Adasauruses, or ada lizards (in Mongolian mythology), were sickle-shaped terrestrial lizards who existed in Asia. They lived in the Nemegt Formation in Mongolia and ate other smaller or similar-sized herbivores. They were small dinosaurs who were the size of a big chicken.
They most probably hunted in groups. They were bird-like dinosaurs who had feathers on their body. They had a very long tail that seemed elegant. They had a small skull and small hands.
However, the hands had a small feather-like structure on them. They were in the family Dromaeosauridae and in dinosaur clade Saurischia, Theropoda and Dromaeosaurinae. They were fast runners and had hollow bones for helping in attaining that speed.
This is just the introduction part. Ahead in the article, there are multiple interesting and funny Adasaurus facts waiting for you to make you amazed.
And for more relevant content, you can check our Triceratops facts and Tyrannosaurus facts pages.
Anchisaurus Interesting Facts
How do you pronounce 'Adasaurus'?
Adasaurus were sickle-shaped lizard reptiles who were found in the continent of Asia. They were dromaeosaurid species who inhabited the Earth during the late cretaceous period around 70 million years ago. Pronouncing Adasaurus is not that big of a deal, it is simply pronounced as 'ada-saw-rus'.
What type of dinosaur was an Adasaurus?
Adasauruses were carnivore bipedal dinosaurs who roamed freely on the continent of Asia. They were dinosaurs who had body features like birds. They belonged to the dinosaur clade Theropoda and Saurischia. They were in the family Dromaeosauridae and subfamily Velociraptorinae.
They also belonged to the dinosaur clade Eudromaeosauria. Their genus name is Adasaurus and their scientific name is Adasaurus mongoliensis. Mongoliensis because their fossil remains were found in Mongolia.
In which geological period did the Adasaurus roam the earth?
The Mongolian dinosaur, Adasaurus mongoliensis roamed the Earth during the Late Cretaceous period of the Mesozoic era around 70 million years ago. Their partial specimens were excavated from Mongolia that means they lived in the continent of Asia.
When did the Adasaurus become extinct?
The Mongolian dinosaur, Adasaurus, was present on Earth during the Late Cretaceous period. It is assumed that the extinction of Adasaurus happened during the end of the late cretaceous period. They roamed the Earth around 70 million years ago.
Where did an Adasaurus live?
The Mongolian lizard species, Adasaurus, were terrestrial hunters. They were small in size if compared to a fully grown human, and were most probably pack hunters. They would have lived in forests and other parts of Mongolia.
What was an Adasaurus' habitat?
Adasaurus were Mongolian dinosaurs. Their specimens (skeleton remains) were found in Mongolia. It is believed that they lived in the Nemegt Formation which is in Mongolia. They were terrestrial lizard species that were sickle-shaped.
Who did an Adasaurus live with?
Adasaurus were most probably social animals. They were carnivorous species and used to eat other herbivore species. They are assumed to be group hunters.
How long did an Adasaurus live?
There is no exact information available on how long the Adasaurus dinosaurs lived. But Adasaurus were closely related to velociraptors who had an average lifespan of around 12-15 years. So it can be assumed that these Mongolian dinosaurs also had an average lifespan of around 15 years. They were present on Earth from 66-70 million years ago.
How did they reproduce?
These dinosaurs from the subfamily Velociraptorinae, Dromaeosaurinae were reptiles obviously. And reptiles lay eggs in order to give birth. In the case of Adasaurus dinosaurs, the matter would have been the same. They also would have had their breeding season when their species would have mated. They lived in Mongolia.
Adasaurus Fun Facts
What did an Adasaurus look like?
Adasaurus were sickle-shaped lizard species that were closely related to birds. They were carnivorous animals from the subfamily Velociraptorinae and Dromaeosaurinae.
For an overview of their features, Adasaurus were small meat-eating reptiles who had a bird-like appearance. They had feathers on their bodies. Their forelimbs seemed like small wings equipped with sharp claws.
They had a small skull with a beak and a long tail. Their hindlimbs were strong. According to the fossil (specimen) studies, it was seen that they were closely related to velociraptors.
Now to describe their features, the Adasaurus dinosaur fossil was devoid of a complete skull. The skull was partial and the interior region was absent.
Both the holotype and paratype specimens were incomplete. They had strong hindlimbs that could carry their whole body, they were bipedal and could run at a good speed.
They had a really long tail that had long feathers on it. Actually, these tails supported their sickle-shaped bodies and helped in balancing them. They had sharp claws for catching and suppressing their prey.
On their hand, there were small feathers attached that seemed like small wings. It was just for showing as they couldn't fly. Some portions that were missing (incomplete) from their skeleton or fossil are the sternal plate, eight cervical vertebrae, 11 partial dorsal vertebrae, the sacrum, seven caudal vertebrae, partial hindlimbs, and some other parts also.
The length of the skeleton was around 7.9 ft (2.4 m) and from the specimen, their body weight was assumed around 80 lbs (36.3 kg). They were not that tall.
How many bones did an Adasaurus have?
There is no exact record available on how many bones were there in the body of an Adasaurus. Actually, the skeleton remains (specimens) of this species that were found were not complete. There were several parts missing.
How did they communicate?
This is still a big mystery. An accurate Adasaurus call is not known. Maybe they had a screeching voice or maybe had a growling voice. Maybe they had a specific call for communication.
How big was an Adasaurus?
According to the Adasaurus skeleton remains, they were around 7.9 ft (2.4 m) long and had an average body weight of around 80 lbs (36.3 kg).
How fast could an Adasaurus move?
Adasaurus had features similar to velociraptors. Velociraptor species could run at a pace of 24 mph (38.6 kph). They had strong hindlimbs that supplied them with this speed.
How much did an Adasaurus weigh?
According to the specimens, Adasaurus were big chicken-sized dinosaurs who were around 7.9 ft (2.4 m) long and had an average body weight of 80 lbs (36.3 kg).
What were the male and female names of the species?
There are no specific names assigned to the males and females of this Mongolian dinosaur species. They are commonly known as Adasaurus.
What would you call a baby Adasaurus?
Like all other dinosaur babies, baby Adasaurus is also known as hatchlings.
What did they eat?
One of the amazing Adasaurus facts is that they were carnivorous species that ate other smaller or similar-sized herbivores. They were most probably group hunters.
How aggressive were they?
Adasaurus were dangerous lizards who lived in Mongolia. They had sharp claws and teeth. They were carnivorous in nature and it is commonly known that carnivorous species are aggressive in nature. They would have had territorial fights too.
Did you know...
The name 'Adasaurus' has two parts namely 'Ada' and 'Sauros'. 'Ada' means an evil spirit according to Mongolian mythology and 'sauros' means lizard in Greek. So the genus name Adasaurus means 'evil spirit lizard' or 'ada lizard'. And the genus name mongoliensis means 'found in Mongolia'.
How was the Adasaurus discovered?
The name Adasaurus was given to this dinosaur in the year 1983 by paleontologist Dr. Rinchen Barsbold. He found the fossil in the Nemegt Formation in Mongolia.
Adasaurus size comparison
The Adasaurus were around 7.9 ft (2.4 m) long and their weight ranged stayed around 80 lbs (36.3 kg). They were smaller in size if compared to a full-grown human.
They were half the height of a human. They were velociraptor-type species and were almost similar in size to other species of the same type. Some similarly featured dinosaurs were the Tianyuraptors and the Kansaignathus.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other creatures from our Rhinorex fun facts, or Kryptodrakon facts for kids.
You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Adasaurus coloring pages.
Main image by Karkemish
Second image by PaleoNeolitic