Fun Podokesaurus Facts For Kids

The history of a Podokesaurus dates back to the early Jurassic Period of the Mesozoic era. This dinosauria was discovered by the famous American geologist, Mignon Talbot near Mount Holyoke in Massachusetts, North-America in 1910. Back in history, Talbot along with his sister noticed a white streak on one of the boulders of the hill by a small farm and discovered that the bones were real live fossils, initially found in the Connecticut Valley but not in this area. Thereby the fossils were collected and carried to the University which led to its discovery. The collected specimen was incomplete, specifically, the skull was destroyed but the casts were built.

'Podokesaurus holyokensis' is a Greek name meaning 'swift footed lizard'. The dinosauria specimens were similar to the Coelophysis dinosaur both structurally and dimensionally. It had hollow bones and several other features. It had been a swift-footed predator and had a high running speed. The diet constituted smaller dinosaurs. As the fossils were destroyed in a fire, casts were built but it did not provide the content or the information on this dinosaur species so knowledge about this dinosaur is restricted.

A Podokesaurus holyokensis is a new dinosaur from the Triassic of the Connecticut Valley. In 2021, it was designated as the Ohio state dinosaur of Massachusetts. A Podokesaurus Deviantart was pictorially represented by this American art community and is famous to date. The species have been extinct a long time back but the paleontologist is still in search of content on this dinosauria.

If you enjoy reading about dinosaurs, read our other articles about the read about the Futabasaurus and the Daemonosaurus.

How do you pronounce 'Podokesaurus'?

The term 'Podokesaurus' is pronounced as 'Poe-Doe-Keh-Sore-Us' or 'Po-Doh-Kee-Sore-Us'. The name of this dinosaur means 'swift-footed lizard' and is similar to the Coelophysis dinosaur from the Connecticut Valley Triassic back in history of Jurassic time.

What type of dinosaur was a Podokesaurus?

A Podokesaurus is a type of small Theropoda dinosaur that was carnivorous (meat-eating) in nature and its diet included smaller dinosaurs.

In which geological period did the Podokesaurus roam the Earth?

A Podokesaurus roamed the Earth during the geological period of the early Jurassic which in recent times is known as eastern United States. It is not confirmed whether they were endemic to a certain location or climate they used to live in.

When did the Podokesaurus become extinct?

The Podokesaurus, name meaning 'swift-footed lizard', became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous Period of the Mesozoic era which is about 65 million years back.

Where did a Podokesaurus live?

A Podokesaurus usually preferred to live in a tundra vegetation during the early Jurassic Period. The first fossil specimen was found incomplete and was discovered from Massachusetts, North America in 1910.

What was a Podokesaurus' habitat?

The first fossil specimen was fragmentary and was discovered from Massachusetts, North America near Mount Holyoke. They usually preferred tundra vegetation, with abutting densely vegetated lakes and forests.

Who did a Podokesaurus live with?

A Podokesaurus usually preferred to live in groups or packs. This is suggested from the fossil remains which were found at bonebeds. Also some fossilized footprints specifically known as trackways indicated that they also traveled in herds.

How long did a Podokesaurus live?

A Podokesaurus lived for about 190-174 million years ago in the early Jurassic Period and became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous period.

How did they reproduce?

 A Podokesaurus reproduced by oviparity, which means by laying eggs with no embryonic development inside the female's body and are considered as oviparous animals. It involves the insemination in the female's body actively or passively, leading to fertilization and the formation of the embryo, soon after this the female lays the egg and further growth takes place.

What did a Podokesaurus look like?

A Podokesaurus holyokensis was almost similar to a Coelophysis dinosaur. It weighed about 2–90 lb (1-40 kg), with a length of 3 ft (1 m) and a height of about 1 ft (0.3 m). According to the information collected from the fossil remains, the bones of this species were hollow and they had long necks along with sharp, recurved teeth. Other than that, the vertebrae were thin and hollow, with some of them having a small concavity at either end. The cervical (neck) vertebrae were big while the caudal (tail) vertebrae were long and thin. The humerus and femur were narrow and fragile. The pubis was long and slender with both the front and back ends growing. The lower leg produced a compact structure. This Theropoda had strong forelimbs and grabbing hands and is hence a swift-footed predator.

