Dinosauria Phylogenetic Tree - 500 - Mono

Five hundred dinosaur species across 165 million years, arranged by descent rather than by date. The diagram makes one point immediately, and it is not the one most people expect: birds are not descended from dinosaurs in the way that mammals are descended from reptiles. Birds are dinosaurs. The lineage never ended; it just took to the air.

The split at the base is the deepest one in the group. Saurischians - the sauropods and theropods - and ornithischians diverged early and then developed almost every subsequent form independently of one another. Convergence is everywhere in the branches: armour, beaks, herbivory and bipedalism each appear more than once, on lineages that had already been separate for tens of millions of years.

Dinosaur phylogeny is also the least settled of these diagrams. The relationships here follow current palaeontological consensus, and parts of that consensus have been rearranged more than once in the last decade as new specimens have emerged. What the tree shows is the best available reading of a record that is still being excavated.

Part of the Signature series of scientific illustration prints.

Signature is a collection of mathematical, scientific and infographic visualisations - prime number distributions, evolutionary trees, geological timescales, and other structures that become something unexpected when rendered at print scale.

Each piece begins as a data-driven computational process and is developed into a finished artwork through a combination of custom code and design refinement. The aim is not to illustrate mathematics but to make the underlying structures visible - to find the image that was always inside the data.

The series draws on fields including number theory, evolutionary biology, palaeontology, topology, and information design.

All prints are produced to order on 250gsm archival matte paper using pigment-based inks, chosen for colour accuracy and long-term stability.

Each print is rolled in acid-free tissue and shipped in a rigid cardboard tube, sealed for moisture protection, ready for framing on arrival.

Large · 50 × 70 cm · 20 × 28 in

XLarge · 70 × 100 cm · 28 × 40 in

UK: Free · 3-5 working days

Europe: €8.50 · 3-7 working days · No customs charges

USA & Canada: $8.95 / $12.00 CAD · 5-10 working days

Australia: $14.00 AUD · 5-10 working days

Rest of World: £14.95 · 7-14 working days

All prints are produced to order and dispatched within 1-3 working days. Orders placed before 5pm GMT ship the same day. You'll receive tracking information by email once dispatched.

Orders outside Europe may be subject to local customs charges on delivery - these are the responsibility of the recipient.

Full delivery information →

Returns accepted within 30 days. Email returns@axisophy.com with your order number and we'll provide return instructions.

Return postage is the customer's responsibility except where the print arrives damaged or there's been an error - in which case we'll arrange a replacement or refund immediately, no return needed.

Full returns policy →