ZoomDinosaurs.com Dinosaur and Paleontology Dictionary

DSUNGARIPTERUS Dsungaripterus was a pterosaur with 10 feet (3 m) wide leathery wings. It had an unusual bony crest running along its snout and had long, narrow, curved jaws with a pointed tip. It had flat teeth at the back of the jaws, probably for crushing the shells of its prey. It lived in what is now China during the early Cretaceous period. It was not a dinosaur, but a type of extinct, flying reptile. It was named by Young in 1964.

DUCK-BILLED DINOSAURS Hadrosaurs, or duck-billed dinosaurs, were ornithischians from the late Cretaceous period. Maiasaura, Parasaurolophus, and Hadrosaurus were hadrosaurs.

DUNKLEOSTEUS Dunkleosteus, the biggest member of the family Dinichthyidae ("terrible fishes"), was a heavily armored primitive fish from the late Devonian period, about 360 million years ago. This top predator was up to 11.5 ft (3.5 m) long and had large, scissor-like cutting jaws with serrated, razor-sharp bones, but no teeth. Its skull was was over 2 feet (65 cm) long. It had a jointed neck, an eel-like tail, a scale-less body, and hinged body shields. Dunkleosteus was not a shark but a placoderm with a shark-like tail. It may have eaten sharks. Fossils have been found in Morocco, Africa, Poland, Belgium, China, and the USA.

DWARF ALLOSAURUS The Dwarf Allosaurus is a controvertial species known from a single ankle bone (an astragalus) found in Australia (in the Strzelecki ranges, in Victoria) by Tim Flannery in 1979. This bone resembles the ankle bone of an Allosaurus, but is lighter and smaller. This dwarf Allosaurus would have been only 19 feet (6 m) long (compared with about 10.5 m long for Allosaurus).

DYOPLOSAURUS (pronounced DIE-oh-plo-SAWR-us) Dyoplosaurus (meaning "double-armored lizard") was a heavily armored, plant-eating dinosaur from the late Cretaceous period, about 76-70 million years ago. Dyoplosaurus is probably a invalid name for Euoplocephalus, It was about 20-23 feet (6-7 m) long and about 5.8 feet (1.7 m) wide. This solitary animal had a bony tail-club and armor covering most of its body. Fossils were found in Alberta, Canada. Euoplocephalus was named by paleontologist Parks in 1924 (Euoplocephalus was named in 1910 by Lambe).

DYSGANUS (pronounced dis-GANN-us) Dysganus (meaning "bad brightness" [referring to its tooth enamel]) was a ceratopsian dinosaur from the late Cretaceous period. This horned plant-eater (a Ceratopsid) walked on four thick legs. It was named by paleontologist E. Cope in 1876. It is only known from fossilized teeth found in Montana, USA, and is a dubious genus, with four dubious species. The type species is D. encaustus.

DYSLOCOSAURUS (pronounced dis-low-co-SAWR-us) Dyslocosaurus was a plant-eating dinosaur from the late Jurassic period. Dyslocosaurus means "hard to place lizard" because it isn't known in which rock formation in Wyoming its fossils were found - either the 0 Formation or the Lance Formation]. This diplodocid sauropod had a long neck, a long, whip-like tail, and a bulky body; it walked on four columnar legs. It was 55-60 feet (17-18 m) long. Dyslocosaurus was named by paleontologists MacIntosh, Coombs and D. A. Russell in 1992. It is only known from some leg bones found in Wyoming, USA. The type species is D. polyonychius- polyonychius means many claws.

DYSTYLOSAURUS (pronounced die-STIE-lo-SAWR-us) Dystylosaurus (meaning "double-beamed lizard") was a large, sauropod dinosaur from the late Jurassic period, about 156 to 145 million years ago. This long-necked plant-eater walked on four thick legs and had a small head with blunt teeth; it was either a brachiosaurid (with a giraffe-like stance) or a diplodocid (with a whip-like tail). Fossils were found in Colorado, USA. It was named by paleontologist Jim Jensen in 1985. The type species is D. edwini.

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