Smaller Theropods & Pterosaurs of the 3 Periods of the Mesozoic Era coloring pages

NOTE:  If you are looking for the Grace n Chase drawing, then scroll down past this entry.

This is my free coloring pages blog. 

Today's new drawings are of three Theropod Dinosaurs. 

These 3 dinosaur drawings are from the three Periods of dinosaurs...

The first was the Triassic Period.  Then the Jurassic Period.  Then, last of all, the Cretaceous Period.

These three Periods are what make up the Mesozoic Era.

Coelophysis in the Desert

These three drawings are of Theropod dinosaurs.  Theropods were the dinosaurs that were carnivores.  Well, most of them were carnivores.  Theropods included enormous predators like Allosaurus and T. rex.  But these three  Theropod dinosaurs are smaller in comparison.  

Coelophysis was one of the very first dinosaurs.  This genus of dinosaurs lived on Earth for around 14 million years, and that is a lot for any genus or species.  It lived from 215 million years ago to 201 million years ago. So this Theropod dinosaur lived in the late Triassic Period and on into the early Jurassic Period. Most of its existence was during the Triassic Period.  It is thought that Coelophysis did NOT have feathers like the later small raptor dinosaurs.

It was 9.8 feet long... so about 10 feet long.  That is around 3 meters long.  It was slender and lived in many parts of North America.  I have seen a skull of this dinosaur embedded in the rock in Eastern Utah at the Saints and Sinner Quarry that was being excavated by Brigham Young University (my alma mater).  This quarry is in an area that looks like the desert in this scene.  In fact, this WAS a desert in the Triassic Period. 

The Pterosaur seen is a Caelestiventus.  It was a very early Pterosaur of the late Triassic.  It was a Pterosaur that lived in a desert climate and which was unusual. It had a wingspan of about 5 feet or 1.5 meters wide.  It had a pelican-like pouch, but you can not see it from this angle.   Caelestiventus possibly ate lake fish at oases, but since it lived in the desert, it probably fed on lizards, etc., most of the time.  This is one of the earliest known Pterosaurs.

Of course, the Triassic was the first Period of the Mesozoic Era. Then there was the Jurassic Period, and finally the Cretaceous Period.  The next drawing is of a Jurassic Theropod. 

Young Dilophosaurus by a Forest Stream

Dilophosaurus was a 23-foot or 7-meter-long Theropod of the early Jurassic Period.  It was actually the largest predator and top of the food chain during the early Jurassic.  Later on in the Jurassic Period, there were much bigger carnivorous dinosaurs.  Dilophosaurus had a double-crest on its skull.  It was probably a pack hunter. They were around 900 lbs.  They probably preyed on several forms of dinosaurs and mammals and possibly even fish. 

The Pterosaur you see flying is called Dimorphodon.  It was an early Jurassic Pterosaur with a wingspan of 4.6 feet or 1.45 meters.  It probably fed on small terrestrial animals and carrion.  It might have also eaten fish. 

As the title says, this is a YOUNG Dilophosaurus.  It has the dimensions and head-to-body ratio of a juvenile, although not a newly hatched juvenile Dilophosaurus. A full-grown adult would have a smaller head in relation to the body.  

The next drawing is of a Cretaceous Theropod - a small one. 

Atrociraptor near a Volcano

Atrociraptor was a smallish Theropod raptor from the late Cretaceous. It was up to 6.6 feet long.  That is around 2 meters long.  It was unique in that it had the unique feature of teeth that pointed more backward, presumably for holding onto small prey.  It also had a deeper skull than most of the raptor dinosaurs.  It is thought that it had more advanced feathers, like all raptor dinosaurs are now assumed to have had. 

It lived in multiple environments, including scrublands and floodplains. It very likely preyed on mammals and other smaller invertebrates like lizards. By the late Cretaceous Period, there were a lot of small mammals around that could have been prey of Atrociraptor. 

NOTE:  These drawings, in printable form, can be found by clicking on the button labeled "Paleontology."  Then scroll down to the bottom of the list of Mesozoic Life drawings.  IF you are accessing this in May of 2025, then this set of drawings will be the last titles on the list.