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Wikipedia:WikiProject Dinosaurs/Timeline

< Wikipedia:WikiProject Dinosaurs

2000s

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2001

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Wikipedia first went online early in 2001 and its volunteers began covering dinosaurs soon after. The earliest surviving edits to dinosaur-related content on Wikipedia are User:Arco Scheepen's creation of the articles "Diplodocus" and "Apatosaurus". It seems a bit unlikely that these two sauropods were written about earlier than dinosaurs or paleontology overall, neither of which has an article history predating November 10th of that year. The oldest surviving edits to these articles actually record the removal of content rather than an addition, so it's possible some earlier, now deleted versions of these articles had been written first. After this beginning, Wikipedia volunteers began expanding the site's dinosaur coverage. The new articles of 2001 focued mainly on the most famous and spectacular forms like Tyrannosaurus and Velociraptor. Wikiproject Dinosaurs did not yet exist in 2001 and would not exist until 2004.

  • January 15th: Wikipedia was launched.
  • August 12th: An anonymous IP address created the article "Velociraptor".
  • August 29th: An anonymous IP address created the article "Giganotosaurus".
  • November 10th: The oldest preserved edit to the article "Paleontology" was by User:Don Kenney. Strangely, this edit is listed as a removal of content rather than an article creation.
  • November 14th: The oldest preserved edit to the article "Dinosaur" was by User:Josh Grosse. Strangely, this edit is listed as a removal of content rather than an article creation.

2002

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Volunteers continued to produce dinosaur-related content in 2002, although not nearly as many notable articles were started this year. The most prominent additions to Wikipedia's dinosaur coverage were the articles on Triceratops and Parasaurolophus, both started by anonymous users.

  • May 31st: An anonymous IP address created the article "Triceratops".

2003

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2003 saw an increase in activity improving Wikipedia's dinosaur coverage. Many important new articles were created this year, including those about the "Chicxulub crater", "Stegosaurus", and several articles related to theropods, especially tyrannosaurs.

2004

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Activity drastically increased in 2004, leading to the creation of articles on many famous dinosaur taxa like Troodon, Megalosaurus, Oviraptor, and Argentinosaurus. This flurry of activity brought attention to the "relative lack of content about dinosaurs in Wikipedia", inciting User:Fredrik to formally establish a Wikiproject dedicated to dinosaurs. New articles of significance continued to be started at a high rate including those on taxa like Eoraptor, Hadrosaurus, Ankylosauria, Protoceratops, and Coelophysis. On November 8th, User: ???? succeeded in getting Wikiproject Dinosaurs's first "Did you know?" hook on the Main Page, for the article Titanosaur. Several other hooks would be displayed on the Main Page the remainder of the year.

  • January 13th: An anonymous IP address created the article "Gastrolith".
  • January 27th: An anonymous IP address created the article "Dilophosaurus".
  • February 28th: An anonymous IP address created the article "Archosaur".
  • April 1st: An anonymous IP address created the article "Utahraptor".
  • April 22nd: Project founded (by User:Fredrik), as "an effort to do something about the current relative lack of content about dinosaurs in Wikipedia."
  • May 28th: An anonymous IP address created the article "Torosaurus". Its edit summary suggested that a previous version of the article had been deleted.
  • July 27th: An anonymous IP address created the article "Ankylosauria".
  • September 14th: An anonymous IP address created the article "Ankylosaurus".
  • September 28th: An anonymous IP address created the article "Microraptor".
  • October 16th: An anonymous IP address created the article "Protoceratops".
  • October 16th: An anonymous IP address created the article "Gorgosaurus".


  • October 26th: An anonymous IP address created the article "Ceratosaurus".
  • November 3rd: An anonymous IP address created the article "Amphicoelias".
  • November 6th: An anonymous IP address created the article "Titanosaur".
  • December 9th: An anonymous IP address created the article "Ornithopod".


  • December 23rd: An anonymous IP address created the article "Suchomimus".

2005

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  • March 2nd: An anonymous IP address created the article "Ceratopsidae".


