Fun Saurornitholestes Facts For Kids

Saurornitholestes was a genus of carnivores known to have fed on large animals even though the exact diet could not be known. Apart from that, regarding the time period of the existence of the Saurornitholestes langstoni dinosaur, there has been a debate. The fossils that are recovered from different places shows different age. Fossil formations of the Oldman Formation age 77 million years, while the Medicine Formation specimen was 72 million years old. The new specimens of similar teeth were around 69-70 million years old. Researchers believed they used these teeth and claws to defend themselves. Read on to know more!

How do you pronounce 'Saurornitholestes'?

Even though the word might seem a bit difficult to pronounce, breaking it into parts might make it easier. The word 'Saurornitholestes' is divided into three syllables, 'Sauro (lizard)- ornitho (bird)- lestes (thief)'.

What type of dinosaur was a Saurornitholestes?

Saurornitholestes langstoni, a carnivore by diet, is known to have belonged to the group of theropods. Saurornitholestes is a dromaeosaurid theropod type of a dinosaur.

In which geological period did the Saurornitholestes roam the Earth?

Even though the isolated bones of this dinosaur shows different time period, this dinosaur is known to have existed during the Late Cretaceous period and not the Upper Cretaceous period.

When did the Saurornitholestes become extinct?

Although we know these dinosaurs existed during the Late Cretaceous period, we have to assume they went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous age 65 million years ago.

Where did Saurornitholestes live?

These theropod dinosaurs are estimated to have lived during the Late Cretaceous period. When the fossils were discovered, these dinosaurs were estimated to be living around North America, including places like Canada, southern Alberta, New Mexico, and Carolina.

What was the Saurornitholestes' habitat?

This genus were found to be living in the northern part of America. The majority of this area was covered by terrestrial forests and lowlands.

Who did the Saurornitholestes live with?

According to new research, these theropod dinosaurs were social beings. Even though they were predators by nature, it is assumed that they used to live with dinosaurs of the same kind.

How long did a Saurornitholestes live?

Unfortunately, there have been no calculations regarding the lifespan of this dinosaur species.

How did they reproduce?

These animals were oviparous in nature, which means that the animal used to reproduce by laying eggs.

What did the Saurornitholestes look like?

Unlike Velociraptor and Dromaeosaurus, Saurornitholestes langstoni had comparatively longer legs than other theropods. The fragmentary skeleton that was discovered could not be deciphered properly as it contained a few skull elements, tail elements, and a wing bone. So, the cranial anatomy could not be studied in detail. It is also unknown whether they had neck frills.

How many bones did a Saurornitholestes have?

An average dinosaur had 200 bones. Hence, this species might have had 200 bones, although there is no evidence to support the fact.

How did they communicate?

The exact mode of their communication could not be traced back by researchers.

How big were the Saurornitholestes?

Saurornitholestes had an average weight of 352.74 oz (10 kg) and was 70.8661 in (1.8 m) in height. This animal was two-thirds the size of a Dromaeosaurus, which had an average weight of around 529.109 oz (15 kg).

How fast could a Saurornitholestes move?

Even though they were predators and were assumed to have chased the prey to capture them, the exact speed of the dinosaur could not be estimated. So we cannot state whether they were fast animals or not.

How much did a Saurornitholestes weigh?

The weight of an average Saurornitholestes is known to be around 352.74 oz (10 kg).

What were the male and female names of the species?

There has been no specific name assigned to the male and the female members.

What would you call a baby Saurornitholestes?

There has been no information regarding the nomenclature of a baby Saurornitholestes.

How aggressive were they?

New research stated Saurornitholestes langstoni to be a predator in nature. So based on the research, we can say that they were an aggressive type of dinosaur.

Did you know…

Apart from this dinosaur, another species was discovered and named Saurornitholestes sullivani in the year 2015.

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