Dinosaur

Dinosaurs, also known as thunderers or behemoths, were a group of ancient reptilian creatures found on Toril.

Description
Dinosaurs came in many shapes and sizes, though, as the name "behemoth" implied, the best known were typically very large. They could be either herbivorous or carnivorous, depending on the species. Unlike dragons, dinosaurs were incapable of speech and were non-intelligent by nature.

Dinosaurs came in many varieties, from small to large, but most shared a number of physical features. They were, for instance, all covered in a layer of pebble-like skin. Most also demonstrated a well-developed sense of smell, which predatory behemoths used to hunt. Many were also herbivorous.

Behavior
Like dragons, predatory dinosaurs had a powerful lust to hunt, their razor-sharp teeth suitable for rending prey apart and were also highly territorial. Herbivorous dinosaurs were usually less aggressive, although, when defending their young or wounded or after being startled or irritated, they could be vicious enemies.

Habitats
Dinosaurs often lived in areas very much isolated from humanoid habitation. They usually were found in remote mountain valleys, isolated rocky plateaus, dense tropical island forests, or secluded in the deepest and darkest of the jungles.

Location
Dinosaurs were known to exist on Toril in Chult and Malatra. They could also be found on the island of Lurath, by way of time portals into Toril's distant past.

History
It was widely believed by scholars from Candlekeep that dinosaurs existed in Toril since before the time period known as the Days of Thunder. In those ancients times, various species of dinosaur thrived until a cataclysm changed the world so drastically that most of them went extinct.

Sages from Candlekeep didn't have a unified theory about the nature of the catastrophe. The most commonly accepted theory proclaimed this catastrophe was the Tearfall, while detractors of this theory believed that the sun temperatures diminished to a degree that produced a global climatic change so harsh that only the smallest dinosaurs were able to survive. A lunatic sage even proclaimed the cataclysm was actually a war between the gods and their enemies.

Whatever the truth, only a handful of dinosaurs, among them the proto-dragons, were able to survive and evolve into the members of the species that existed in the present age.

Notable Species
There were multiple species of dinosaur, some of which are listed below.


 * Allosaurus
 * A large, strong, fast predator. It used its claws to pin down its prey.


 * Anatotian
 * A species of herbivorous dinosaur with a duck-like mouth, they were timid and easily frightened.


 * Ankylosaurus
 * Also known as macetail behemoths. Armored herbivores that had either knobbed or spiked tail tips that they used to defend from predators. Extremely territorial dinosaurs.


 * Brontosaurus
 * Massive herbivores that used their tails as whips to defend from predators.


 * Stegosaurus
 * Also known as bloodspike behemoths. Herbivorous dinosaurs marked by large plates resting along their spine and a notoriously bad temper.


 * Ceratosaurus
 * A large, carnivorous variety of dinosaur marked by a horn-like ridge along its snout.


 * Deinonychus
 * Small, predatory dinosaurs roughly the size of humans that were highly social.


 * Dimetrodon
 * Medium-sized predators with sailed backs.


 * Elasmosaurus
 * An aquatic species of dinosaur roughly fifty feet in length, much of which was from its extremely long neck and serpentine tail.


 * Hadrosaurus
 * Herbivores with bony head crests that could walk as quadrupeds or as bipeds. They could be raised to work as mounts.


 * Megaraptor
 * Superficially similar to deinonychus, though much larger, megaraptors were notable for their large hand claws.


 * Plesiosaurus
 * Marine carnivorous dinosaurs with compact bodies and long necks.


 * Pteranodon
 * An enormous flying dinosaur that fed primarily on fish. They were common in Chult.


 * Quetzalcoatlus
 * Giant flying reptiles, related to the pteranodon.


 * Stegosaurus
 * Heavily built herbivores with plated backs and spiked tails that traveled in large herds.


 * Triceratops
 * Short-tempered and aggressive even for a herbivore, triceratops were recognizable by their three horns and armored head.


 * Tyrannosaurus Rex
 * Among the largest predatory dinosaurs, tyrannosaurus was both a predator and a scavenger.


 * Velociraptor
 * Small feathered predators that hunted in packs for larger prey.