Dinosaurs Found in Canada

Key Terms and Methodology

The Canadian Encyclopedia’s list of dinosaur species found in Canada is grouped first by order (either saurischian or ornithischian), then by family, then by species. Saurischian dinosaurs are lizard-hipped dinosaurs, meaning that their pubis, one of three hip bones, is pointing forward as in lizards and crocodiles. Ornithischian dinosaurs are bird-hipped dinosaurs, meaning that their pubis is predominantly oriented backward, as in birds.

Dinosaurs include avian and non-avian species. Birds are dinosaurs the same way that humans are mammals; that’s why paleontologists often call birds “avian dinosaurs.” All non-avian dinosaurs (i.e., all dinosaurs except birds) went extinct 66 million years ago. While fossil birds have been found in Canada, they are not well understood because their fossils are very rare, not well preserved, and generally incomplete. This is because bird bones are small, hollow and fragile, so they tend to be destroyed before being buried and fossilized or before being discovered by paleontologists. Bird skeletons often need to be buried in special conditions, such as in a calm lake setting with abundant sediment flowing into it, in order to become fossilized. For this reason, the fossils of avian dinosaurs in Canada are usually too incomplete be named, so they have been excluded from the list below.

The list is also limited to dinosaurs known from bones and skeletons that have been formally described at a species level in a scientific publication. While dinosaur remains have been discovered in provinces and territories in addition to those listed below (namely in Nova Scotia, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and Yukon), the fossils from these places are often not complete enough to identify to which species they belonged or have not yet been the subject of detailed scientific study. In the case of Nova Scotia, paleontologists have found fossils of a primitive armoured dinosaur, sometimes called Scutellosaurus, and of a long-necked, planting-eating dinosaur, informally called Fendusaurus eldoni. However, since neither has been described in a scientific publication, both are excluded from the list.

Dinosaur footprints often receive scientific names (called an ichnospecies), but paleontologists can’t say exactly (and with certainty) what dinosaur species made them. For example, many dinosaur footprints have been found in British Columbia and Nova Scotia, but the identity of the track-makers can only be known in general terms (e.g., long-necked sauropods, armored dinosaurs, duckbilled dinosaurs, small/medium/large meat-eating dinosaurs). The same is true for dinosaur eggs. Because dinosaur eggs vary greatly in size, shape and eggshell structure, paleontologists give each egg type a scientific name (called an oospecies). However, it is impossible to know the identity of the dinosaur that produced the eggs unless the remains of embryos or of a parent are found with them. For example, several types of dinosaur eggs and eggshells have been found in Alberta, but only one type has been associated with embryos ( Hypacrosaurus stebingeri). All other eggs can only be identified in general terms (e.g., duckbilled dinosaurs, small theropods). For these reasons, neither footprints nor eggs are included in the list below.

Ornithischian Dinosaurs

Family: Thescelosauridae (small, two-legged, herbivorous dinosaurs)

Family: Hadrosauridae (duckbilled dinosaurs)

Family: Ankylosauridae (ankylosaurs with tail clubs)

Family: Nodosauridae (ankylosaurs with shoulder spikes and no tail club)

Family: Pachycephalosauridae (dome-headed dinosaurs)

Family: Leptoceratopsidae (small, horned dinosaurs)

Family: Ceratopsidae (large, horned dinosaurs)

Saurischian Dinosaurs

Family: Ornithomimidae (dinosaurs that looked like ostriches)

Family: Caenagnathidae (dinosaurs that looked like cassowaries)

Family: Alvarezsauridae (small, one-fingered, insectivorous dinosaurs)

Family: Troodontidae (small, sickle-clawed, omnivorous dinosaurs)

Family: Dromaeosauridae (“raptors”)

Family: Tyrannosauridae (tyrannosaurs)

Other theropods (two-legged, carnivorous dinosaurs)