Chronology of Discoveries
This page lists the major advances in dinosaur dioscovery since Mantell's find in 1822. More details on the dinosaurs or those who discovered them can be found by following the hyperlinks.
click here for a list of significant dinosaurs discovered
click here for a list of the dinosaur hunters
Chronology of Discoveries
| 1676 | First dinosaur bone illustrated in a book by Robert Plot, but unrecognised |
| 1809 | Iguanodon shin bone found by William Smith, but unrecognised |
| 1822 | Discovery of Iguanodon tooth by Gideon Mantell |
| 1824 | Buckland describes Megalosaurus - first dinosaur to be scientifically described |
| 1825 | Mantell describes Iguanodon |
| 1833 | Discovery of Hylaeosaurus by Gideon Mantell |
| 1834 | Discovery of Iguanodon in the 'Maidstone Slab' |
| 1836 | Discovery of Hitchcocks Dinosaur footprints |
| 1842 | Owen proposes name ‘Dinosauria’ (‘terrible lizards’) for this new group of reptiles |
| 1853 | Crystal Palace exhibition opened |
| 1855 | First dinosaur remains in North America discovered by F.V.Hayden |
| 1858 | First complete skeleton found, in North America, by W.P. Foulke - a Hadrosaurus |
| 1861 | Discovery of Compsognathus,and shortly afterwards Archaeopteryx, later recognised as a link between dinosaur and bird |
| 1877 | Discovery of the 'Berlin' Archaeopteryx |
| 1877 | Discovery of Brontosaurus/Apatosaurus by O.C.Marsh |
| 1877 | Discovery of Stegosaurus |
| 1878 | Discovery of a herd of Iguanodon in a coal mine at Bernissart, Belgium |
| 1884 | Discovery of Albertosaurus skull in Red Deer Valley, Alberta, Canada |
| 1888 | Discovery of the first Triceratops by J. B. Hatcher for O. C. Marsh |
| 1895 | Acquisition of a Bernissart Iguanodon by Natural History Museum |
| 1899 | Discovery of Diplodocus |
| 1902 | Discovery of first Tyrannosaurus rex remains in Montana, by Barnum Brown |
| 1908 | Trachodon mummy unearthed by Sternberg and sons, Wyoming |
| 1909 | Start of biggest dinosaur dig on record at Tendaguru in East Africa, involving 500 workers per year. Lasted until 1911. Many Jurassic specimens, including Brachiosaurus, Kentrosaurus, Dryosaurus |
| 1910 | Start of expedition to Red Deer Valley, Montana, by Barnum Brown. Discoveries included Corythosaurus, Styracosaurus, Centrosaurus |
| 1917 | Discovery of Mandschurosaurus (now called Gilmoreosaurus ) in China |
| 1923 | First discoveries of dinosaurs from Mongolia, including nests of Protoceratops ,and skeletons of Oviraptor , Saurornithoides , Velociraptor from expedition organised by Roy Chapman Andrews. |
| 1940 | Discovery of Dilophosaurus |
| 1979 | Discovery of Ultrasaurus by Jim Jensen in Colorado - reputedly the world’s largest dinosaur |
| 1983 | Discovery of first Baryonyx , in a Surrey claypit |
| 1987 | Discovery of first dinosaur skeleton in Antarctica - the only continent to date that had not yielded a dinosaur bone |
| 1990 | Discovery of 2 largest specimens of T. rex yet found, in South Dakota. One is 70% complete, and nicknamed 'Sue'. |
| 1996 | Liaoning province of northeastern China yields a new dinosaur covered with feathers - Sinosauropteryx prima. |
| 1996 | New carnivorous dinosaur discovered in Isle of Wight - Neovenator |
| 1998 | Suchomimus discovered in Tenere Desert, Central Niger |
| 2000 | 'Santana Raptor'discovered near Rio de Janeiro |
| 2001 | Paralatitan discovered in Egypt |
| 2001 | Microraptor , a new Dromaeosaur skeleton, complete with feather structures, discovered in Lianing province of NE China |
| 2001 | Nothronychus - a 12 foot tall vegetarian T rex? Discovered in New Mexico |
| 2002 | <Jeholornis prima half bird, half dinosaur? Discovered in Liaoning province of Northeastern China. |
| 2003 | Rajasaurus narmadensis A stocky, carnivorous dinosaur with an unusual head crest, identified from bones collected in India |
| 2007 | Futalognkosaurus dukeiOne of the biggest dinosaurs ever discovered. Found in Argentina |