How many bones did a Podokesaurus have?

A Podokesaurus holyokensis approximately had 200 bones or more. A single scattered specimen was discovered by Mignon Talbot from Massachusetts, North America near Mount Holyoke in 1910, dating back to the time of the Triassic period. The fossil preserved most of the body, limbs, and tail. Although it was later destroyed and casts were built for its study.

How did they communicate?

The known Podokesaurus holyokensis which was similar to the Saurischia, communicated both visually and vocally during the time of Triassic period. The grunts were used as a defensive gesture in order to protect their territory or the eggs as well as to save their young ones at times. The vocal noises included hissing, splashing against water, cracking of jaws together, rubbing scales against each other. The Theropoda kept in touch with each other over long distances by wooing.

How big was a Podokesaurus?

A Podokesaurus holyokensis had a length of 3 ft (1 m) and a height of about 1 ft (0.3 m). The dimensions of a Podokesaurus dinosaur are similar to a Coelophysis dinosaur. The size is approximately 10 times bigger than a Sumatran elephant.

How fast could a Podokesaurus move?

The name of Podokesaurus holyokensis means 'swift-footed lizard' and this dinosaur is known as a fast-moving dinosaur species. This Theropoda discovered by Talbot had strong forelimbs and grabbing hands and was a swift predator. They had a high running speed which was also similar to Coelophysis dinosaur.

How much did a Podokesaurus weigh?

A Podokesaurus holyokensis was estimated to be a light-weighted Theropoda species since it had hollow bones similar to that of a Coelophysis dinosaur but approximately weighed about 2–90 lb (1-40 kg).

What were the male and female names of the species?

There are no specific fossil remains or evidence of the existence of a male and a female Podokesaurus holyokensis dinosaur of this species. Due to inadequate remains, the information about the classification of sex among these dinosaurs has not been specified. Paleontologists studied it from casts but are still in search of content on this species.

What would you call a baby Podokesaurus?

A baby Podokesaurus holyokensis, in general, is named as a hatchling since dinosaurs hatched from an egg. History reveals that a specimen of this species was discovered by the American geologist Mignon Talbot and due to inadequate remains, the information about the classification of a baby dinosaur of this species is not studied.

What did they eat?

A Podokesaurus holyokensis was carnivorous in nature which means the diet of the species is among meat-eating dinosaurs. The diet of this dinosaur species mainly included smaller dinosaurs.

How aggressive were they?

A Podokesaurus holyokensis was truly very aggressive in nature. They often indulged in a defensive gesture to protect their territory or the eggs.

Did you know...

In the introductory search in 1910, Talbot estimated it to be a Podokesaurus herbivore dinosaur from the fossil content of Triassic time, but further content based on the shape and position of bones concluded it was a carnivorous dinosaur.

Who discovered Podokesaurus?

The fossils of Podokesaurus holyokensis in the genus of Coelophysis dinosaur was first discovered in Massachusetts, North America near Mount Holyoke by the famous American geologist, Mignon Talbot in 1910. It lived during the Early Jurassic period which in recent times is known as the eastern United States. Back in history, Mignon Talbot along with his sister suddenly noticed a white streak on one of the boulders on the small hill and discovered that the bones were real live fossils since many fossil tracks were earlier been found in the Connecticut Valley but not in this area. The fossils were carried to a laboratory at the University and thereby proved that these scattered specimens were the fossil remains of the Podokesaurus dinosaur species which led to its discovery.

What dinosaurs lived in Massachusetts?

There were two dinosaur species that lived in Massachusetts which were the Podokesaurus holyokensis and Anchisaurus polyzelus. They were discovered from the Podokesaurus fossil and the trackways created from the footprints of the dinosaur.

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 Iguanacolossus facts and Veterupristisaurus facts pages. 

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

Main image by Michael B. H.