Was named in 1888, by Smets, to what was believed to be two hadrosaurian fragments. Later that year the specimens proved to be pieces of petrified wood.

An “Abel lizard” from Late Cretaceous Argentina. Named in honor of Roberto Abel, director of the Museo de Cipolletti, Cipolletti, Argentina, who discovered the fossil. Named by Argentinian paleontologists José F. Bonaparte and Fernando E. Novas, in 1985.

An “awake (wakeful) lizard” from Early Triassic Lesotho, Africa. Named by paleontologist James A. Hopson in 1975.

An “Achelous lizard” from Late Cretaceous North America (Montana). It was named after the Greek, Akheloos, a mythical river god who could change shape at will. He transformed himself into a bull to fight Hercules, who defeated Achelous by tearing off one of his horns. The name alludes to the way a large hornless dinosaur apparently evolved from earlier horned ancestors. Named by Scott Matthew Sampson in 1995.

A “sturdy lizard” from Late Triassic. Its name comes from Greek akompsos, “not delicate, unadorned”. Named by M. G. Mehl in 1915.

A “high-spined lizard” from Early Cretaceous Oklahoma , Utah, and Texas, USA. Named by U.S paleotologists John Willis Stovall and Wann Langston, Jr. in 1950.

“Ada’s lizard” (an evil spirit from Mongolian mythology) from Early (or some say Late) Cretaceous southern Mongolia. Named by Mongolian paleontologist Rinchen Barsbold in 1983.

An “Egyptian lizard” from Middle or Late Cretaceous rocks of the Sahara desert in Egypt. Named by German paleontologist Ernst Stromer von Reichenbach in 1932.

A “wind lizard” from Late Cretaceous (windy) Patagonian region of southern Argenina. It was named for Aeolus, god of the winds in Greek and Roman mythology. Named by Jaime Eduardo Powell in 1988.

An “elephant lizard” from Early Cretaceous rocks of southern France. The name comes from Greek, aipys, “high, lofty”. Named by François Louis Paul Gervais in 1853.

An “eagle lizard” from Late Triassic to Early Jurassic southern Africa. Its name, “eagle (skull) lizard”, comes from Greek, aetos, “eagle”. Some modern sources incorrectly indicate that Aetosaurus is derived from the Latin aetas, “age”, and supposedly means “old lizard”.

An “agile (nimble) lizard” from Middle Jurassic Dashanpu quarry in Sichuan, China. So named because it is believed to have been agile as indicated by the light structure of the skeleton and the ratios of its limbs. Named by Peng Guangzhao in 1992.

This nomenclature (meaning “wild country or hunting lizard”) is no longer recognized by scientists because they found that it described an animal that was previously given another name which is Thecodontosaurus. Named by British paleontologist Harry Govier Seeley (1839-1909) in 1891.

“Alamo lizard” from Late Cretaceous New Mexico, Utah, Texas, and Montana (USA). The Alamosaurus was named for the Ojo Alamo (“poplar tree”) trading post (and/or a spring) in New Mexico, not the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas. Named by U. S. paleontologist Charles Whitney Gilmore in 1922.

“Alberta lizard” from Late Cretaceous Alberta, Canada and Montana, USA. It was named for Prince Albert, consort to Queen Victoria. This creature was formerly known as Deinodon and Gorgosaurus. Named by U. S. paleontologist Henry Fairfield Osborn in 1905.

An “unmarried (mateless) lizard” from Late Cretaceous Mongolia and Kazakhstan. The unusual name Alectrosaurus is not derived from Greek alektor, “rooster” and does not mean “rooster lizard” or “eagle lizard” as stated in some sources. Named by U. S. paleontologist Charles Whitney Gilmore in 1933.

“Algoa lizard” from Early Cretaceous Algoa Bay, Cape Town, South Africa. Algoasaurus had most of its skeleton pulverized to make brick because the quarrymen didn’t recognize the bones as those of a dinosaur. Named by Scottish physician Robert Broom in 1904.

Means “other lizard” from Late Cretaceous period and most have been found in North America; however, they are said to have lived in every continent.

Means “other (or different) lizard” from Late Jurassic North America, Africa, Australia, and maybe Asia. One source calls it a “strange (vertebra) lizard”. This creature was formerly known as Labrosaurus and Saurophagus. Named by Othniel Charles Marsh (1831-1899) in 1877.

