Fun Dromaeosaurus Facts For Kids

The Dromaeosaurus is an extinct genus of a carnivorous dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur that lived approximately 80 million years ago, during the later part of the Cretaceous period. Its name means "running lizard", and was named by the paleontologist Barnum Brown in 1914 when newly discovered foot bones of this animal were found at Red Deer River near Stevensville, Alberta. Dromaeosaurs had teeth that were curved like a sickle-claw with serrations on their edges for cutting up the meat of their prey. The dinosaur also had large eyes so they could see clearly while hunting down food at night or in sandstorms. A dromaeosaur was a type of dinosaur with an enlarged sickle claw on the second toe of each hindfoot. Dromaeosaurs lived during the Cretaceous period (65-145 million years ago). Its claws and jaws were used in hunting and for defense against predators in natural history, although it's also possible that they helped males establish territories or attract mates. This carnivorous specialized animal had short arms and large feet, with lightly built jaws and sharp claws on the end of each toe as seen in the skeleton cast. It is believed that this species hunted in packs because their fossils are often found together during an expedition in the range. Its name means "running lizard" due to its ability for quick movements through thick brushy terrain in natural history. The first fossils from this group were newly discovered by paleontologist Matthew and Brown in Mongolia and named Dromiceiomimus ("thunder lizard", more accurately "emu mimic"), but the study of these remains resulted in theories that they belonged to birds rather than dinosaurs. They had a short massive skull, which was supported by the discovery of more fossils (now preserved in a museum) during an expedition by William, Matthew and Brown throughout Alberta, Canada; Europe; and the western United States. Dromaeosaurs were fast predators with 6 ft (1.8 m) tails adjacent to the foot that acted as rudders when running making them very agile hunters. Dromaeosaurids are often referred to as "raptors" due to their bird-like appearance, but this term meaning the animal lizard can be somewhat misleading in reference to dinosaurs after the discovery because birds evolved from other theropods rather than the Dromaeosauridae itself.

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How do you pronounce 'Dromaeosaurus'?

It's pronounced 'Dro-may-oh-sawr -us'. William, Matthew, and Brown had put these animals under the subfamily Deinodontidae.

What type of dinosaur was a Dromaeosaurus?

General proportions of the Dromaeosaurus make it part of one of the sub-groups part of the Theropoda, which includes all bipedal dinosaurs.

In which geological period did the Dromaeosaurus roam the Earth?

The small Dromaeosaurus was a large bird-like predator with a carnivore diet that roamed the Earth during the late Cretaceous period.

When did the Dromaeosaurus become extinct?

The Dromaeosaurus albertensis became extinct after the late Cretaceous period, around 90 million years ago in Alberta, Canada.

Where did a Dromaeosaurus live?

This dinosaur roamed through grassy plains, mountainous regions, deserts, and tundra environments.

What was a Dromaeosaurus's habitat?

The double-billed, sickle-clawed small Dromeausorus albertensis lived throughout the world in the forests of Montana; Alberta, Canada; and lived as far south as New Mexico and Arizona. It lived and was in search of food during the late Cretaceous period around 125 million years ago.

Who did a Dromaeosaurus live with?

The velociraptor Dromaeosaurus albertensis lived with other even rarer Dromeosaurs, as well as a few types of Ornithopods. In the beginning stages of their life cycle, they were prey for larger predators such as the Allosaurus and the Chindesaurus.

How long did a Dromaeosaurus live?

The group of dinosaurs of this family of the genus Dromaeosaurus tended to have lived for approximately 50 years in the world despite its size.

How did they reproduce?

The velociraptor Dromaeosaurus albertensis of the genus subfamily Deinodontidae had a typical primitive appearance and reproduced through sexual reproduction like related modern-day birds and reptiles do today. However, unlike most other dinosaurs who were oviparous who laid eggs outside of the nest that would hatch outside their mother's body, the dromaeosaurinae laid eggs inside nests made from tree branches, leaves, etc.

What did a Dromaeosaurus look like?