  • May 22nd: An anonymous IP address created the article "Titanosaurus".
  • April 22nd: The first anniversary of the project's founding.
  • October 11: Did you know... that Abelisaurus had a lighter skull than other dinosaurs due to large fenestrations behind its eyes?
  • October 29th: An anonymous IP address created the article "Achillobator".‎
  • December 5th: "Dinosaur" was selected for the Article Improvement Drive.
  • December 7: Did you know... that Agilisaurus was first discovered when construction workers were excavating a site for a new dinosaur museum in China?
  • December 18th: "Dinosaur" became a featured article.


2006

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  • January 1st: "Dinosaur" was featured on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article.
  • January 5: Did you know... that Ampelosaurus was a European dinosaur that bore spikes on its back up to 20 cm long?
  • January 6: Did you know... that Aliwalia is the earliest known carnivorous dinosaur, and was huge for its time?
  • March 17: User:Greygirlbeast joined the project. Did you know... that the prosauropod dinosaur Efraasia was misidentified at least four times before being recognized as a separate genus?


  • April 22nd: The first anniversary of the project's founding.
  • May 25: User:Casliber joined the project. The list of dinosaurs and the list of missing dinosaur articles on Wikipedia are all blue for the first time.


  • May 27: Did you know... that Dracorex hogwartsia was a dinosaur named for its resemblance to the Hungarian Horntail, a dragon in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series?


  • May 30th: Psittacosaurus becomes a featured article.
  • June 10: User:Mark t young joined the project. Did you know... that a new "dwarf" dinosaur, a sauropod named Europasaurus (pictured), was recently discovered in Northern Germany?


  • June 29: Velociraptor becomes a featured article.
  • July 12: Velociraptor is featured on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article.
  • July 18: Did you know... that the dinosaur Lufengosaurus, whose remains were found in China, was the first dinosaur to appear on a commemorative postage stamp, in 1958?
  • July 23: Diplodocus becomes a good article
  • July 23: Ankylosaurus becomes a good article.
  • July 24: Tyrannosaurus becomes a featured article.
  • September 11: The list of dinosaurs becomes a featured list.
  • September 12: Tyrannosaurus is featured on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article.
  • September 12th: An anonymous IP address created the article "Plateosaurus".
  • November 10: Stegosaurus becomes a featured article.
  • November 27: Stegosaurus is featured on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article.
  • December 12: Did you know... that Sacisaurus was named for a one-legged Brazilian elf, as the first skeleton was found missing a leg?
  • December 16: Did you know... that Stegosaurus, one of the most distinctive dinosaurs, has been widely depicted in popular culture?

2007

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  • January 9: Diplodocus becomes a featured article.
  • January 18: Did you know... that Trachodon, despite being a well-known and often-used duckbill name in the past, is based on teeth which include both duckbill and horned dinosaur specimens?
  • January 31: Triceratops becomes a featured article.
  • February 2nd: User:Benosaurus joined the project.
  • February 6: Amphicoelias becomes a good article.
  • February 11: Thescelosaurus becomes a good article.
  • March 13: Heterodontosauridae becomes a good article.
  • March 15: Compsognathus becomes a featured article.
  • March 18: Did you know... that the Phyllodon, a small herbivorous dinosaur from the Late Jurassic found in present-day Portugal, * May have been closely related to North American dinosaurs?
  • March 21: Triceratops is featured on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article.
  • March 26: Did you know... that Lophostropheus from Normandy is one of the only dinosaurs known from the Triassic-Jurassic boundary?
  • March 27: User:Sabine's Sunbird joined the project. Did you know... that the newly-named Oryctodromeus, a genus of small herbivorous dinosaur from the mid Cretaceous of Montana, is the first dinosaur described as making burrows?
  • March 28: The Dinosaur Portal is created.
  • March 30: Archaeopteryx becomes a featured article.
  • User:Steveoc 86 joined the project. Sue (dinosaur) 03:39, 13 April 2007‎ -Kerplunk- (talk | contribs)‎ . . (6,768 bytes) (+6,768)‎ . . (Created new page.) (thank)
  • May 6: User:Liam Skoda joined the project. Did you know... that the duckbilled dinosaur Hypacrosaurus is known from the largest collection of hatchling remains for any duckbill, due to the discovery of nests belonging to H. stebingeri?
  • May 13: Lambeosaurus becomes a good article


  • May 18: Hypacrosaurus becomes a good article.
  • May 25: Species of Psittacosaurus becomes a good article
  • May 25: Saurolophus becomes a good article.
  • May 26: Deinonychus becomes a good article
  • May 26: Diplodocus is featured on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article.
  • June 4: Styracosaurus becomes a featured article.


