A

Archosaur

The clade containing: dinosaurs, birds, crocodilians, and pterosaurs.

B

Basal

Primitive, earlier in the evolutionary tree.

C

Clade

Major taxonomical classification of dinosaurs (theropod, sauropod, ornithischian, saurischian).

F

Formation

A sedimentary layer of rock from a determinable period of the Earth's history. Usually spread over a mappable geographic area.

H

Holotype

The original specimen (fossil) used for the original description of a dinosaur.

M

Marker Taxon

An identifiable fossilized specimen (animal, plant, fungi) with a known placement in the geological timeline, which is used to date other specimens found in the same layer of rock.

P

Paleohistology

The microscopic study of fossils.

Paleoichnology

The study of trace fossils, such as footprints or imprints of animals/plants, as opposed to the plant/animal itself.

Paleosol

Fossilized soil.

Paratype

Additional fossilized specimens of a dinosaur that are not part of the original dinosaur's description (not the holotype).

Pneumaticity

The presence of air sacs/holes within bones.

S

Stratigraphy

The study of the geological timeline of the Earth through sedimentary layers of rock.

T

Taxonomy

The scientific classification of animals into groups.

Type Locality

The geographic location where a stratigraphic classification of rock was first identified.