Types of Herbivorous Dinosaurs

Author: Peter Berry
Date Of Creation: 12 February 2021
Update Date: 5 November 2024
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9 Herbivore Dinosaurs for Kids – Plant Eating Dinosaurs for Children
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The word "dinosaur" comes from Latin and is a neologism that began to be used by paleontologist Richard Owen, combined with the Greek words "deinos" (terrible) and "sauros" (lizard), so its literal meaning would be "terrible lizard". The name fits like a glove when we think of Jurassic Park, doesn't it?

These lizards dominated the entire world and were at the top of the food chain, where they remained for a long time, until the mass extinction that took place on the planet more than 65 million years ago.[1]. If you want to know more about these great saurians that inhabited our planet, you found the right article by PeritoAnimal, we will show you the types of herbivorous dinosaurs most important, as well as your names, features and images. Keep reading!


The Mesozoic Era: The Age of Dinosaurs

The dominance of carnivorous and herbivorous dinosaurs lasted over 170 million years and embarks most of the Mesozoic era, which ranges from -252.2 million years to -66.0 million years. The Mesozoic lasted just over 186.2 million years and is composed of three periods.

The Three Mesozoic Periods

  1. The Triassic Period (between -252.17 and 201.3 MA) is a period that lasted around 50.9 million years. It was at this point that dinosaurs started to develop. The Triassic is further divided into three periods (Lower, Middle and Upper Triassic) which are also subdivided into seven stratigraphic levels.
  2. The Jurassic Period (between 201.3 and 145.0 MA) is also composed of three periods (lower, middle and upper Jurassic). The upper Jurassic is divided into three levels, the middle Jurassic into four levels and the lower one into four levels as well.
  3. The Cretaceous Period (between 145.0 and 66.0 MA) is the moment that marks the disappearance of the dinosaurs and ammonites (cephalopod molluscs) that inhabited the earth at that time. However, what really ended the life of the dinosaurs? There are two main theories about what happened: a period of volcanic activity and the impact of an asteroid against the Earth[1]. In any case, it is believed that the earth was covered by many clouds of dust that would have veiled the atmosphere and radically reduced the planet's temperature, until it ended the life of the dinosaurs. This broad period is divided into two, the Lower Cretaceous and the Upper Cretaceous. In turn, these two periods are divided into six levels each. Learn more about the extinction of dinosaurs in this article that explains how dinosaurs became extinct.

5 fun facts about the Mesozoic era that you should know

Now that you are situated at that time, you might be interested in knowing a little more about the Mesozoic, the time where these gigantic saurians lived, to learn more about their history:


  1. Back then, continents were not as we know them today. The land formed a single continent known as "pangea". When the Triassic began, Pangea was divided into two continents: "Laurasia" and "Gondwana". Laurasia formed North America and Eurasia and, in turn, Gondwana formed South America, Africa, Australia and Antarctica. All this was due to intense volcanic activity.
  2. The climate of the Mesozoic era was characterized by its uniformity. The study of fossils reveals that the earth's surface has been divided into you have different climate zones: the poles, which had snow, low vegetation and mountainous countries and the more temperate zones.
  3. This period ends with the atmospheric overload of carbon dioxide, a factor that completely marks the planet's environmental evolution. The vegetation became less exuberant, while cycads and conifers proliferated. Precisely for this reason, it is also known as the "Age of Cycads’.
  4. The Mesozoic Era is characterized by the appearance of dinosaurs, but did you know that birds and mammals also started to develop at that time? It is true! At that time, the ancestors of some animals we know today already existed and were considered food by predatory dinosaurs.
  5. Can you imagine that Jurassic Park could have really existed? Although many biologists and amateurs have fantasized about this event, the truth is that a study published in The Royal Society Publishing shows that it is incompatible to find intact genetic material, due to various factors such as environmental conditions, temperature, soil chemistry or the year. of the animal's death, which cause the degradation and deterioration of the DNA debris. It could only be done with fossils preserved in frozen environments that are no more than a million years old.

Learn more about the different types of dinosaurs that once existed in this article.


Examples of Herbivorous Dinosaurs

The time has come to meet the real protagonists: the herbivorous dinosaurs. These dinosaurs fed exclusively on plants and herbs, with leaves as their main food. They are divided into two groups, the "sauropods", those who walked using four limbs, and the "ornithopods", which moved into two limbs and later evolved into other forms of life. Discover a complete list of herbivorous dinosaur names, small and large:

Herbivorous Dinosaur Names

  • brachiosaurus
  • Diplodocus
  • Stegosaurus
  • Triceratops
  • Protoceratops
  • Patagotitan
  • apatosaurus
  • Camarasurus
  • brontosaurus
  • Cetiosaurus
  • Styracosaurus
  • dicraeosaurus
  • Gigantspinosaurus
  • Lusotitan
  • Mamenchisaurus
  • Stegosaurus
  • Spinophorosaurus
  • Corythosaurus
  • dacentrurus
  • Ankylosaurus
  • Gallimimus
  • Parasaurolophus
  • Euoplocephalus
  • Pachycephalosaurus
  • Shantungosaurus

You already know some of the names of the great herbivorous dinosaurs that inhabited the planet over 65 million years ago. Do you want to know more? Keep reading because we'll introduce you, in more detail, 6 herbivorous dinosaurs with names and images so you can learn to recognize them. We will also explain the features and some fun facts about each of them.