  • June 12: Sauropelta becomes a good article.
   * June 17: User:Jw21 joined the project. Did you know... that Gigantoraptor, a bird-like dinosaur discovered in Inner Mongolia, is thirty-five times larger than its peacock-sized relative, Caudipteryx?


  • June 18: Gryposaurus becomes a good article. Did you know... that Eocursor, a small bipedal herbivorous dinosaur from the Late Triassic of South Africa, is the most completely known Triassic ornithischian (beaked dinosaur)?
  • June 28: Daspletosaurus becomes a featured article.
  • June 29: The Dinosaur Portal becomes a Featured Portal.
  • July 5: Spinosaurus becomes a good article.
  • July 9: Kritosaurus becomes a good article.
  • July 16: Deinonychus becomes a featured article.
  • July 20: Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event becomes a good article
  • July 31: Parasaurolophus becomes a featured article.


  • August 25: Majungasaurus becomes a featured article.
  • August 29: Archaeopteryx is featured on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article.
  • September 4: Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event becomes a featured article.
  • September 11: Did you know... that Mahakala, a small dromaeosaurid from Mongolia, is named after Mahakala, one of the eight protective deities (dharmapalas, "Protectors of the Law") in Tibetan Buddhism?
  • September 22nd: User:Qwo joined the project.
  • November 4: Ceratopsia becomes a good article.
  • November 4: Herrerasaurus becomes a good article
  • November 4: Lambeosaurus becomes a featured article.
  • November 10: Dromaeosauridae becomes a good article.


  • November 15: Gorgosaurus becomes a good article
  • November 18: Acrocanthosaurus becomes a featured article.
  • November 21: Species of Allosaurus becomes a good article.
  • November 24: Abelisauridae becomes a good article.
  • December 4: Chicxulub crater becomes a featured article.
  • December 10: Massospondylus becomes a good article.
  • December 14: Allosaurus becomes a featured article.
  • December 20: Massospondylus becomes a featured article.

2008

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  • January 22: Did you know... that Othniel Charles Marsh named two species of the dinosaur Coelurus from the same quarry, not knowing that the bones belonged to the same skeleton?
  • August 15: Did you know... that Pisanosaurus, from 228 to 216.5 million years ago, is the oldest known ornithischian dinosaur?
  • October 7: Did you know... that Aerosteon, a 9-metre (30 ft) long bipedal carnivorous dinosaur that lived approximately 84 million years ago, had air-sacs in its bones similar to those in the respiratory systems of modern birds?
  • December 21: Did you know... that the recently-discovered dinosaur Austroraptor is the largest dromaeosaur to have been found in the Southern Hemisphere?
  • December 24: Did you know... that Peloroplites was one of the largest nodosaurid dinosaurs, and came from a time when armored dinosaurs in general were attaining large sizes?


  • January 2: Tarbosaurus becomes a good article
  • January 8: Chicxulub crater is featured on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article.
  • January 9: Tyrannosauroidea becomes a good article.
  • January 12: Alioramus becomes a good article.
  • January 30: Tarbosaurus becomes a featured article.
  • January 31: Othnielosaurus becomes a good article.


  • February 3: Coelurus becomes a good article.
  • February 26: Project membership reaches 100 users.
  • March 18th: User:Sceny joined the project and then removed their name from the list immediately afterward.


  • March 13: Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event is featured on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article.
  • March 21: Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards becomes a featured article.


  • April 28: Gorgosaurus becomes a featured article.


