Dryptosaurus

theropod dinosaur · Late Cretaceous · New Jersey · predator

Ancient East Coast hunter. Dryptosaurus lived in what is now New Jersey around 67 to 66 million years ago, near the very end of the dinosaur age. It was a theropod, which means it walked on two powerful back legs like a T. rex.

Found by accident. Workers digging for fertilizer in New Jersey discovered the bones of Dryptosaurus buried in rock. They uncovered pieces of its jaw, limbs, and backbone, but not a complete skeleton.

Named twice by rivals. The dinosaur was first named Laelaps by scientist Edward Drinker Cope in 1866, but that name was already taken by a type of mite. His rival Othniel Marsh changed the name to Dryptosaurus to fix the problem.

End of the dinosaur age. Dryptosaurus lived during the Maastrichtian stage, the last part of the Late Cretaceous period. This was just before a giant space rock hit Earth and all dinosaurs disappeared.