An “Alvarez lizard” from Late Cretaceous (or Early Cretaceous) Neuquen Province, Argentina. It was named for Don Gregorio Alvarez, noted historian from Argentina. Named by Argentinian paleontologist José Bonaparte in 1991.

An “Alxa lizard” from Early Cretaceous Alxa (Alashan) Desert of Inner Mongolia. Named by Dale A. Russell and Chinese paleontologist Zhiming Dong in 1993.

An “Alzada lizard” named for the town of Alzada in southeastern Montana. Named by U. S. paleontologist Samuel Paul Welles in 1943.

An “Armarga lizard” from Early Cretaceous La Amarga Creek, Argentina. Named by Leonardo Salgado and Argentinian paleontologist José Bonaparte in 1990.

A “sand (or sand-stone) lizard” from Late Triassic or Early Jurassic Connecticut and Arizona, USA. Only the back half of the specimen was rescued from a quarry in the Connecticut River Valley because the front half was already sawed into blocks to build South Manchester Bridge in Manchester. The bridge was demolished in 1969, and researchers at Yale were able to retrieve some additional fossil material. Named by Othniel Charles Marsh (1831-1899) in 1891.

A “vineyard lizard” from Late Cretaceous south-central France. Its name comes from Greek ampelos, “vine” alluding to the bone-bed site where the fossils were found; located at the southern end of the Blanquette de Limoux vineyards in Campagne-sur-Aude, south-central France. Named by French paleontologist Jean Le Loeuff in 1995.

This nomenclature (“near lizard”) is no longer recognized by scientists because they found that it described an animal that was previously given another name which is Anchisaurus. Named by Othniel Charles Marsh (1831-1899) in 1882 and previously by Thomas Pallister Barkas in 1870.

“Amur [River Basin] lizard” from a new discovery in the far eastern area of Russia near the Chinese border. Named by Russian Geologists Yuri Bolotski and Anatoli Sorokin in 1999.

“Amtgay lizard” from Late Cretaceous Amtgay, Omongov province, southern Mongolia. Named by Sergei Mikhailovich Kurzanov and Tat’yana Alekseyevna Tumanova in 1978.

“Anasazi (ancient ones) lizard” from Late Cretaceous New Mexico. This fossil was named for the ancient Anasazi people, who lived in the Chaco Canyon near the locality where the fossil was found in New Mexico. Named by Adrian Paul Hunt and Frederic Augustus Lucas (1852-1929) in 1993.

This nomenclature (“duck lizard”) is no longer recognized by scientists because they found that it described an animal that was previously given another name which is Edmontosaurus..

Small, lightly built prosauropods, longer than a man yet less than half his weight. Their fossils have been found in eastern North America, western Europe, southern Africa, and northeastern Australia. The family may have thrived from Middle Triassic to Middle Jurassic times.

Meaning “near” or “close lizard” from Early Jurassic northeast USA and South Africa. It was discovered in Connecticut and Massachusetts. This creature was formerly known as Gyposaurus, Megalosaurid, and Yaleosaurus. Named by Othniel Charles Marsh (1831-1899) in 1885.

Meaning (“Andes lizard”) from Early or Middle Cretaceous Patagonia (Neuquen Province) region of Argentina. Named by Argentinian paleontologists Jorge O. Calvo and José Bonaparte in 1991.

Armored dinosaurs, “fused (or stiff) lizards”, were low, squat, heavy-bodied beasts, many with short, massive limbs and barrel-shaped bodies. Named by paleontologist Barnum Brown (1873-1963) in 1908.

Mean “fused lizard” from Late Cretaceous Alberta, Canada, and Montana, USA. Named by paleontologist Barnum Brown (1873-1963) in 1908.

This nomenclature, meaning “toothless lizard” is no longer recognized by scientists because they found that it described an animal that was previously given another name which is Euoplocephalus aucutosquameus. Named by Charles Hazelus Sternberg (1850-1943) in 1929.

Means “not armored (or no weapon) lizard” from Early Cretaceous eastern England. This creature was formerly known as Eucerosaurus and Syngonosaurus. Named by British paleontologist Harry Govier Seeley (1839-1909) in 1878.

Means “not northern ( but southern) lizard” from Late Cretaceous Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Brazil, India, and Kazakhstan. Named by German paleontologist Friedrich von Huene in 1929.

