DACENTRURUS
DASPLETOSAURUS
DATOUSAURUS
DEINOCHEIRUS
DEINODON
DEINONYCHUS
DICERATOPS
DICRAEOSAURUS
DILOPHOSAURUS
DIPLODOCUS
DRACOPELTA
DRAVIDOSAURUS
DROMAEOSAURUS
DROMICEIOMIMUS
DRYOSAURUS
DRYPTOSAURUS
DYSLOCOSAURUS
DYSTYLOSAURUS
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DACENTRURUS
Pronunciation: DAY-sen-TROO-rus 
Translation: Very Sharp Tail
Also known as: Omosaurus
Description: Herbivore, Quadrupedal
Order: Ornithischia
Suborder: Thyreophora
Infraorder: Stegosauria
Family: Stegosauridae
Height: 6 feet (1.8 meters)
Length: 15 feet (4.6 meters)
Weight:
Period: Late Jurassic
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Notes: Instead of plates, this four-legged, plant-eating dinosaur
had two rows of huge spikes running along its back and tail.
Dacentrus was discovered in England but fragments of other
specimens have been found in France and Portugal.
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DASPLETOSAURUS
Pronunciation: dass-PLEE-tuh-SAWR-us
Translation: Frightful Lizard
Also known as:
Description: Carnivore,Bipedal
Order: Saurischia
Suborder: Theropoda
Infraorder: Tetanurae
Micro-order: Carnosauria
Family: Tyrannosauridae
Height: 16 feet (4.9 meters)
Length: 30 feet (9.1 meters)
Weight: 5,950 lbs (2,700 kg)
Period: Late Cretaceous
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Notes: Discovered in Alberta, Canada, Daspletosaurus was a
contemporary of Albertosaurus. A marginally smaller, close
relative of Tyrannosaurus, Daspletosaurus' possessed the
typical tyrannosaurid two-fingered hands, but its powerful
jaws were equipped with larger (although fewer) teeth than
Tyrannosaurus. It is conjectured that the heavily-built
Daspletosaurus preyed upon ceratopsians.
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DATOUSAURUS
Pronunciation: DAH-too-SAWR-us
Translation: Datou Lizard
Also known as:
Description: Herbivore, Quadrupedal
Order: Saurischia
Suborder: Sauropodomorpha
Infraorder: Sauropoda
Family: Cetiosauridae
Height:
Length: 49.2 feet (15 meters)
Weight: Period: Middle Jurassic
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Notes: Sauropod skulls were small and light-boned, and finds are
rare, but a complete Datousaurus skull exists. It is not certain,
however, that the skull and skeleton of this find are from the same
dinosaur.
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DEINOCHEIRUS
Pronunciation: dye-nuh-KYE-rus
Translation: Terrible Hand
Also known as:
Description: Carnivore, Bipedal
Order: Saurischia
Suborder: Theropoda
Family:
Height:
Length:
Weight:
Period: Late Cretaceous
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Notes: Only a pair of arms belonging to Deinocheirus have been
discovered in southern Mongolia. These arms were very long --
8 feet (2.4 meters) -- and their hands accounted for 2 feet (0.6 meters)
of the length. The three fingered hands were equipped with formidable,
8 - 11 inch (20 - 30 cm), hook-like claws. Deinocheirus may have
used these spectacular claws to attack and kill prey, but it has also been
suggested that it used them for climbing trees. Some scientists believe
that Deinocheirus may be a large Ornithomimosaur.
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DEINODON
Pronunciation: DYE-no-don
Translation: Terrible Tooth
Also known as: Tyrannosaurus
Description: Carnivore, Bipedal
Order: Saurischia
Suborder: Theropoda
Infraorder: Tetanurae
Micro-order: Carnosauria
Family: Tyrannosauridae
Height:
Length:
Weight:
Period: Late Cretaceous
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Notes: Deinodon is known from fragmentary remains. Joseph Leidy,
an anatomist from Philadelphia, named the first American dinosaurs in
1856 based on fossils brought back from Montana by Ferdinand Hayden.
Leidy identified a jaw and 12 enormous teeth as belonging to a ferocious
megalosaurid he christened Deinodon horridus. Upon further analysis
of the remains since Deinodon's discovery, the dinosaur was determined
to actually be Tyrannosaurus, making Deinodon an invalid dinosaur.
