Historically significant dinosaurs (and other prehistoric animals)

[Faelrin]

So I'd like to start a new JWE2 park, but I was thinking of having it feature historically significant dinosaurs (and other prehistoric animals). I thought this would also be a fun discussion topic too. With the exception of Archaeopteryx, all below dinosaurs are non-avian dinosaurs. Right off the bat I can think of:

Dinosaurs:
-Megalosaurus (1824 or earlier with Scrotum Humanum; first named dinosaur)
-Iguanodon (1825; second named dinosaur)
-Streptospondylus  (1832 or earlier with Steneosaurus?; third named dinosaur, material was originally mixed in with psuedosuchian remains)
-Hylaeosaurus (1833; fourth named dinosaur, and third in which Dinosauria was named for)
-Thecodontosaurus (1836; the first Triassic period dinosaur discovered, and the fifth named)
-Poekilopleuron (1836; the sixth dinosaur named, and the first theropod with substantial remains, though unfortunately it was destroyed in WWII, with only casts of some of the material still surviving)
-Plateosaurus (1837; one of the best understood Triassic period dinosaurs, and the first sauropodomorph described)
-Cardiodon (1841; the first sauropod dinosaur described, but only a tooth taxon)
-Cetiosaurus (1841; the first sauropod dinosaur with substantial material found and described, although even better remains were not found until much later during the 1960's)
-Pelorosaurus (1842 as Cetiosaurus brevis; was the first sauropod to be described correctly as both a dinosaur and land animal)
-Regnosaurus (1848; one of the first stegosaurs described, it was initially thought to be an iguanodontid, but was not accepted as such until after the 1990's)
-Stenopelix (1857; the first marginocephalian discovered, and potentially the first ceratopsian to be discovered)
-Hadrosaurus (1858; one of the first dinosaurs with decent enough remains giving an idea on the body shape, and to have its skeleton mounted, until outdone by the first Belgium Iguanodon specimens unearthed in the late 1870's to early 1880's)
-Compsognathus (1859; the first theropod found with a mostly complete skeleton, and was thought to be the smallest dinosaur for some time until smaller dinosaurs were discovered such as Microraptor, etc)
-Scelidosaurus (1859; one of the earliest known thyreophorans, with numerous well preserved specimens found after its original description)
-Archaeopteryx (1861; first feathered Mesozoic dinosaur discovered, aka "the first bird")
-Dryptosaurus (1866 as Laelaps and Megalosaurus; it was one of the first theropods after Megalosaurus described, and one of the first dinosaurs depicted in an active posture)
-Agathaumas (1872; first or second described ceratopsian with more remains then only teeth, though was not identified as such until after Triceratops was described, and may be synonymous with Triceratops)
-Monoclonius (1876; one of the first described ceratopsians)
-Allosaurus (1877; one of the most famous theropods)
-Apatosaurus (1877; one of the most famous sauropods)
-Stegosaurus (1877; one of the most famous dinosaurs)
-Diplodocus (1878; one of the most famous sauropods, including the Dippy skeleton found in museums around the world)
-Brontosaurus (1879; one of the most famous sauropods)
-Coelurus (1879; many early small theropod finds were dumped into this genus, and it's also where the later clade Coelurosauria got its namesake from)
-Ceratosaurus (1884; one of the best known theropods earlier on)
-Camarasaurus (1877; one of the best known sauropods, and the first sauropod to be reconstructed)
-Coelophysis (1887 as Coelurus bauri and Tanystropheus; one of the best understood Triassic period dinosaurs, with numerous remains found in Ghost Ranch in 1947, if not later as well)
-Triceratops (1889; one of the most famous dinosaurs)
-Edmontosaurus (1892 as Claosaurus annectens; one of the first dinosaurs with fossilized mummies found during the early 1900's)
-Chasmosaurus (1902 as Monoclonius belli; another ceratopsian with decent skeletal remains from numerous specimens, and even skin)
-Centrosaurus (1902 as Monoclonius dawsoni; yet another ceratopsian with decent skeletal remains from numerous specimens, and even skin)
-Brachiosaurus (1903; one of the most famous sauropods, though it is most frequently portrayed as Giraffatitan, as a result of it being classified as Brachiosaurus brancai in 1914 until the late 2000's, although the name Giraffatitan was initially coined in 1988 by Gregory S. Paul)
-Tyrannosaurus (1905; the most popular dinosaur by far)
-Styracosaurus (1913; one of the most famous ceratopsians)
-Spinosaurus (1915; one of the largest theropods discovered to this day, although its original remains were destroyed in WWII)
-Parasaurolophus (1922; one of the most popular ornithopods)
-Protoceratops (1923; one of the best known dinosaurs found in Asia, and was important to helping understand ceratopsian evolution, also potentially has skin on one specimen. One of the two skeletons in the famous Fighting Dinosaurs fossil)
-Psittacosaurus (1923; one of the best known dinosaurs found in Asia, with numerous species, including one specimen, SMF R 4970, with remarkable preservation of integument, and even preserves melanosomes)
-Oviraptor (1924; the first theropod discovered caring for its nest, but misinterpreted as an egg stealer for decades to come)
-Velociraptor (1924; see below, but also one of the skeletons in the famous Fighting Dinosaurs fossil found in the 1971 trapped in battle)
-Mantellisaurus (1925 as Iguanodon atherfieldensis, or earlier; the Maidstone specimen discovered in 1834, and others were considered Iguanodon earlier on)
-Pachyrhinosaurus (1950; one of the most popular ceratopsians)
-Dilophosaurus (1954 as Megalosaurus wetherilli; one of the most famous theropods, and one of the best understood early Jurassic theropods)
-Therizinosaurus (1954; its remains were initially thought to be from a turtle until the 1970's onward, and is the largest and most famous therizinosaur, which also takes its namesake from this genus)
-Herrerasaurus (1963; one of the largest earliest definitive dinosaurs with good remains, and one of the best understood South American dinosaurs)
-Deinonychus (1969; kick-started the dinosaur renaissance, and one of the most popular dinosaurs to date due to featuring in Jurassic Park as "Velociraptor")
-Deinocheirus (1970; an enigmatic dinosaur with a pair of giant arms, until better remains surfaced several decades later)
-Maiasaura (1979; they do move in herds, also they nested and cared for their young)
-Scutellosaurus (1981; like Scelidosaurus, this is an early thyreophoran with decent remains)
-Giraffatitan (1988 by Gregory S. Paul, but was not formerly recognized until Michael P. Taylor's work in 2009; one of the most famous sauropods, and is what most Brachiosaurus depictions were based on, including the JP one, due to it being classified as a species of Brachiosaurus from 1914 for over 50 years. Was also considered the largest dinosaur for many decades as well, until larger titanosaurs were discovered)
-Eoraptor (1993; one of the earliest definitive dinosaurs with good remains, and one of the best understood South American dinosaurs, as well as helping to understand early sauropodomorph evolution)
-Cryolophosaurus (1994; the first named dinosaur from Antarctica, though not the first discovered)
-Sinosauropteryx (1996; first feathered non-avian dinosaur fossil discovered, and one of the few with preserved melanosomes giving indication of coloration)
-Antarctopelta (2006; the first dinosaur discovered in Antarctica, in 1986)
-Tianyulong (2009; the first ornithischian discovered to have filaments/feathers)
-Yutyrannus (2012; first large feathered theropod discovered with definite proof of feathers)
-Kulindadromeus (2014; the second ornithischian discovered with filaments/feathers)
-Borealopelta (2017; one of the best preserved nodosaurid, and ankylosaur specimens, and one of the few dinosaurs preserved with melanosomes)

