FOR AGES 3 YEARS TO 18 YEARS
At Kidadl we pride ourselves on offering families original ideas to make the most of time spent together at home or out and about, wherever you are in the world. We strive to recommend the very best things that are suggested by our community and are things we would do ourselves - our aim is to be the trusted friend to parents.
We try our very best, but cannot guarantee perfection. We will always aim to give you accurate information at the date of publication - however, information does change, so it’s important you do your own research, double-check and make the decision that is right for your family.
Kidadl provides inspiration to entertain and educate your children. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate and suitable for all children and families or in all circumstances. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability.
Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong.
Orodromeus is a genus of wonderful dinosaurs that existed during the Late Cretaceous period. It was named in 1988 by Horner and Weishampel, after the discovery of a partial skeleton and skull by Robert Makela in the Egg Mountain site of the Two Medicine Formation in Montana, the USA in North America. Thus, it was named Orodromeus, meaning mountain runner, as a reference to the site of its discovery and because it is assumed to have been a good runner, given its slender, long legs. Initially, there were two species assigned to this genus, O. makelai, and O. minimus, of which the former is considered to be the type species of this genus. A subfamily, Orodrominae, was created and named after this dinosaur in 2013. This dinosaur had a herbivorous diet and would have had to escape from predators a lot due to its small size. However, this would have been easy for them as they had a slender build and were presumably fast runners. Here are some amazing and interesting facts about this small dinosaur!
If you want to read about other cool dinosaurs, check out our Sauropelta interesting facts for kids and Zuniceratops fun facts pages.
The phonetic pronunciation of the name of this dinosaur is 'Or-oh-dro-me-us'.
Orodromeus was a type of ornithopod, and belongs to the order Ornithischia and suborder Ornithopoda. Members with this classification are characterized by the bird like build or structure of their hips. Almost all of them are bipedal, that is, they walk or run on two legs instead of four. They are also herbivorous grazers.
Specimens of these dinosaurs have been discovered dating back to the Santonian, Campanian, and Maastrichtian ages of the Late Cretaceous period. Thus, they lived on Earth 86.3-70.6 million years ago.
This genus of dinosaurs is most likely to have gone extinct because of the Cretaceous Paleogene extinction event that occurred almost 66 million years ago because of the impact of a giant comet or asteroid on the Earth's surface. This event caused the extinction of almost three quarters of all plants and animals.
Orodromeus lived in North America in what is now Montana, USA. Their fossils have been excavated from the Egg Mountain site situated in the Two Medicine Formation.
Fossils and specimens of this ground dwelling dinosaur have been found from the Egg Mountain site, which leads to the belief that it lived in a terrestrial habitat on mountains and hills. They would have needed a lot of vegetation to sustain their herbivorous diet. Some scientists also believe that the Orodromeus lived in burrows to hide from its predators as their fossils were found packed in a small space, instead of scattered. It could have lived in a burrow to make a nest for its eggs as well. A close relative of the Orodromeus, the Oryctodromeus, was also known to live in burrows.
Orodromeus is said to have been a social animal and coexisted with other herbivores that lived during the Late Cretaceous period, such as Daspletosaurus and Einiosaurus.
The lifespan of an Orodromeus is not known but most members of Ornithopoda are said to have lived for a long time.
These dinosaurs were oviparous, which means that they laid eggs from which young ones emerged. The young ones of this genus are thought to have had well developed bones and teeth at birth and were able to walk soon after they emerged from their eggs.
The Orodromeus was a small sized dinosaur with short forelimbs like many ornithopod dinosaurs. Its hind legs were long and slender, and are thought to have enabled it to run faster. This would have been useful as it was a common prey for predators that lived during the Late Cretaceous as well. Its skull was found to be somewhat triangular and its tail was very long.
The total number of bones in the body of an Orodromeus is not known as only a few specimens of this animal have been discovered, and a complete skeleton is yet to be found.
It is difficult to determine how these dinosaurs communicated with each other but many scientists believe that dinosaurs would have had some form of a call to alert others of a predator nearby, and establish their territory.
An Orodromeus was small in size as many other ornithopod dinosaurs. According to Horner and Weishampel, its body length would have been in the range of 59-98 in (1.5-2.5 m), and it would have had an average height of 59 in (1.5 m). Thus, it was about half the length of a Parksosaurus, which belongs to the same family.
The exact speed of this dinosaur cannot be quantified, but it is believed to have been a very fast runner due to its long, skinny legs and small size. The name of the genus also means mountain runner, and is a reference to its assumed fast speed.
From its fossils, the approximate weight of this dinosaur has been determined to be 143 lb (65 kg).
There are no names given to animals of this genus based on their sex.
A baby Orodromeus would have been called a hatchling, and then later, a juvenile, when it would have been immature and not an adult yet.
The Orodromeus was a herbivore, which means that its diet would have included vegetation and foliage that would have been available during the Late Cretaceous. It has been thought that dinosaurs like this would have fed on vegetation that was below the height of 39 in (1 m).
This dinosaur would have had a number of predators, such as Stenonychosaurus and Saurornitholestes.
These were small herbivorous creatures and probably would not have been harmful to any other animals.
Near where the first specimens of Orodromeus were found, a large nest containing a clutch of 19 eggs was also discovered. These eggs were arranged in a careful spiral and some of them also contained embryos, which was considered to be an important discovery. These were at first thought to belong to an Orodromeus. However, after further research was conducted, the eggs and embryos were found to be of a Stenonychosaurus, who also lived during the Campanian age of the Late Cretaceous.
This genus consists of two species, O. makelai, and O. minimus. The type species, O. makelai, was named by Horner and Weishampel to honor Robert Makela, who originally found the first Orodromeus specimen. However, the latter is not known with certainty to belong to this genus as the fossils found of the species are believed by some to possibly be of another dinosaur called the Laosaurus.
Several specimens of Orodromeus have been found in the Egg Mountain site of the Two Medicine Formation, which is located in Montana, USA.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! To know more about other dinosaurs, check out our Atrociraptor fun facts and Zigongosaurus facts pages.
You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Orodromeus coloring pages.
Main image by Carpenter, Kenneth and second image by ArthurWeasley.
Read The Disclaimer
At Kidadl we pride ourselves on offering families original ideas to make the most of time spent together at home or out and about, wherever you are in the world. We strive to recommend the very best things that are suggested by our community and are things we would do ourselves - our aim is to be the trusted friend to parents.
We try our very best, but cannot guarantee perfection. We will always aim to give you accurate information at the date of publication - however, information does change, so it’s important you do your own research, double-check and make the decision that is right for your family.
Kidadl provides inspiration to entertain and educate your children. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate and suitable for all children and families or in all circumstances. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability.
Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong.
Kidadl is independent and to make our service free to you the reader we are supported by advertising.
We hope you love our recommendations for products and services! What we suggest is selected independently by the Kidadl team. If you purchase using the buy now button we may earn a small commission. This does not influence our choices. Please note: prices are correct and items are available at the time the article was published.
Kidadl has a number of affiliate partners that we work with including Amazon. Please note that Kidadl is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.
We also link to other websites, but are not responsible for their content.
Was this article helpful?
We’ll send you tons of inspiration to help you find a hidden gem in your local area or plan a big day out.
Check your inbox for your latest news from us. You have subscribed to:
Remember that you can always manage your preferences or unsubscribe through the link at the foot of each newsletter.