1. Brachiosaurus (Brachiosaurus)

We begin by presenting one of the most representative herbivorous dinosaurs that ever lived, Brachiosaurus. Discover some details about its etymology and characteristics:

Brachiosaurus Etymology

The name brachiosaurus was established by Elmer Samuel Riggs from the ancient Greek terms "brachion" (arm) and "saurus" (lizard), which can be interpreted as "lizard arm". It is a species of dinosaur that belongs to the group of saurischian sauropods.

These dinosaurs inhabited the earth for two periods, from the late Jurassic to the mid-Cretaceous, from 161 to 145 AD Brachiosaurus is one of the most popular dinosaurs, so it appears in movies like Jurassic Park and for good reason: it was one of the biggest herbivorous dinosaurs.

Brachiosaurus Characteristics

Brachiosaurus is probably one of the largest land animals that ever lived on the planet. had about 26 meters long, 12 meters high and weighed between 32 and 50 tons. It had an exceptionally long neck, made up of 12 vertebrae, each measuring 70 centimeters.

It is precisely this morphological detail that has provoked heated discussions among specialists, as some claim that he would not have been able to keep his long neck straight, due to the small muscular raisins he had. Also, your blood pressure had to be especially high to be able to pump blood to your brain. His body allowed his neck to move left and right, as well as up and down, giving him the height of a four-story building.

Brachiosaurus was a herbivorous dinosaur that supposedly fed on the tops of cycads, conifers and ferns.He was a voracious eater, as he had to eat around 1,500 kg of food a day to maintain his energy level. It is suspected that this animal was gregarious and that it moved in small groups, allowing adults to protect younger animals from large predators such as theropods.

2. Diplodocus (Diplodocus)

Following our article on herbivorous dinosaurs with names and images, we present Diplodocus, one of the most representative herbivorous dinosaurs:

Etymology of Diplodocus

Othniel Charles Marsh in 1878 named the Diplodocus after noticing the presence of bones that were called "hemaic arches" or "chevron". These small bones allowed the formation of a long band of bone at the bottom of the tail. In fact, it owes its name to this feature, as the name diplodocus is a Latin neologism derived from the Greek, "diploos" (double) and "dokos" (beam). In other words, "double beam". These small bones were later discovered in other dinosaurs, however, the specification of the name has remained until today. Diplodocus inhabited the planet during the Jurassic period, in what would now be western North America.

Diplodocus Features

Diplodocus was a huge four-legged creature with a long neck that was easy to recognize, mainly due to its long whip-shaped tail. Its front legs were slightly shorter than its hind legs, which is why, from a distance, it could look like a kind of suspension bridge. had about 35 meters long.

Diplodocus had a small head in relation to its body size that rested on a neck of more than 6 meters in length, made up of 15 vertebrae. It is now estimated that it had to be kept parallel to the ground, as it was not able to keep it very high.

its weight was about 30 to 50 tons, which was partly due to the immense length of its tail, composed of 80 caudal vertebrae, which allowed it to balance its very long neck. Diplodoco only fed on grass, small shrubs and tree leaves.

3. Stegosaurus (Stegosaurus)

It's the turn of Stegosaurus, one of the most unique herbivorous dinosaurs, mainly due to its incredible physical characteristics.

Stegosaurus Etymology

The name Stegosauruswas given by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1877 and comes from the Greek words "stegos" (ceiling) and "sauros" (lizard) so that its literal meaning would be "covered lizard" or "roofed lizard". Marsh would also have called the stegosaurus "armatus" (armed), which would add an extra meaning to his name, being "armored roof lizard". This dinosaur lived 155 AD and would have inhabited the lands of the United States and Portugal during the Upper Jurassic.

Stegosaurus Characteristics

the stegosaurus had 9 meters long, 4 meters high and weighed about 6 tons. It is one of children's favorite herbivorous dinosaurs, easily recognizable thanks to the two rows of bone plates that lie along your spine. In addition, its tail had two more defensive plates about 60 cm long. These peculiar bony plates were not only useful as a defense, it is estimated that they also played a regulatory role in adapting your body to ambient temperatures.

Stegosaurus had two front legs shorter than the back, which gave it a unique physical structure, showing a skull much closer to the ground than the tail. There was also a sort of "beak" it had small teeth, located in the back of the oral cavity, useful for chewing.