A Dromaeosaurus was a carnivore dinosaur that lived in North America during the late Cretaceous period and had a primitive appearance with a partial skull. It had distinctive serrated isolated teeth, a sharp brain, and it walked on two legs, suggesting an active lifestyle. The Dromaeosaurus had a short massive skull, large eyes, and ears. A Dromaeosaurs had three heavily worn claws on each hindfoot and two long, thin arms with large claws. Although the Dromaeosaurus differs from an ostrich and a velociraptor, it looked like a combination of an ostrich, a vampire bat, and the terrifying velociraptor from Jurassic Park. It was covered in Dromaeosaurus feathers to keep it warm despite being active during cold nights when food wasn't abundant.

How many bones did a Dromaeosaurus have?

The Dromaeosaurus size was small compared to other dinosaurs. It had about 230 tiny little bird-like bones, which were all very sharp.

How did they communicate?

The Dromaeosaurus vs Velociraptor, the latter being a much bigger cousin species of dinosaurs who existed about 65 million years ago in what is now modern-day North America, used a variety of ways to communicate with one another. One way it did this was through the use of its sickle-claw on each hand which could be raised and lowered allowing the dinosaur to emit either loud hissing noises when threatened or more quiet mutterings when greeting other members within its own community. The animals themselves possessed bony ear openings but given that these small theropods are extinct, scientists who studied Dromaeosaurus etymology have had difficulty analyzing precisely how well dinosaurs may have been able to hear external noise sources around them!

How big was a Dromaeosaurus?

The raptor Dromaeosaurus (meaning lizard) was one of the Earth's scariest dinosaurs with its estimated long arms and sharp heavily worn claws on its hands. Its jaws were used for attacking prey despite the size of prey. The Dromaeosaurus could reach a height of 4 ft (1.2 m) while measuring 6.6 ft (2 m) in length.

How fast could a Dromaeosaurus move?

If they were chasing prey, it is likely that the speed was estimated to be 40 mph (64.4 kph). If only moving from one place to another over short distances then maybe 15-25 mph (24.1-40.2 kph) would be more plausible as a result of using energy which need not have been expended in hunting down its food source.

How much did a Dromaeosaurus weigh?

If you're ever wondering how big these small theropods were then let's just say around 33 lb (15 kg)! That might not sound like much compared to our modern-day elephants, but they were pretty scary and creepy!

What were the male and female names of the species?

Males and females of these Dromaeosaurus beasts do not have any scientific terms and simply go by the name Dromaeosaurus.

What would you call a baby Dromaeosaurus?

Dromaeosaurus babies are known as 'baby Dromaeosaurus'.

What did they eat?

The family of primeval Dromaeosaurus was made up of carnivorous theropod dinosaurs with strong jaws and curved feet. They mainly ate fish, birds, and even rarer smaller dinosaurs such as the Troodon!

How aggressive were they?

The ancient African dromaeosaurus was a very aggressive Gomphotherium Dromaeosaurus dinosaur with strong jaws as seen in the fossil cast preserved in the museum. These carnivores would often fight over territory and food with other members of their species, sometimes fatally wounding or killing each other in the process.

Did you know...

We are sure that there are many people who would love to know if the velociraptor Dromaeosaurinae and Coelurosaurs can be considered the same in history. However, it is not possible for us to tell whether these two types of small theropods belong in the same category or not with complete certainty. The Dromaeosaurus burrowing the land with their claws was also common back then.

What does Dromaeosaurus mean?

The Dromaeosaurus name means “running lizard” which makes sense because this species was able to run very fast on its two hind legs while holding itself up by its three-fingered forearms and balancing on its large tail.

What was the weight of the Dromaeosaurus similar to?

The weight of the Dromaeosaurus differs only slightly from that of the smallest Tyrannosaur. The smallest Tyrannosaur weighed around 25 lb (11.3 kg) and the Dromaeosaurus velociraptor weighed around 33 lb (15 kg).

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these Aardonyx facts, or these Aquilops facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable dromaeosaurus coloring pages.

Main image by Archbob

Second image by Tylwyth Eldar