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for any reason, I would advise you do so with EXTREME CAUTION as there is a good chance that omissions, errors and/or outdated information may exist.

Extinction Levels

All Extinction Symbols ( or )	This section of the ‘Life by Name’ lists all life forms contained within The Dinosaur Fan website. Each life form name is accompanied by a symbol indicating if the creature is globally or partially extinct as explained below.

Genus-level Extinction Symbol ()	This section of the ‘Life by Name’ lists only those life forms which are globally extinct meaning that every species of that life form is lost forever (e.g., the dinosaurs).

Species-level Extinction Symbol ()	This section of the ‘Life by Name’ lists only those life forms which are ‘partially’ extinct meaning that some species of this life form are extinct but others still exist today (e.g., the elephantinae (elephants) where only three of the approximately 70 species are still alive today).

Current Life Form Record Totals
No. of Genus	No. of Species
74,501	161,927

Life Forms (Genus) by First Letter of Name)
Globally Extinct	Partially Extinct	Letter Total
6,025	663	6,688
2,953	295	3,248
5,991	942	6,933
2,852	281	3,133
3,388	342	3,730
1,037	107	1,144
2,211	275	2,486
2,794	359	3,153
1,037	84	1,121
552	33	585
1,652	45	1,697
2,984	439	3,423
4,280	543	4,824
2,006	254	2,260
1,649	220	1,869
10,948	965	11,913
255	12	267
1,894	192	2,086
5,604	608	6,212
3,781	449	4,230
518	42	560
841	100	941
676	17	693
366	32	398
357	5	362
478	67	545