4. Triceratops (Triceratops)

Do you want to continue to learn about herbivorous dinosaur examples? Learn more about Triceratops, another of the best known robbers that inhabited the land and which also witnessed one of the most important moments of the Mesozoic:

Etymology of Triceratops

The term Triceratops comes from the greek words "tri" (three) "keras" (horn) and "oops" (face), but his name would actually mean something like "hammer head". The Triceratops lived during the late Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous, AD 68 to 66, in what is now known as North America. It is one of the dinosaurs that experienced the extinction of this species. It is also one of the dinosaurs that lived with Tyrannosaurus Rex, of which it was prey. After finding 47 complete or partial fossils, we can assure you that it is one of the most present species in North America during this period.

Triceratops Features

It is believed that the Triceratops had between 7 and 10 meters long, between 3.5 and 4 meters high and weighed between 5 and 10 tons. The most representative feature of Triceratops is undoubtedly its large skull, which is considered to be the largest skull of all land animals. It was so big that it represented almost a third of the animal's length.

It was also easily recognizable thanks to its three horns, one on the bevel and one above each eye. The largest can measure up to one meter. Finally, it should be noted that Triceratops skin was different from the skin of other dinosaurs, as some studies indicate that it could have been covered with fur.

5. Protoceratops

Protoceratops is one of the smallest herbivorous dinosaurs we show in this list and its origins are located in Asia. Learn more about it:

Etymology of Protoceratops

The name Protoceratops comes from the Greek and is formed by the words "proto" (first), "cerat" (horns) and "oops" (face), therefore it would mean "first horned head". This dinosaur inhabited the earth between AD 84 and 72, specifically the lands of present-day Mongolia and China. It is one of the oldest horned dinosaurs and is probably the ancestor of many others.

In 1971 an unusual fossil was discovered in Mongolia: a Velociraptor that embraced a Protoceratops. The theory behind this position is that both would likely have died fighting when a sandstorm or dune fell on them. In 1922, an expedition to the Gobie Desert discovered the nests of Protoceratops, the first dinosaur eggs found.

About thirty eggs were found in one of the nests, which leads us to believe that this nest was shared by several females who had to defend it from predators. Several nests were also found nearby, which seems to indicate that these animals lived in groups of the same family or perhaps in small herds. Once the eggs hatch, the chicks should not measure more than 30 centimeters in length. Adult females would bring food and would defend the young until they were old enough to fend for themselves. Adrienne Mayor, a folklorist, wondered if the discovery of these skulls in the past might not have led to the creation of "griffins", mythical creatures.

Appearance and Power of Protoceratops

Protoceratops did not have a well-developed horn, only a small bone bulge on the muzzle. It wasn't a big dinosaur as it had about 2 meters long, but weighed about 150 pounds.

6. Patagotitan Mayorum

Patagotitan Mayorum is a type of clade sauropod that was discovered in Argentina in 2014, and was an especially large herbivorous dinosaur:

Etymology of Patagotitan Mayorum

Patagotitan was recently discovered and it is one of the lesser known dinosaurs. Your full name is Patagotian Mayorum, but what does that mean? Patagotian derives from "paw" (refering to Patagonia, the region where its fossils were found) it's from "Titan" (from Greek mythology). On the other hand, Mayorum pays tribute to the Mayo family, owners of the La Flecha farm and the lands where the discoveries were made. According to studies, the Patagotitan Mayorum lived between 95 and 100 million years in which it was then a forest region.

Features of Patagotitan Mayorum

As only one fossil of the Patagotitan Mayorum has been discovered, the numbers on it are only estimates. However, experts theorize that it would have measured approximately 37 meters long and that weighed approximately 69 tons. His name as a titan was not given in vain, the Patagotitan Mayorum would be nothing more than the largest and most massive being that ever set foot on the planet's soil.

We know it was a herbivorous dinosaur, but at the moment the Patagotitan Mayorum has not revealed all its secrets. Paleontology is a science forged in the certainty of uncertainty because discoveries and new evidence are waiting to be fossilized in the corner of a rock or on the side of a mountain that will be excavated at some point in the future.

Characteristics of Herbivorous Dinosaurs

We'll end up with some amazing features shared by some of the herbivorous dinosaurs you've met on our list:

Feeding herbivorous dinosaurs

The dinosaurs' diet was based mainly on soft leaves, bark and twigs, as during the Mesozoic there were no fleshy fruits, flowers or grass. At that time, the common fauna was ferns, conifers and cycads, most of them large, with more than 30 centimeters in height.

The teeth of herbivorous dinosaurs

An unmistakable feature of herbivorous dinosaurs is their teeth, which, unlike carnivores, are much more homogeneous. They had larger front teeth or beaks for cutting leaves, and flat back teeth for devouring them, as it is generally believed that they chewed them, as modern ruminants do. It is also suspected that their teeth had several generations (unlike humans who only have two, baby teeth and permanent teeth).

Herbivorous dinosaurs had "stones" in their stomachs

It is suspected that the large sauropods had "stones" in their stomachs called gastrothrocytes, which would help crush hard-to-digest foods during the digestion process. This feature is currently seen in some birds.