Countries That Did Not Exist When Dinosaurs Roamed Earth
May 31, 2026
When Tyrannosaurus rex stalked what is now Montana, there was no United States. When Spinosaurus hunted in what is now Egypt, there was no Egypt. Modern countries are political constructs of the last few thousand years, but the land beneath them has a history stretching hundreds of millions of years.
Every Country Did Not Exist During the Dinosaur Era
The non-avian dinosaurs went extinct 66 million years ago. The earliest human civilizations appeared roughly 5,000 to 6,000 years ago. The modern nation-state system developed in the last few centuries. No country we recognize today existed at any point during the age of dinosaurs.
However, the land that underlies modern countries did exist. Some of that land was the same continuous landmass it is today; some of it was connected to other landmasses or separated from them. The political boundaries we draw are a thin veneer on top of hundreds of millions of years of geological history.
Where Famous Dinosaurs Lived and What Countries Are There Now
- Tyrannosaurus rex: Lived in what is now Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Alberta. The modern countries of the United States and Canada were not yet divided by that border, nor did either country exist.
- Spinosaurus: Lived in what is now Morocco, Egypt, and Tunisia, regions that were covered by a shallow sea during the early Cretaceous when Spinosaurus stalked the coastline.
- Velociraptor: Lived in what is now Mongolia and China, which were part of a different continental configuration during the late Cretaceous.
- Brachiosaurus: Lived in what is now Tanzania and the western United States, then separated by the Tethys Sea and part of the widening Atlantic.
- Iguanodon: Found extensively in what is now Belgium, England, Germany, and Spain. Europe was an island archipelago during the Cretaceous.
- Argentinosaurus: One of the largest dinosaurs ever, found in what is now Argentina, which was an island continent during the Cretaceous.
What the Land Looked Like During the Dinosaur Age
During the Cretaceous period, when dinosaurs were at their peak diversity, Earth looked very different from today. North America was split in two by the Western Interior Seaway. Europe was an archipelago of islands. India was an island racing northward. Australia was still attached to Antarctica.
The continents we recognize today were assembling themselves from the fragments of Gondwana and Laurasia. The Atlantic Ocean was young and narrow, the Himalayas did not exist, and the Rocky Mountains were still being built by tectonic forces.
Frequently Asked Questions
Were any of today's countries on land during the age of dinosaurs?
The land that underlies modern countries existed during the dinosaur age, but arranged very differently. Much of North America was split by an inland sea. Europe was an island chain. The political concept of countries did not exist.
When did modern continents take their current shapes?
The continents reached roughly their current configurations about 34 million years ago, when Antarctica became isolated and India had fully collided with Asia. This is still 34 million years after the non-avian dinosaurs went extinct.
Where would a dinosaur born in what is now China go if it wanted to walk to Europe?
During the late Cretaceous, the land connection between Asia and Europe was intermittent. Dinosaurs could sometimes cross between them via the Turgai Strait, which periodically opened and closed between the Asian and European land masses.