Deinonychus vs Plateosaurus

A detailed side-by-side comparison of Deinonychus and Plateosaurus, covering size, diet, classification, geologic period, and discovery history.

Side-by-Side Comparison

Propriété Deinonychus Plateosaurus
Nom scientifique Deinonychus antirrhopus Plateosaurus trossingensis
Classification Dromaeosauridae Sauropodomorpha
Période Cretaceous Early Triassic Late
Alimentation Carnivore Herbivore
Longueur 3.4 m 8.0 m
Height 0.9 m 2.5 m
Poids 73 kg 700 kg
Année de découverte 1969 1837
Lieu de découverte Montana, USA Trossingen, Germany
Nommé par John Ostrom Hermann von Meyer

Size Comparison

Deinonychus 3.4 m

about the size of a human adult

Plateosaurus 8.0 m

roughly the length of a large SUV

Weight Comparison

Deinonychus 73 kg

about 1 adult humans

Plateosaurus 700 kg

about 10 adult humans

Timeline Comparison

Deinonychus
145,0 Mya Cretaceous Early (Mesozoic) 100,5 Mya
Plateosaurus
237,0 Mya Triassic Late (Mesozoic) 201,4 Mya

Diet Comparison

Deinonychus

Carnivore

Deinonychus was a meat-eating predator, hunting other animals for food.

Plateosaurus

Herbivore

Plateosaurus was a plant-eater, feeding on vegetation like ferns, conifers, and cycads.

Classification Comparison

Deinonychus

Clade: Theropoda

Group: Dromaeosauridae

(Raptors)

Plateosaurus

Clade: Saurischia

Group: Sauropodomorpha

(Lizard-footed forms)

Did You Know?

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Plateosaurus was about 2.4x longer than Deinonychus.

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Plateosaurus weighed roughly 10x more than Deinonychus.

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Deinonychus was a carnivore while Plateosaurus was a herbivore.

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Deinonychus lived during the Cretaceous Early while Plateosaurus lived during the Triassic Late, separated by roughly 136 million years.

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Plateosaurus was discovered 132 years earlier, in 1837.

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Deinonychus belonged to Dromaeosauridae while Plateosaurus belonged to Sauropodomorpha.

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