The Dinosaur Encyclopedia
Dinosaurs were a large and diverse group of animals that dominated the Earth for over 160 million years.  From the late Triassic period (230 million years ago) to the end of the Cretaceous period (65 million years ago), over 500 genera and over 1000 different known species of dinosaur covered every continent on the planet.

Ever since the early 19th century when the first dinosaur fossils were found, our knowledge of dinosaurs has grown and our classification systems have become more complex and intricate.  Our fascination with dinosaurs is only matched by our need to understand and order these amazing animals, and a number of detailed encyclopedia volumes have been filled with information on all of the different dinosaur families and groupings.

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Dinosaurs are archosaurs, and are collectively regarded as a superorder or an unranked clade of animals.  The first division in the dinosaur classification systems occurs between the Saurischia and Ornithischia orders, a division that is dependent on the pelvic structure of the different animals.  Within the Saurischia order, there is a further division into three suborders, and a number of separate family groupings.  The three suborders are:  Herrerasaurians, Theropods (of which there are several groupings), and Sauropodomorphs (of which there are several more groupings).  In the Ornithischia order there are five more major suborders of dinosaurs:  Heterodontosaurids, Thyreophorans, Ornithopods, Pachycephalosaurians, and Certopsians.

Dinosaurs have intrigued people ever since the first dinosaur fossils were discovered, and they continue to fascinate people from all over the world.  The masses of different scientific and popular literature published around dinosaurs are a testament to the fact that all different ages groups, occupations, and nationalities of people are interested in dinosaurs.  Dinosaur encyclopedias vary from comprehensive scientific volumes to those rooted just as much in popular culture, some of which only include a small selection of the most well known animals.  Along with the more complex scientific classification system, dinosaurs can also be split into groups depending on their size, their diet, and behaviour, and their physiology.  Some of these classifications make more sense to a mainstream audience, and are also a great way to teach children about the many different kinds of dinosaurs.