Saurornithoides
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| Saurornithoides Fossil range: Late Cretaceous | ||||||||||||||||
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S. mongoliensis Osborn, 1924 (type) |
Saurornithoides (SAWR-or-nih-THOY-deez) was a troodontid maniraptoran dinosaur, living during the Late Cretaceous Period. These creatures were predators, which could run fast on their hind legs and had excellent sight and hearing. The name is derived from the Greek stems sauros (lizard), ornithos (bird) and oid (form), an appropriate name for a creature close to the ancestry of birds.
Saurornithoides, like others in its family, was a predator. Estimates of its length range from 2 to 3 meters and weight from 50 to 120 pounds. It had large eye sockets and stereoscopic vision, allowing for good depth perception. It probably had good vision in light and very good night vision. It had a long, low head, a depressed muzzle, sharp teeth and a relatively large brain. Scientists speculate that it used its long 'arms' and grasping 'hands' to seize live prey, which would have consisted of small animals. Like other troodontids it had an especially large pair of claws, the 2nd toe on each foot.
Fossils of this theropod have been found in Mongolia. Saurornithoides was named by paleontologist Osborn in 1924. The type species is S. mongoliensis.
[edit] References
- Osborn, Henry Fairfield, 1924, Three New Theropoda, Protoceratops Zone, Central Mongolia, American Museum Novitates, November 7, Number 144
- Fantastic Facts About Dinosaurs (ISBN 0-7525-3166-2)
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es:Saurornithoides it:Saurornithoides pt:Saurornithoides simple:Saurornithoides zh:蜥鸟龙