Pterosaurs:
-Pterodactylus (1809 as Ptéro-Dactyle; first described pterosaur)
-Dimorphodon (1829 as Pterodactylus macronyx; another early pterosaur discovered, first by Mary Anning in 1828, and the first to be described from the UK)
-Rhamphorhynchus (1831 as Ornithocephalus muensteri and Pterodactylus muensteri if not other names earlier; one of the first pterosaurs described after Pterodactylus, though was not recognized as a separate genus until 1847. Has numerous well preserved specimens, including those with soft tissue with wings, the tail vane, prey, and at least one instance of predation from another animal, the fish Aspidorhynchus)
-Scaphognathus (1831 as Pterodactylus crassirostris; was the first pterosaur to be discovered with pycnofibers/feathers, though it was not widely accepted until much later)
-Gnathosaurus (1833 the second valid genus of pterosaur named, though it was not initially recognized as such until decades later)
-Ornithocheirus (1861 as Pterodactylus simus; one of the first larger pterosaurs described, as well as one of the first found from the Cretaceous period)
-Nyctosaurus (1876 as Pteranodon gracilis; the second pterosaur described from North America)
-Pteranodon (1871 as Pterodactylus oweni; one of the most famous pterosaurs, and the first to be discovered from North America with wing material in 1871, although the first skull was not discovered until 1876, where it was realized it was a different genus altogether)
-Sordes (1971; the first pterosaur widely accepted to have hair like filaments covering its body, later recognized as pycnofibers/feathers)
-Jeholopterus (2002; another pterosaur found with definitive proof of pycnofibers/feathers)

