
75 free dinosaurs trivia questions with answers. They ruled the Earth for 165 million years, came in sizes from hummingbird to skyscraper, and vanished in a cosmic instant. From the mighty T. Rex to the feathered raptors, how much do you know about dinosaurs?
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Q 01In which type of rock are nearly all dinosaur fossils found?
Sedimentary
Sedimentary rock: remains buried in layers of sand, mud or silt are mineralised as the layers harden, whereas igneous and metamorphic rock form at temperatures that destroy bone.
Q 02Which of these is NOT a period in the Mesozoic Era?
Cambrian
The Mesozoic Era consists of three periods: Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous. The Cambrian belongs to the earlier Paleozoic Era.
Q 03Which modern animals evolved directly from small theropod dinosaurs?
Birds
Birds are actually living dinosaurs — they evolved from small theropod dinosaurs and are the only dinosaur lineage that survived the mass extinction 66 million years ago.
Q 04What killed the dinosaurs approximately 66 million years ago?
An asteroid impact
An asteroid impact: a rock 10 to 15 km wide struck the Yucatán Peninsula, and the lingering impact winter shut down photosynthesis on land and at sea.
Q 05Microraptor, a crow-sized dromaeosaur from China, is unusual among dinosaurs for having how many wings?
Four
Four wings: long flight feathers on its hind legs formed a second pair, and preserved pigment cells suggest Microraptor was glossy black.
Q 06Therizinosaurus had the longest hand claws of any known land animal. Roughly how long were they?
Over 50 cm (20 in)
Over 50 cm (20 in) of claw on a probable plant-eater: Therizinosaurus likely used them to pull down branches rather than to fight.
Q 07Diplodocus's name means 'double beam', a reference to bones found in which part of its body?
Tail
Tail: the name refers to the double-beamed chevron bones beneath its tail vertebrae; the tail made up over half the animal's length and may have cracked like a bullwhip.
Q 08During which geological period did T. Rex live?
Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous: T. rex lived roughly 68 to 66 million years ago in western North America, among the very last non-bird dinosaurs before the mass extinction.
Q 09Nigersaurus, a sauropod from Niger with a wide, vacuum-cleaner-like muzzle, had roughly how many teeth?
500
About 500: Nigersaurus packed more than 500 teeth into its broad muzzle, each replaced roughly every 14 days as it grazed on low-growing plants.
Q 10What does the word "dinosaur" mean?
Terrible lizard
The word "dinosaur" was coined by Sir Richard Owen in 1842 from the Greek words deinos (terrible/fearfully great) and sauros (lizard), meaning "terrible lizard."
Q 11What is the name of the crater left by the asteroid that caused the dinosaur extinction?
Chicxulub Crater
The Chicxulub crater, located beneath the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, is roughly 180 km (110 miles) in diameter. It was formed by the asteroid impact that triggered the mass extinction 66 million years ago.
Q 12Jurassic Park gave which real dinosaur a fictional neck frill and the ability to spit venom?
Dilophosaurus
Dilophosaurus: the real animal was about seven metres long with a pair of thin crests on its head and no frill or venom; the film also shrank it considerably.
Q 13The first near-complete dinosaur skeleton found in North America, Hadrosaurus, was dug up in which state?
New Jersey
Q 21The giant titanosaur starring in a 2016 David Attenborough documentary was excavated in which country?
Argentina
Argentina: at least six Patagotitan individuals were dug from a ranch in Chubut Province, and the cast skeleton is too long for the American Museum of Natural History's hall.
Q 22Who directed the original 1993 film Jurassic Park?
Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg directed Jurassic Park, which was released in 1993. Based on Michael Crichton's novel, the film revolutionized visual effects and became the highest-grossing film at the time.
Q 23Which dinosaur's four tail spikes are jokingly called the 'thagomizer'?