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DEINONYCHUS
Pronunciation: dye-NON-ik-us
Translation: Terrible Claw
Also known as:
Description: Carnivore, Bipedal
Order: Saurischia
Suborder: Theropoda
Infraorder: Tetanurae
Micro-order: Maniraptora (of the microorder Coelurosauria)
Family: Dromaeosauridae
Height: 5 feet (1.5 meters)
Length: 9 feet (2.7 meters)
Weight: 175 lbs (79.4 kg)
Period: Early Cretaceous
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Notes: The discovery of this dinosaur in Montana in 1964 drastically
altered the traditional view of dinosaurs as sluggish, slow-moving reptiles.
Deinonychus was obviously built for speedy pursuit of its prey. Among
other things, it had special interlocking vertebrae that allowed its tail
to stiffen for balance while running. Excellent eyesight, sharp, serrated
teeth that curve backwards for slicing, and the namesake 5-inch (13 cm) long,
knife-like claws on each foot make Deinonychus a fearsome hunter. Five
specimens were found together, leading to the theory that Deinonychus
hunted in packs.
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DICERATOPS
Pronunciation: dye-SER-uh-tops
Translation: Two Horn Face
Also known as:
Description: Herbivore,Quadrupedal
Order: Ornithischia
Suborder: Marginocephalia
Infraorder: Ceratopsia
Micro-order Neoceratopsia
Family: Ceratopsidae
Height:
Length: 29.5 feet (9 meters)
Weight:
Period: Late Cretaceous
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Notes: At one time Diceratops was thought to be a Triceratops,
but recent study has shown that it is a different, two-horned
species of ceratopsian.
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DICRAEOSAURUS
Pronunciation: dye-CRAY-uh-SAWR-us
Translation: Two-Forked Lizard
Also known as:
Description: Herbivore, Quadrupedal
Order: Saurischia
Suborder: Sauropodomorpha
Infraorder: Sauropoda
Family: Diplodocidae
Height: 12 feet (3.7 meters)
Length: 45 feet (13.2 meters)
Weight: 11,900 lbs (5,400 kg)
Period: Late Jurassic
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Notes: Discovered in Tanzania, Dicraeosaurus takes its name
from the tall, forked spines on its vertebrae. These vertebrae
would have given Dicraeosaurus the appearance of greater height,
which might have discouraged predators. Its tail was long and thin,
and it may have been used like a whip lash against predators.
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DILOPHOSAURUS
Pronunciation: dye-LO-fuh-SAWR-us
Translation: Two-crested Lizard
Also known as:
Description: Carnivore, Bipedal
Order: Saurischia
Suborder: Theropoda
Infraorder: Ceratosauria
Family: Podokesauridae
Height: 8 feet (2.4 meters)
Length: 20 feet (6.1 meters)
Weight:
Period: Early Jurassic
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Notes: Dilophosaurus takes its name from the delicate double
crest on its head. This odd-appearing crest may have served as
a secondary sexual characteristic, differentiating males from females.
The fact that the jaws of Dilophosaurus are not as strong as other
theropods of its size suggests that it may have dined on carrion.
Dilophosaurus footprints found in trackways indicate that it traveled
in groups.
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DIPLODOCUS
Pronunciation: dih-PLOD-uh-kus
Translation: Double Beam
Also known as:
Description: Herbivore, Quadrupedal
Order: Saurischia
Suborder: Sauropodomorpha
Infraorder: Sauropoda
Family: Diplodocidae
Height: 30 feet (9.1 meters)
Length: 89 feet (27.1 meters)
Weight: 55,000 pounds (22,680 kg)
Period: Late Jurassic
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Notes: Discovered in the western United States, the Diplodocus
skeletons are among the longest dinosaur skeletons ever found.
Diplodocus' neck contained 15 bones and the tail had anywhere
from 70 to 90 although a complete tail has never been found.
Diplodocus had an elongated snout, with nostrils on top of the
head and peglike teeth only at the front of its mouth. Its limbs
were slender and its hind legs were longer than the front legs
giving it access to both low and high growing plants. It also
had one of the smallest brains in Dinosauria. Andrew Carnegie
funded many of the Diplodocus digs, and the best Diplodocus
skeleton is named for him -- Diplodocus carnegii.
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