About the Random Dinosaur Generator
Sixty species are included, and each one carries two facts that are checked rather than randomised: the period it lived in and its diet. Tyrannosaurus rex is always Late Cretaceous and always a carnivore, Stegosaurus is always Late Jurassic and always a herbivore, so a result can be used in a worksheet without a teacher having to correct it.
The spread is deliberate. Late Cretaceous celebrities share the list with Triassic pioneers such as Coelophysis and Herrerasaurus, feathered species such as Microraptor and Sinosauropteryx, and the fish eating spinosaurids Baryonyx and Suchomimus. Drawing at random is the quickest way to introduce a class to something beyond the five species every child already knows.
Teachers use it to assign research subjects, parents use it to settle an argument about which dinosaur to draw, and game masters use it to populate a prehistoric setting. Because the diet is shown, a batch can be sorted into predators and plant eaters as a follow up exercise. Ask for ten with no repeats and the list covers three geological periods at once. Sort a saved batch alphabetically with the Sort Text Lines tool, or pair it with the Random Animal Generator to compare extinct and living species.
How to use
- Choose how many species you want in the draw.
- Keep no repeats on so a class research list gives everyone a different dinosaur.
- Press Generate, then copy the list or download it as a worksheet starter.
Common questions
- Are the periods and diets accurate?
- Yes, each species is stored with its own period and diet, so the two facts always match the animal named.
- How many dinosaurs are in the list?
- Sixty species, spanning the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.
- Are flying and swimming reptiles included?
- No. Pterosaurs and marine reptiles were not dinosaurs, so the list keeps to true dinosaur species.
- Can I use this for a school worksheet?
- Yes. Generate one per pupil with no repeats and use the period and diet as the first two research questions.