  • June 11: Pachycephalosaurus becomes a good article.
  • June 19: "Archaeoraptor" becomes a good article.
  • August 3: Prosaurolophus becomes a good article.
  • October 8: Massospondylus is featured on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article.
  • November 3: Tyrannosauridae becomes a good article.
  • November 5: Cultural depictions of dinosaurs becomes a good article.
  • September 5: Bone Wars becomes a featured article.

2009

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  • February 3: Bone Wars is featured on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article.
  • March 6: Did you know... that the stegosaurid Miragaia had more neck vertebrae than almost all of the sauropod dinosaurs, known for their long necks?
  • March 26: Did you know ... that the discovery of feather-like structures on the primitive dinosaur Tianyulong raises the possibility that ancestral dinosaurs were feathered?
  • March 30: Edmontosaurus becomes a featured article.


  • April 22nd: The fifth anniversary of the project's founding.
  • May 18: Styracosaurus is featured on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article.
  • June 28: Did you know ... that the unusual finger structure of the dinosaur Limusaurus gives clues on how dinosaur hands evolved into bird wings?
  • July 5: The discovery of three fossilised dinosaur genera—Australovenator, Diamantinasaurus and Wintonotitan—in Australia is announced.
  • July 28: Herrerasaurus becomes a featured article.
  • August 20: Tianyuraptor, a new genus of short-armed dromaeosaurid dinosaur, is described from the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation.
  • October 22: Rajasaurus becomes a good article.

2010s

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2010

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2010 was seemingly a slow year for Wikiproject:Dinosaurs. Only a single article, "Edward Drinker Cope", was featured, although notably this article was the first featured article about a dinosaur paleontologist. Similarly, only two dinosaur articles were designated good this year. Three dinosaur articles were exhibited as a featured article of the day.

  • January 11: Edward Drinker Cope becomes a featured article.
  • January 24: Plateosaurus becomes a good article
  • March 23: Tarbosaurus is featured on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article.
  • July 28: Edward Drinker Cope is featured on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article.
  • August 26: Allosaurus is featured on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article.
  • September 27: Balaur becomes a good article.

2011

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2011 was another bum year for Wikiproject:Dinosaurs. No articles seem to have been featured at all this year and only two were designated "good". Four dinosaur articles were exhibited on the Main Page as the featured article of the day.

  • February 6: Hypsibema missouriensis becomes a good article.
  • February 11: Albertosaurus is featured on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article.
  • March 26: Acrocanthosaurus is featured on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article.
  • April 2: Sinosauropteryx becomes a good article.
  • May 29: Deinonychus is featured on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article.
  • August 1: Parasaurolophus is featured on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article.
  • September 29th: An anonymous IP address created the article "Planet Dinosaur".

2012

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2012 was a very slow year for Wikiproject:Dinosaurs. Only one article was featured: Plateosaurus, and none seem to have been designated as "good". Four dinosaur articles were exhibited on the Main Page as the featured article of the day.

  • January 9: Plateosaurus becomes a featured article.
  • January 12: Compsognathus is featured on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article.
  • March 11: Gorgosaurus is featured on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article.
  • April 24: Iguanodon is featured on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article.
  • September 11: Daspletosaurus was featured on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article.

2013

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  • January 7th: Psittacosaurus is featured on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article.
  • January 10: Carnotaurus becomes a good article.
  • May 24: Thescelosaurus is featured on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article.
  • July 23: Vulcanodon becomes a good article.
  • September 4: Dromaeosauroides becomes a good article
  • October 17: Herrerasaurus is featured on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article.
  • October 23: Nigersaurus becomes a good article.
  • November 19: Lambeosaurus is featured on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article.
  • November 30: Dromaeosauroides becomes a featured article.
  • December 18: Nigersaurus becomes a featured article.

2014

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2014 held the tenth anniversary of Wikiproject Dinosaurs' founding. Despite this auspicious occasion the year can be remembered as a let down. Only one particularly notable article was created and only one dinosaur article was displayed as featured article of the day on the Main Page.

  • January 18: Nigersaurus is featured on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article.
  • April 22nd: The tenth anniversary of the project's founding.

2015

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Goals

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  • Check my article space draft.
  • Recopy DYKs.
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