This is a list of dinosaurs whose remains have been recovered from Appalachia. During the Late Cretaceous period, the Western Interior Seaway divided the continent of North America into two landmasses; one in the west named Laramidia and Appalachia in the east. Since they were separated from each other, the dinosaur faunas on each of them were very different. For example, nodosaurs were common in Appalachia, but they were rare in Laramidia, and there were only specialized forms, such as Edmontonia and Panoplosaurus. This is an example of how isolated faunas develop differently.

List of Appalachian dinosaurs

Name Period Diet Notes
AcrocanthosaurusLower CretaceouscarnivoreA large carcharodontosaur from Texas and Oklahoma. Possible teeth known from Maryland.
AmpelognathusUpper CretaceousherbivoreA small ornithopod from Texas.
AppalachiosaurusUpper CretaceouscarnivoreLarge tyrannosauroid from Alabama.
ArkansaurusLower CretaceousomnivoreEarly ornithomimid from Arkansas.
AstrodonLower CretaceousherbivoreLarge herbivorous sauropod found in Maryland.
AstrophocaudiaLower CretaceousherbivoreLarge herbivorous sauropod found in Texas.
CedarosaurusLower CretaceousherbivoreLarge herbivorous sauropod found in the Trinity Group of Texas.
ClaosaurusUpper CretaceousherbivorePrimitive hadrosauromorph. Its only known fossil specimen found appeared to have been washed into the Western Interior Seaway. It is believed to be from Appalachia because it was found closer to the Appalachia side of the sea and is unknown from Laramidia.
"Coelosaurus"Upper CretaceousomnivoreMay be synonymous with Ornithomimus. Its remains have been found New Jersey.
ConvolosaurusLower CretaceousherbivoreA small ornithopod that was endemic to Texas.
DeinonychusLower CretaceouscarnivoreA dromaeosaur whose remains have been found in Oklahoma. Possible teeth found in Maryland.
DiplotomodonUpper CretaceouscarnivoreDubious name for a species of tyrannosauroid from New Jersey, possibly a Dryptosaurus or a potentially new genus.
DryptosaurusUpper CretaceouscarnivoreMedium-sized tyrannosauroid from New Jersey. It was the first theropod unearthed in North America.
EotrachodonUpper CretaceousherbivoreHadrosaur from Alabama known from a nearly complete skeleton.
HadrosaurusUpper CretaceousherbivoreFirst known non-avian dinosaur skeleton from the United States. Discovered in 1858 in Haddonfield, New Jersey.
HierosaurusUpper CretaceousherbivoreA dubious genus of nodosaur unearthed in Kansas.
HypsibemaUpper CretaceousherbivoreLittle known hadrosaur first discovered in North Carolina in 1869. Better material of a second species was found in Missouri.
LophorhothonUpper CretaceousherbivoreHadrosauromorph from Alabama with skull fragments discovered. In 2021, a more complete skeleton was unearthed.[1]
NiobrarasaurusUpper CretaceousherbivoreAnother example of a nodosaurid dinosaur from Kansas.
OrnithotarsusUpper CretaceousherbivoreJunior synonym of Hadrosaurus.
ParrosaurusUpper CretaceousherbivoreHadrosaur from Missouri. May possibly represent Junior synonym of Hypsibema missouriensis. Is the state dinosaur of Missouri.
PawpawsaurusLower CretaceousherbivoreNodosaur that was unearthed in Texas.
PriconodonLower CretaceousherbivoreNodosaur from Maryland found only from fossilized teeth.
ProtohadrosLower CretaceousherbivoreHadrosaur from eastern Texas, which was a part of Appalachia during the formation of the Western Interior Seaway.
PropanoplosaurusLower CretaceousherbivoreNodosaurid dinosaur from Maryland.
SilvisaurusUpper CretaceousherbivoreHerbivorous nodosaur from the state of Kansas. Like Claosaurus, the specimen found was probably washed into the Western Interior Seaway. It is believed to be from Appalachia because it was found closer to the Appalachia side of the sea.
SaurornitholestesUpper CretaceouscarnivoreA dromaeosaur endemic to Laramidia that possibly made its way to Appalachia via island hopping. Possible teeth have been found in Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina.
SauroposeidonLower CretaceousherbivoreA massive sauropod whose remains have been unearthed in Texas and Oklahoma.
TeihivenatorUpper CretaceouscarnivoreA dubious species of tyrannosaur that was unearthed in New Jersey.
TexasetesLower CretaceousherbivoreAnother nodosaur from Texas.
TenontosaurusLower CretaceousherbivoreAn iguanodontid whose remains have been found in Texas, Oklahoma and Maryland.[2][3]
ZephyrosaurusLower CretaceousherbivoreA small ornithopod endemic to Laramidia. Possible tracks have been discovered in Maryland and Virginia.

References

  1. Gates, Terry; Lamb, James (January 11, 2021). "Redescription of Lophorhothon atopus (Ornithopoda: Dinosauria) from the Late Cretaceous of Alabama based on new material". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. doi:10.1139/cjes-2020-0173. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  2. Winkler, Dale A.; Murry, Phillip A.; Jacobs, Louis L. (June 19, 1997). "A New Species of Tenontosaurus (Dinosauria: Ornithopoda) from the Early Cretaceous of Texas". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 17 (2): 330–348. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  3. Wilford, John Noble (February 27, 2001). "At Last, Scientists Find Bones From a Tenontosaurus That Didn't Lose Its Head". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
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