Fun Richardoestesia Facts For Kids

The literal translation of the word dinosaur means 'terrible lizards', but we promise this article will be fun!

This article is about a special dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period and it will tell you everything you need to know about it, including its history, details about its classification, habitat, when and where its fossils (teeth) were discovered, and its behavior!

Richardoestesia is a genus of Theropod dinosaurs, originally native to North America. There are two species: Richardoestesia gilmorei and Richardoestesia isosceles.

Several teeth belonging to this dinosaur were found in many Late Cretaceous geological formations in the USA, including the Scollard Formation, Hell Creek Formation, Ferris Formation, the Horseshoe Canyon Formation, and the Lance Formation.

Julia Sankey later named a second species, Richardoestesia isosceles, after studying the specimen LSUMGS 489:6238, which was a large tooth recovered from North America. She also identified the teeth of Richardoestesia isosceles as Crocodyliform in shape and stated they probably were related to Sebecosuchian.

Because the teeth fossils discovered were scattered in different locations, many researchers doubted that they belong to the same stem line. To resolve this confusion a comparative study of teeth was done. Two specimens of Richardoestesia gilmorei and Richardoestesia isosceles were carefully studied, and both were placed under the same genus.

The holotype specimen of Richardoestesia gilmorei consists of a pair of lower jaws and teeth found in the upper Judith River Group, dating back to the Campanian age around 75 million years ago.

The jaws were long and lean, and the teeth were fine and quite odd for a dinosaur living back then, which made them the distinctive traits of this Cretaceous dinosaur. P. J Currie, Keith Rigby, and Robert Evan Sloan named and classified this dinosaur as a separate species - Richardoestesia gilmorei.

The generic name honors Sir Richard Estes (a vertebrate paleontologist) for his work on dinosaur teeth, and the Theropod dinosaur fossil study dating back to the Late Cretaceous age.

Learn about some other prehistoric creatures from our Paronychodon facts and Xenotarsosaurus facts pages.

Richardoestesia Interesting Facts

How do you pronounce 'Richardoestesia'?

The word Richardoestesia is pronounced 'rik-ard-o-tee-se-ah'.

What type of dinosaur was a Richardoestesia?

Richardoestesia was a genus of small Theropod dinosaur.

In which geological period did the Richardoestesia roam the earth?

This theropod dinosaur lived during the Campanian age or Barremian age of the Late Cretaceous Period, which is approximately 75-76.5 million years ago!

When did the Richardoestesia become extinct?

These dinosaurs lived during the Late Cretaceous period in North America, Alberta, Canada, and went extinct during the K-T mass extinction nearly 65 million years ago.

Where did a Richardoestesia live?

The fossil remains (teeth) of this species were recovered in a variety of formations including the Upper Cretaceous Khodzhakul, the Bissekty and Aitym formations of Uzbekistan, the Horseshoe Canyon Formation, the Scollard Formation in Alberta, Canada, the Lance Formation in Wyoming, the Judith River Formation in Montana, the Aguja Formation in Texas, and the Cedar Mountain Formation in Utah.

Fossils of Richardoestesia have also been found in Spain and Portugal.

They had an extensive range and distribution!

What was a Richardoestesia's habitat?

Thanks to plenty of dinosaur teeth recovered from archaeological sites, many scientists and paleontologists concluded that the Richardoestesia dinosaur was primarily piscivorous, and thus, inhabited marine sites or areas with plenty of water: lakesides, riversides, swamps, and floodplains.

However, its habitat changed according to its survival needs and it was also found in forests and open grasslands where it hunted smaller animals.

Who did a Richardoestesia live with?

The social behavior of this species has not been researched enough, but given that they were carnivores they probably preferred living alone to avoid competition for food and other survival resources. But some believe they lived in small groups or pairs.

How long did a Richardoestesia live?

The life span of this particular dinosaur is unknown, however, Therapods, in general, were believed to have a life span of 26 - 32 years.

How did they reproduce?

Just like every other Theropod species, they reproduced via sexual reproduction. Males would release their sperm inside females, who would later lay fertilized eggs containing developing dinosaur embryos in nests that were built by digging burrows in the soil. The eggs were enormous and had a hard layered shell.

Richardoestesia Fun Facts

What did a Richardoestesia look like?

The fossil or specimen used for most studies includes Richardoestesia's lower jaw, a partial skull, and one large tooth. Therefore, the structure, shape, and size its body of is still a mystery.

A Richardoestesia's skull was narrow and elongated, its jaws were filled with several fine zig-zag patterned teeth. These patterns on its teeth occurred in five or six segments as seen in the fossil remains, which allowed paleontologists to accurately place this genus in the evolutionary tree.

How many bones did a Richardoestesia have?

The exact number of bones present in its body is unknown as most fossil remains discovered are just fragments of its skeleton.

How did they communicate?

Communication among prehistoric creatures is still a mystery but many scientists over the past decades have come up with several theories that suggest possible ways these animals communicated. Some put forth a theory of vocalizations and that these ferocious beasts engaged in dialogue by producing calls, hoots, cracking sounds, body movements, and symbolic love calls during the mating season.

How big was a Richardoestesia?

Since only a partial skull fossil, teeth, and other dentary bones have been discovered, the height and length of this dinosaur are unknown.

How fast could a Richardoestesia move?

The speed rate of this dinosaur is unknown.

How much did a Richardoestesia weigh?

The estimated weight of an adult Richardoestesia dinosaur is 220 lb (100 kg).

What were the male and female names of the species?

The female species are called Saura, whereas males are called Saurus.

What would you call a baby Richardoestesia?

These dinosaurs are hatched from eggs and are called hatchlings, which is similar to their reptile relatives, turtles and crocodiles.

What did they eat?

Richardoestesia was a small theropod from North America and followed a piscivore or carnivore diet. It preyed on smaller dinosaurs and young hatchings. It had rows of sharp but fairly small teeth adapted to its feeding habits.

How aggressive were they?

Scientists speculate that they were not aggressive but there is no fossil evidence to prove or discard this theory thanks to the scanty fossil remains.

Did you know...

This dinosaur is also known as the Richardoestesia raptor!

What fossils have been found of the Richardoestesia?

Fossil remains mainly consisting of teeth and other dentary bones were found in the Upper Cretaceous Khodzhakul, Bissekty, and Aitym formations of Uzbekistan, Horseshoe Canyon Formation, Scollard Formation of Alberta, Canada, Lance Formation of Wyoming, Judith River Formation of Montana, Aguja Formation of Texas, and Cedar Mountain Formation of Utah, USA.

What does the name 'Richardoestesia' mean?

In 1990 P. J Currie, Keith Rigby, and Robert Evan Sloan named the genus after the vertebrate paleontologist Sir Richard Estes, to honor him and his life's work.

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 Rahonavis facts, or Ostafrikasaurus fun facts pages.

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

Main image by Пётр Меньшиков and second image by Johnson Mortimer.

*We've been unable to source an image of Richardoestesia and have used an image of Australovenator instead as the main image. If you are able to provide us with a royalty-free image of Richardoestesia, we would be happy to credit you. Please contact us at hello@kidadl.com.