A “deceptive lizard” was once called Brontosaurus (“thunder lizard”) from the way it supposedly made the ground shake as it walked; from Late Jurassic Colorado, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming (USA). Its name is based on Greek apatan, apatao, “illusory, deception”; a reference to the Y-shaped chevrons (or hemal arches) on the underside of the tail, that Marsh thought were deceptively like those found in some mosasaurs (Tylosaurus, Platcarpus, etc.). Apatosaurus does not mean “headless lizard” as some may have thought. Named by Othniel Charles Marsh (1831-1899) in 1877.

Means “sea-foam lizard” from Late Cretaceous North America. Found in the coastal Moreno Formation, in Fresno County, California. Its name is supposed to indicate a marine reptile. Named by U. S. paleontologist Samuel Paul Welles in 1943.

“Aragon lizard” from Early Cretaceous Aragon Province, Spain. Named by Spanish paleontologists Sanz Garcia, Angela D. Buscalioni, Marķa Lourdes Casanovas-Cladellas, and Jose Vicente Santafe Llopis in 1987.

“Aral lizard” from Late Cretaceous Aral Sea in central Kazakhstan. Named by Anatoly Konstantinovich Rozhdestvensky in 1968.

“Araripe lizard” from Early Cretaceous Brazil. It was named for the Araripe Plateau, northeastern Brazil, location of the Santana Formation, where the fossil was found. Named by Brazilian paleontologist Llewellyn Ivor Price in 1971.

Meaning “ruling lizards”, was a family of Theocodonts; Crocodilians; Saurischian dinosaurs; Birds; Ornithischian dinosaurs; and Pterosaurs. Most groups lived in the Mesozoic Era’s Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods.

The “ruling lizards”; the superorder of advanced diapsids that includes the modern crocodiles as well as the theodonts, perosaurs, and dinosaurs. Archosaurs are believed to have first appeared in the earliest Triassic period.

An “arctic lizard” from Late Triassic Cameron Island, Canada, north of the Arctic Circle. Named by Andrew Leith Adams in 1875.

A “silver (Argentina) lizard” or “Argentine lizard” from Late Cretaceous Argentina and Uruguay. It was found in the Rio Limay Formation, Neuquen Province, Argentina. Named by Argentinian paleontologists José F. Bonaparte and Rodolfo Coria in 1993.

A “silver lizard” from Late Cretaceous Uruguay and Argentina (“land of silver”). Named by British paleontologist Richard Lydekker in 1893.

Means “best (specimen) lizard” from Late Triassic or Early Jurassic South Africa. Its name alludes to the preservation of the fossil; one of the Transvaal Museum’s best specimens, a nearly complete skeleton. Named by van Hoepen in 1920. It is now considered “an invalid name” for Massospondylus, a herbivorous Saurischian dinosaur from the late Triassic period.

Means “Arkansas lizard” from fossils found in Arkansas, USA. Named by paleontologist W. Bernhard Sattler in 1983.

Means “Arstan lizard” from Late Cretaceous Arstan Well area in Kazakhstan. Named by Yu V. Suslov and Peter V. Shilin in 1982.

“Asian lizard” from Early Cretaceous rocks of Ovorkhangai, Mongolia, and China. Named by U. S. paleontologist Henry Fairfield Osborn in 1924.

“Atlas lizard” named for a giant in Greek myth from Late Jurassic Colorado, USA. Named by Othniel Charles Marsh (1831-1899) in 187
7. Some say it may be an Apatosaurus.

“Atlas Copco lizard” from Early Cretaceous Australia. Named for the Atlas Copco Corporation that supplied pneumatic tools and accessory equipment which enabled the excavations at Dinosaur Cove, Queensland, Australia. Named by Thomas Rich and Patricia Vickers-Rich in 1989.

“Attenborough’s lizard” from Early Jurassic Europe. Named for naturalist and filmmaker, David Attenborough. The fossil was found in Charmouth, England, and kept in the collection of the Bristol City Museum. Named by Robert T. Bakker in 1993.

A “southern lizard” from Early-Middle Cretaceous rocks of Queensland, Australia. Named by paleontologist J. Heber Longman in 1933.

A “bird lizard” from Late Cretaceous North America. Named by Michael K. Brett-Surman and Gregory S. Paul in 1985.

“Azendoh lizard” from Late Triassic Azendoh village in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains in the region of Marrakesh. Named by paleontologist J. M. Dutuit in 1972.