Dinosaur Wheel
Spin for one dinosaur, or choose a period first: Triassic, Jurassic or Cretaceous.
No spins yet. Each pick is listed here in order.
Dinosaurs on the wheel, by period
Triassic (9)
- Coelophysis
- Eoraptor
- Herrerasaurus
- Liliensternus
- Plateosaurus
- Procompsognathus
- Riojasaurus
- Staurikosaurus
- Thecodontosaurus
Jurassic (22)
- Allosaurus
- Apatosaurus
- Barosaurus
- Brachiosaurus
- Brontosaurus
- Camarasaurus
- Ceratosaurus
- Compsognathus
- Cryolophosaurus
- Dilophosaurus
- Diplodocus
- Dryosaurus
- Giraffatitan
- Guanlong
- Heterodontosaurus
- Huayangosaurus
- Kentrosaurus
- Massospondylus
- Megalosaurus
- Ornitholestes
- Scelidosaurus
- Stegosaurus
Cretaceous (28)
- Albertosaurus
- Amargasaurus
- Ankylosaurus
- Argentinosaurus
- Baryonyx
- Carnotaurus
- Corythosaurus
- Deinonychus
- Edmontosaurus
- Gallimimus
- Giganotosaurus
- Hypsilophodon
- Iguanodon
- Maiasaura
- Muttaburrasaurus
- Ouranosaurus
- Oviraptor
- Pachycephalosaurus
- Parasaurolophus
- Protoceratops
- Psittacosaurus
- Spinosaurus
- Styracosaurus
- Therizinosaurus
- Triceratops
- Tyrannosaurus
- Utahraptor
- Velociraptor
About the dinosaur wheel
The wheel opens with all 59 dinosaurs on it. The buttons under “Choose a list” swap it for one period at a time: 9 dinosaurs from the Triassic, 22 from the Jurassic and 28 from the Cretaceous. The age of dinosaurs is divided into those three periods, in that order.
Every entry is the name of a genus, which is a group of closely related species. Tyrannosaurus is a genus, and Tyrannosaurus rex is one species in it. That is why the wheel says Tyrannosaurus and stops there.
For a class, switch on “Remove the winner after each spin” before the first student spins. Each picked dinosaur then leaves the wheel as the result window closes, so no two students get the same one. Every name is also printed on this page under its period, so you can read the full list before anyone spins.
What to do with a random dinosaur
- Draw it: spin, then sketch the dinosaur the wheel names.
- Start a class project: each student spins once and looks up the dinosaur they get.
- Play a guessing game: one player spins in secret and the others ask yes-or-no questions until someone names the dinosaur.
- Quiz the periods: spin the full wheel, guess Triassic, Jurassic or Cretaceous, then find the name in the list on this page.
How to use the wheel
- Type or paste your options, one per line. The wheel redraws as you type.
- Press Spin, click the wheel, or press Ctrl+Enter while you are in the list.
- Read the pick. Remove it from the wheel if nobody should be picked twice, then spin again.
How the pick is made
Before the wheel moves, your browser draws one slice at random with crypto.getRandomValues, the same generator browsers use for security keys. Every slice has the same chance. The spin you watch only plays that result out.
Nothing about the animation changes the outcome: not how hard you click, not how long the wheel turns, not the size of your screen. The pointer always stops inside a slice, never on a line.
Your list stays in your browser. A link you copy carries the list inside the link itself, so nothing is uploaded.
Questions about the dinosaur wheel
- Why are there no flying reptiles or sea reptiles on the wheel?
- Because they were not dinosaurs. Pterosaurs, plesiosaurs and mosasaurs lived in the same age, but this list holds dinosaurs only.
- Where do the dinosaur names come from?
- The list was written for this site. The names were not copied from another website, a book, a game or an app.
- Does the wheel show a picture of the dinosaur?
- No. It shows a name only, so you need a book or a search of your own to see the animal.
- Can I add a dinosaur that is missing?
- Yes. Type its name on a new line in the list and the wheel redraws with one more slice. Your longer dinosaur list is saved in this browser for the next visit to this page.
- What is the chance of getting one particular dinosaur?
- On the full wheel it is 1 in 59. Choose a single period and the line under the wheel shows the chance for that shorter list.