Curator’s Notes · Illustrating the journal
The illustrated record
The review covers 1,274 genera and 253 named branches across both rosters. 1,137 genera and 241 branches have approved pictures. All 1,527 entries have descriptions and source links.
Reviewed 2026-10-12.
Choosing each picture
Pictures must have a named creator and a reusable licence. We reject images marked inaccurate, obsolete or fictional, and avoid maps, postage stamps, park models and comparison charts. Modern reconstructions and clear museum photographs are preferred; labelled fossil material is used when a portrait is unavailable. Two reviewed reconstructions include small scale markers, identified in their captions. Museum mounts can include casts and reconstructed parts.
Branch pictures show an actual member of that branch in at least one of the game’s rosters. Their captions name the animal. Genus portraits are not filled with a close relative. Thescelosaurus illustrates Neornithischia; Tenontosaurus illustrates Cerapoda. These selections do not change the working classification or clue evidence.
Different views of the tree
| Branch | Illustrated member | Original file & credit |
|---|---|---|
| Dinosauria | Brontosaurus | Brontosaurus excelsus remount in the Peabody Museum.jpg ↗ |
| Ornithischia | Stegosaurus | Natural History Museum, London Stegosaurus.jpg ↗ |
| Saurischia | Herrerasaurus | Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis Illustration.jpg ↗ |
| Cerapoda | Tenontosaurus | Perot Museum Tenontosaurus.jpg ↗ |
| Neornithischia | Thescelosaurus | Thescelosaurus neglectus - Museum of the Rockies.jpg ↗ |
| Parapredentata | Silesaurus | Silesaurus TD.png ↗ |
| Saphornithischia | Eocursor | Eocursor BW.jpg ↗ |
Only three adjacent branches retain the same picture: Rhabdodontidae, Vitakrisauridae and Vitakrisaurinae. Their illustrated member pools currently supply only one distinct approved image. We retain an explicitly named member rather than borrow an animal from a different branch.
Writing the field notes
Every branch has a short, original field note. Genus overviews use checked Wikipedia pages, existing edited notes or the reviewed profile when no matching article was available. A redirect to another genus is not accepted as that animal’s biography. Wikipedia-derived copy is credited under CC BY-SA 4.0; original notes link to their evidence. Aragosaurus and Bustingorrytitan have separately sourced wording where the automatic summary needed correction.
Still to illustrate
These are media gaps, not changes to the roster. The search did not establish a suitable, reusable, correctly identified picture for each entry below. Some available files were charts or carried scientific-quality warnings; some research plates mixed several animals or had no reuse licence. A genus without an approved portrait keeps its description and a journal placeholder.
12 branches awaiting a picture
- Balochisauridae
- Balochisaurinae
- Gspsauridae
- Gspsaurinae
- Isisaurinae
- Jeholosauridae
- Khetranisaurinae
- Marisaurinae
- Nqwebasauridae
- Pakisauridae
- Poripuchia
- Saraikimasoominae
137 genera awaiting a portrait
- Angaturama
- Arcusaurus
- Arkansaurus
- Australodocus
- Austroposeidon
- Balochisaurus
- Batyrosaurus
- Calvarius
- Chinshakiangosaurus
- Choconsaurus
- Chuandongocoelurus
- Coloradisaurus
- Comahuesaurus
- Crichtonpelta
- Daanosaurus
- Dashanpusaurus
- Datonglong
- Daurosaurus
- Delapparentia
- Dongyangopelta
- Dracopelta
- Eomamenchisaurus
- Eousdryosaurus
- Eucoelophysis
- Euskelesaurus
- Ferganasaurus
- Fushanosaurus
- Garrigatitan
- Genusaurus
- Gobititan
- Gongxianosaurus
- Gspsaurus
- Hexing
- Ignavusaurus
- Ikqaumishan
- Imrankhanhero
- Itapeuasaurus
- Iyuku
- Kaijutitan
- Khanazeem
- Khetranisaurus
- Khulsanurus
- Kol
- Kulindapteryx
- Lapampasaurus
- Leinkupal
- Lepidocheirosaurus
- Lepidus
- Levnesovia
- Liaoningvenator
- Ligabueino
- Lophostropheus
- Luoyanggia
- Magnamanus
- Mahuidacursor
- Malarguesaurus
- Marisaurus
- Mbiresaurus
- Mendozasaurus
- Muyelensaurus
- Nambalia
- Napaisaurus
- Narambuenatitan
- Nicksaurus
- Ninjatitan
- Normanniasaurus
- Osmakasaurus
- Pakisaurus
- Pamparaptor
- Panamericansaurus
- Pandoravenator
- Pellegrinisaurus
- Penelopognathus
- Petrobrasaurus
- Philovenator
- Pitekunsaurus
- Plesiohadros
- Powellvenator
- Protognathosaurus
- Qaikshaheen
- Qianlong
- Qijianglong
- Qingxiusaurus
- Qiupanykus
- Rayososaurus
- Rhomaleopakhus
- Riabininohadros
- Rinconsaurus
- Ruehleia
- Ruixinia
- Saraikimasoom
- Sauroplites
- Schleitheimia
- Sefapanosaurus
- Sektensaurus
- Serendipaceratops
- Shamosaurus
- Shanyangosaurus
- Shingopana
- Shuangbaisaurus
- Sinankylosaurus
- Soumyasaurus
- Sulaimanisaurus
- Taohelong
- Tapinosaurus
- Tatankacephalus
- Teihivenator
- Tengrisaurus
- Tiantaisaurus
- Tonganosaurus
- Tototlmimus
- Tralkasaurus
- Traukutitan
- Triunfosaurus
- Tugulusaurus
- Ugrunaaluk
- Unescoceratops
- Unquillosaurus
- Vahiny
- Vayuraptor
- Vitakrisaurus
- Volgatitan
- Volkheimeria
- Wamweracaudia
- Xiaosaurus
- Xixianykus
- Xixiposaurus
- Xiyunykus
- Yuanmousaurus
- Yunmenglong
- Yunyangosaurus
- Zapsalis
- Zaraapelta
- Zhongornis
- Zhuchengtitan
- Zigongosaurus
- Zuoyunlong
Why some research pictures remain out
- Kulindapteryx: Do not borrow Kulindadromeus artwork for a separately displayed historical name. Original specimen attribution and reusable-image rights need an explicit check. Godefroit et al. 2020 · Kulinda specimens and competing names ↗
- Lepidocheirosaurus: The original reconstruction is not offered under an identified reusable licence. The Kulinda specimen allocation is contested; do not relabel Kulindadromeus imagery. Alifanov & Saveliev 2015 · original description ↗Godefroit et al. 2020 · competing Kulinda interpretations ↗
- Pakistan-fossil-plates: The inspected Malkani 2021 plates mix multiple taxa and reassign some shared material. They are research links, not clear stand-alone genus portraits; no classification or inclusion decision is made by this media audit. Malkani 2021 · Formal Description of Mesozoic and Cenozoic Biotas Found from Pakistan ↗
The Daily stamp
Winning a Daily expedition earns the dated stamp. A Practice discovery is recorded without a Daily stamp. The larger result stamp sits over the artwork and remains visible when a portrait is missing or fails to load.