Dinosaur time gap

Did Triceratops and Dimetrodon live at the same time?

No. Triceratops (Late Cretaceous) and Dimetrodon (Cisuralian) are separated by 202 million years.

Triceratops to you: 66 million years.

More time separated them than separates Triceratops from you.

Triceratops

Late Cretaceous · 72–66 million years ago

Named by Marsh, 1889

Fossils from United States, Canada

Dimetrodon

Cisuralian · 283–274 million years ago

Named by Cope, 1878

Fossils from United States, Canada, Germany

Dimetrodon is not a dinosaur.

Silhouette by Will Toosey

Dig from Dimetrodon down to Triceratops →

Between Dimetrodon and Triceratops

  • Helicoprion Guadalupian · 274–267 million years ago
  • Massospondylus Early Jurassic · 201–193 million years ago
  • Shunosaurus Middle Jurassic · 168–162 million years ago
  • Hesperosaurus Late Jurassic · 155–149 million years ago
  • Valdosaurus Early Cretaceous · 133–121 million years ago
  • Carcharodontosaurus Late Cretaceous · 101–94 million years ago
  • Chasmosaurus Late Cretaceous · 84–72 million years ago
  • Maiasaura Late Cretaceous · 84–72 million years ago

Fun Facts

  • Pectinodon and Triceratops could have met.
  • Triceratops is known from 166 fossil sites.
  • Dimetrodon is known from 94 fossil sites.
  • Dimetrodon is not a dinosaur. It was gone 37 million years before the oldest dinosaur here.

Did they live at the same time?

Every animal you can pick →