Help me plan the Dino Derby!

DISCUSSION

I'm doing a fun free project at work in honor of June 1st being Dinosaur Day. This is a month-long March Madness style voting tournament. Previously I pitted individual dinosaur species head to head, but this year I'm trying a Family Feud spin on things, pitting entire dinosaur families up against each other, featuring some of their most popular members. (Some categories may be playing fast and loose with the "family" designation, but trying to explain cladistics to a large group of friendly but mid-to-low-level enthusiastic people isn't worth it, and I'm no expert anyway). So here's my showdowns so far, looking for any suggestions. Each matchup has a very simplified description of some of the features each dino family shares.

Hadrosauridae vs. Oviraptoridae (Duckbills vs. Chicken-beaks)

Ceratopsidae vs. Pachycephalosauridae (Hornheads vs. Hardheads) (Could swap out pachys for therizinosaurids instead?)

Stegosauridae vs. Ankylosauridae (Swords vs. Shields, Light vs. Heavy armor, something along those lines?)

Titanosauridae vs. Diplodocidae (Horizontal vs. Vertical, Longneck vs. Tallneck)

Abelisauridae vs. Alvarezsauridae (Big Neck, Little arms vs. Long Legs, Little Arms)

Tyrannosauridae vs. Carchadontisauridae (Crusher vs. Slasher? These might be too similar to start with... Allosauridae could also make a showing here)

Dromaesauridae vs. Megaraptoridae (Death feet vs. Death hands)

Spinosauridae vs... I'm a bit stumped on what to put here. I wish Monolophosaurus, Dilophosaurus and Cryolophussaurus were more closely related so I could fit them in . Maybe Ceratosauridae? (Back Decor vs. Head Decor?) Open to suggestions.

Any other matchups? I can't fit all the families or clades in, but I feel like this is a pretty good bracket to cover some classics. I'm also running a bonus bracket each week of some famous NONdinosaurs- pterosaurs, marine reptiles, crocodylomorphs, synapsids, and even dunkelosteus because I love that crazy chompy bastard.

Posted Jun 5, 2026, 4:39 AM UTC

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