Stegosaurus
New Jersey: Hadrosaurus foulkii was dug from a marl pit in Haddonfield in 1858, described by Joseph Leidy, and in 1868 became the first mounted dinosaur skeleton displayed anywhere.
Q 14Which sail-backed dinosaur may have been the largest carnivorous dinosaur ever?
Spinosaurus
Spinosaurus carried a sail of neural spines over 1.65 m tall and, at roughly 15 metres long, may have outsized T. rex.
Q 15Iguanodon and the duck-billed hadrosaurs belong to which dinosaur group?
Ornithopods
Ornithopods: Iguanodon and the hadrosaurs are ornithopods, beaked plant-eaters that walked on two or four legs and chewed with batteries of grinding teeth.
Q 16A paleontologist is a scientist who studies what?
Fossils and past life
A paleontologist is a scientist who studies fossils and prehistoric life, including dinosaurs, ancient plants, and other organisms. The field combines biology, geology, and chemistry.
Q 17Approximately how long ago did the first dinosaurs appear?
About 230 million years ago
The first dinosaurs appeared approximately 230-240 million years ago during the Middle to Late Triassic period. Early dinosaurs like Eoraptor and Herrerasaurus were small, bipedal predators.
Q 18Which dinosaur had a club-like tail it could use as a weapon?
Ankylosaurus
Ankylosaurus: its tail ended in a massive club of fused osteoderms that could be swung sideways with enough force to break the bones of a predator.
Q 19Sail-backed Dimetrodon, often mistaken for a dinosaur, died out roughly how long before the first dinosaurs?
40 million years
About 40 million years: Dimetrodon died out around 270 million years ago in the Permian, long before the first dinosaurs; it was a synapsid, closer to mammals than to dinosaurs.
Q 20Dinosaur Provincial Park, rich in Late Cretaceous fossils, is in which Canadian province?
Alberta
Alberta: the park lies in the badlands along the Red Deer River near Brooks, about 200 km east of Calgary, and has yielded dozens of dinosaur species.
Stegosaurus: its tail bore four long spikes; the name 'thagomizer' comes from a 1982 Gary Larson Far Side cartoon and was later adopted by paleontologists.
Q 24What evidence supports the theory that many dinosaurs had feathers?
Plumage impressions in rock
Numerous fossils, especially from China's Liaoning Province, show remarkably preserved feather impressions in fine-grained rock. Species like Sinosauropteryx, Microraptor, and even relatives of T. Rex had various types of feathers.
Q 25What was the largest flying reptile that lived alongside dinosaurs?
Quetzalcoatlus
Quetzalcoatlus had a wingspan of up to 10-11 meters (33-36 feet), making it the largest known flying animal ever.
Q 26How did dinosaurs reproduce?
Laying eggs
All known dinosaurs reproduced by laying eggs. Fossilized dinosaur eggs have been found worldwide, with some even containing preserved embryos. Nests and egg clutches show that some species exhibited parental care.
Q 27What is the name of the famous T. Rex skeleton on display at the Field Museum in Chicago?
Sue
Sue: over 90% complete by bulk, found by Sue Hendrickson in South Dakota in 1990 and bought at auction in 1997 for $8.36 million, then the highest price ever paid for a fossil.
Q 28Pachycephalosaurus is best known for which distinctive feature?
Thick domed skull
Thick domed skull: its skull roof was up to 22 cm thick, a dome that may have been used for head-butting rivals or for shoving at their flanks.
Q 29Which industrialist financed Dippy, the Diplodocus whose casts went to museums worldwide?
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie: the original stands in his Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, the species Diplodocus carnegii bears his name, and the London cast greeted Natural History Museum visitors from 1905 to 2017.
Q 30During the Triassic, when dinosaurs first appeared, the continents formed which single landmass?
Pangaea
Pangaea: in the Triassic nearly all land was joined in one supercontinent, so early dinosaurs spread widely before it split into Laurasia and Gondwana during the Jurassic.