Dinosaurs|Extinct Life|Extinction|Prehistoric Animals|The Dinosaur Fan

Life by Name (Genus)

"If we measured success by longevity, then dinosaurs must rank as the number one success story in the history of land life"

Robert T. Bakker, The Dinosaur Heresies

This section of The Dinosaur Fan presents life forms alphabetically by their name (i.e., genus*). Most, but not all, life forms have three names; a common name used by the general public and two scientific names (i.e., genus and species) often used by paleontologists, anthropologists, naturalists, and other scientific groups. Common names are most often written in native languages and are usually different from country to country (e.g., in English if you’re in the USA, German if you're in Germany, in French if you're in France) whereas scientific names are generally used worldwide and are written in Greek, Latin, and sometimes in the local language of the location in which the fossils were found.

Example:

Common name = Saber-tooth Tiger
Scientific genus name = Smilodon
Scientific species names = S. californicus, S. fatalis, S. floridanus, S. gracilis

* A genus is a group of organisms that are closely related and share similar characteristics (i.e., a familiar, broad category or kind). The genus acts to eliminate all characteristics that don't fit under its own definition and also acts to describe what the remaining characteristics have in common.


	NOTE: the information presented throughout this website has NOT been reviewed by any person or organization. All information has been gathered and/or synthesized by me. I am doing my best to provide accurate data however, if you use material from this website for any reason, I would advise you do so with EXTREME CAUTION as there is a good chance that omissions, errors and/or outdated information may exist.

Current Life Form Record Totals
No. of Genus	No. of Species
74,936	161,929

Life Forms (Genus) by First Letter of Name)
Globally Extinct	Partially Extinct	Letter Total
6,069	663	6,733
2,968	295	3,263
6,022	942	6,964
2,884	281	3,165
3,395	342	3,737
1,051	107	1,158
2,228	275	2,503
2,812	359	3,171
1,043	84	1,127
553	33	586
1,654	46	1,700
3,004	439	3,443
4,312	543	4,856
2,015	254	2,269
1,661	218	1,879
11,027	965	11,992
256	12	268
1,910	192	2,102
5,650	608	6,258
3,798	449	4,247
527	42	569
844	99	943
679	17	696
368	32	400
357	5	362
478	67	545