Marine reptiles:
-Ichthyosaurus (1821; one of the first described ichthyosaurs)
-Plesiosaurus (1821; one of the first described plesiosaurs)
-Steneosaurus (1825; one of the first described? prehistoric pseudosuchians though it contained a mix of material from several unrelated animals)
-Metriorhynchus (1825 as Steneosaurus rostrominor; one of the earliest described metriorhynchids, and where its family's namesake comes from)

Synapsids:
-Dimetrodon (1854 as Bathygnathus borealis; one of the most famous prehistoric animals, and from the Paleozoic, frequently erroneously associated with, or as dinosaurs)

Mammals:
-Woolly mammoth/Mammuthus primigenius (1799 as Elephas primigenius; one of the most famous prehistoric mammals)
-Smilodon (1842; the most famous prehistoric cat, and one of the most famous prehistoric mammals)
-Neanderthal/Homo neanderthalensis (1864; perhaps the most famous extinct hominid, although some of their genes survive to this day in some modern humans descended from ancestral interbreeding)
-Australopithecus (1925; it's finding was crucial in helping to understand early human evolution)

Fish:
-Dunkleosteus (1873 as Dinichthys terrelli; one of the most popular prehistoric fish, and from the Paleozoic, with numerous species, and dozens of casts around the world)

Invertebrates:
-Aspidella (1872; the first organism from the Precambrian Ediacaran biota discovered, though it was not recognized as such until later)
-Dickinsonia (1947; initially thought to be an early jellyfish from the early Cambrian period, it is now one of the better known members of the Ediacaran biota, may be an early animal, though it is still debated)
-Charnia (1958; was the first fossil to be recognized scientifically from the Precambrian)
-Auroralumina (2022; the earliest known animal and cnidarian predator, part of the Ediacaran biota)

Other:
-Ediacaran biota (1868 with the discovery of Aspidella terranovica, though recognized and named far later; one of the earliest definitive groups of macroscopic multicellular organisms, though the origins, classification, and disappearance from the fossil record of most forms is still controversial and not well understood)
-Francevillian biota (2010; potentially some of the earliest macroscopic multicellular organisms, though it is still debated and not well understood)

Is there anything missing, or anything that should be removed?

Edit: Added Ceratosaurus, Coelophysis, Herrerasaurus, Eoraptor, Cryolophosaurus, Antarctopelta.

Edit 2: Added Coelurus, Camarasaurus, Brachiosaurus, Pachyrhinosaurus, Dilophosaurus, Therizinosaurus, Giraffatitan, Borealopelta

Edit 3: Added Woolly mammoth/Mammuthus primigenius, Smilodon, Neanderthal/Homo neanderthalensis, Australopithecus, as well as the Ediacaran biota (including some select organisms such as Aspidella, Dickinsonia, Charnia, Auroralumina), and the Francevillian biota. Added more pterosaurs with Dimorphodon, Rhamphorhynchus, Scaphognathus, Gnathosaurus, Nyctosaurus, Sordes, Jeholopterus, and expanded the info for Pteranodon.

Edit 4: Updated some info above, and added Steneosaurus, Metriorhynchus, Streptospondylus, Thecodontosaurus, Poekilopleuron, Cardiodon, Cetiosaurus, Pelorosaurus, Stenopelix, Compsognathus, Scelidosaurus, Psittacosaurus, Scutellosaurus, Tianyulong, Kulindadromeus

[Gwangi]

Offhand, I would say that Coelophysis, Eoraptor, and Herrerasaurus are historically significant.

When I was writing my review of the Mattel Genyodectes I learned that it was the second dinosaur described from South America and, as fragmentary as it was, it remained the most complete theropod known from South America until the 1970's. That's probably not enough to include it on the list but I felt it was worth mentioning. I think any first for any country/continent might be worth including.

[Faelrin]

@Gwangi I've added Coelophysis, and will add those latter two as well in a bit. Can't believe I forgot them even though they crossed my thoughts earlier on.

Now that I think about I guess I should add Ceratosaurus, Dilophosaurus, Carnotaurus, Baryonyx, Giganotosaurus, and Microraptor as well?

That thing about first from a particular country or continent is also a good suggestion, but will definitely take a bit of research.

[FerretGoose]

Therizinosaurus! 

[Libraraptor]

As far as I am concerned, these are the essentials. Good idea, good job!

[Leyster]

The Ediacara and Burgess fauna, the Ichthyostega species complex, Homo neanderthalensis and Australopithecus afarensis at least should be mentioned.

[Faelrin]

L @Leyster To be honest my mind was so focused on dinosaurs for the most part, these totally slipped my mind, so good on you for bringing them up. Aside from the hominids, there's probably plenty of other prehistoric mammals that should be included too (at the very least Smilodon and the Woolly Mammoth as they are probably the most famous prehistoric mammals out there).

[Sim]

I would include Psittacosaurus and Microraptor.  Both are known from hundreds of specimens, being some of the best-understood dinosaurs with even colouration known for them.  Psittacosaurus was the first non-avian dinosaur to have the colouration of its scales preserved, while Microraptor is the only non-avian dinosaur known to have been capable of powered flight.

Also, Scaphognathus was the first pterosaur found to preserve its pycnofibers, although Sordes was the first one for which this was widely accepted.

[Stegotyranno420]

I think Hadrosaurus and Plateosaurus are the first dinosaur genera discovered outside of Britain, America and Germany respectively so they can be important for that tok. But I could be wrong on this.

Mosasaurus hoffmani was also described quite early in 1829.

I think Scelidosaurus has some history to it as well

[Faelrin]

@Sim Both were on my to do list yesterday but I was too tired to add them. Will get them added today. Also thanks for name dropping those pterosaurs. It was at the back of my mind to add the first pterosaur fossil with pycnofibers but again was too tired to go digging.


@Stegotyranno420 Scelidosaurus and Scuttelosaurus are some of the others I was thinking of adding yesterday, but was also too tired to add them. Thanks for the suggestion of Mosasaurus too. There's probably way more marine reptiles I could add too, but will need to research them.

The above edit I made is still wip atm. Still need to add the Cambrian stuff (and perhaps more Ediacaran, etc) as well as Ichthyostega (and others like Tiktaalik that now to come to mind) that Leyster suggested above. Also Baryonyx, Carnotaurus, and Giganotosaurus I mentioned above, but behind on adding. There's also a few more I am thinking of, but I will take a bit of a break from this for now, and will add all of these later today.

That said I appreciate all the feedback and interest this has gotten so far.

[Concavenator]

I would suggest Kulindadromeus, it is a very noteworthy creature. It taught us that feathers weren't restricted to coelurosaurians. Moreover, being a feathered ornithischian, it gives the Ornithoscelida hypothesis some important support.

Dilong is another one that could be added. It represents the first discovery of a feathered tyrannosauroid, prior to Yutyrannus.

[Faelrin]

@Concavenator Good calls on those as well. I'm also thinking of adding Koolasuchus, since I was working a bit on my review of the CollectA figure today as well. It is currently the last surviving temnospondyl discovered so far (unless lissamphibians are their descendants).

Edit: Now that I think of it Tianyulong was also found with filaments/feathers much like Kulindadromeus, so I guess that's another to add.

Edit 2: Added some more pterosaurs for now. Still have to add the others in perhaps tomorrow or later tonight. I know there's more pterosaurs I need to add as well, but my hands are sore now.

[Crackington]

Great thread @Faelrin and enjoying the suggestions from members.

I couldn't see this one mentioned yet, but think Thecodontosaurus is worthy of a mention. It was the fifth dinosaur species described (1836) and at that point, the earliest (from the Triassic).

The specimens in the Bristol Museum also have an interesting post discovery, some being destroyed in the Blitz in World War Two. Thankfully it didn't suffer as badly as Spinosaurus in Germany and discoveries are still being made in the Bristol area.

I had a fleeting visit to the Bristol museum earlier this year and got this snap (you can see the fossils in the museum too):



I'd love Collecta to make a figure of it.

[Faelrin]

So I burned my right thumb the other day ago, which explains the pain I was starting to notice yesterday (aside from the blisters I picked up on). Gonna need to give this a break for the week (and other posting), or at least a few days for it to heal before picking this back up. In the meantime feel free to keep the suggestions coming.

[Crackington]

Sorry to hear that Faelrin, take care and getter better soon.

[Faelrin]

So I think I can be back to working on this sooner then planned. Used some of the Aloe green gel on it that my family had and it has helped it feel much better in no time. If it becomes sore again, then I can return to taking a break from it and use the gel again.