Fun Stenonychosaurus Facts For Kids

Abhijeet Modi
Jan 10, 2024 By Abhijeet Modi
Originally Published on Sep 15, 2021
Edited by Luca Demetriou
Stenonychosaurus facts on a unique lizard species.



There is a total of 700 species of dinosaurs that have been identified and named so far. Stenonychosaurus is one among the same family. They are known by their scientific name Stenonychosaurus inequalis.

They belong to the genus troodon which was assigned by Phil Currie. The troodontid genus was previously associated with bird-like dinosaurs. The name troodon formosus was given to a tooth collected in Montana in 1855.

Troodon was the first identified prehistoric lizard. These ideas were overturned by the '30s and '40s only to prove that the troodon was a small theropod. They were considered to be birdlike raptors and became a well-known theropod by the '80s.

Stenonychosaurus inequalis is primarily a carnivore and consumes a meat-based diet and may consume insects as well as small insects. Stenonychosaurus (Stenonychosaurus inequalis) belong to the Late Cretaceous of Alberta.

Stenonychosaurus is most related to dromaeosaurus such as the Velociraptor and Deinonychus had retractable sickle-like claws on their feet. These species are in some instances listed as the most intelligent dinosaurs. Their brain was considered to be larger than the modern emu.

For more relatable content, check out these Paranthodon and Nanosaurus.

Stenonychosaurus Interesting Facts

How do you pronounce 'Stenonychosaurus'?

Stenonychosaurus (Stenonychosaurus inequalis) is a dinosaur and pronounced 'ten-on-e-ko-sore-us' and their meaning is narrow claw lizard.

What type of dinosaur was a Stenonychosaurus?

Stenonychosaurus (Stenonychosaurus inequalis) is a type of troodontid dinosaur. Stenonychosaurus are now referred to as troodon. It belongs to the family troodontidae.

In which geological period did the Stenonychosaurus roam the earth?

Stenonychosaurus (Stenonychosaurus inequalis) campanian of cretaceous ages. They became a well-known theropod by the 1980s. They belong to the genus Stenonychosaurus.

When did the Stenonychosaurus become extinct?

Stenonychosaurus (Stenonychosaurus inequalis) are extinct species and similar to other species of dinosaurs they were extinct about 65 million years ago after living on earth for close to 165 million years ago.

Where did a Stenonychosaurus live?

Stenonychosaurus was primarily a carnivore and consumed a meat-based diet and these species resided close to grasslands and forests of current day and age. They were seen in current-day Alberta, Canada.

What was a Stenonychosaurus's habitat?

Stenonychosaurus habitat constitutes is found in a warm coastal floodplain covered by temperate forests. This cretaceous theropod lived in regions close to where it could easily access food and shelter. They were seen in Alberta, Canada.

Who did a Stenonychosaurus live with?

Stenonychosaurus lived with other species of their own kind. They lived in the late cretaceous of Alberta. Stenonychosaurus brain is considered intelligent owing to its brain size.

How long did a Stenonychosaurus live?

Stenonychosaurus exact lifespan is not evaluated. These dinosaurs lifespan was influenced greatly by their diet and habitat. These species descended from saurian or reptiloid beings such as Velociraptors or Stenonychosaurus equallus.

How did they reproduce?

Most dinosaurs reproduced via sexual reproduction. Male dinosaurs would deposit their sperm into the female. Fertilization of the eggs would take place within the female dinosaur. The female lays the fertilized eggs.

The exact number of eggs these dinosaurs lay is not evaluated. They didn't have any particular breeding period and would mate multiple times throughout their lifetime. Parents would be involved in raising their young.

Stenonychosaurus Fun Facts

What did a Stenonychosaurus look like?

Stenonychosaurus is exactly as per their description. They belong to the genus Stenonychosaurus. Stenonychosaurus is a small dinosaur. They have an overall similar structure to troodon.

Stenonychosaurus meaning narrow claw lizard. They have a small body with long vertebrae or spine ending with their tail.

They have brains in their head that were considered to be larger than the modern emu. Owing to their brains they are considered intelligent beings. Their length is 7.9 ft (2.4 m), height 3 ft (0.9 m), and weight is 77.2-110.2 lb (35-50 kg).

How many bones did a Stenonychosaurus have?

Stenonychosaurus was a small dinosaur in description with an overall basic structure constituting of their skull, neck boned, teeth, spine, rib cage, forelimbs, hindlimbs, feet, and tail. They have an extended tail. They have slender hind limbs and these animals run quickly. They have a large head, sickle-shaped claws on the second toes as per description.

They have the largest known brains compared to any dinosaur species based on their description. Relative dinosaur include Deinonychus and Unenlagia. They have large eyes and are forward-facing giving depth perception. Their metotic strut was enlarged from side to side similar to their relative Dromaeosaurus.

How did they communicate?

Stenonychosaurus intelligence is a major part of their characteristics. Dinosaur majorly communicates via visual and auditory sounds. They also utilize body language in order to communicate.

How big was a Stenonychosaurus?

Stenonychosaurus size is 7.9 ft (2.4 m) in length that is six times bigger than the smallest horned dinosaur in North America i.e. Morrison and measures 1.6 ft (0.5 m) in length.

How fast could a Stenonychosaurus move?

Stenonychosaurus exact speed is not evaluated. The dinosaur has two sturdy hindlimbs, which are slender and help the dinosaur run quickly.

How much did a Stenonychosaurus weigh?

Stenonychosaurus weighed 77.2-110.2 lb (35-50 kg). Young dinosaur mass is smaller compared to the adult and their diet requirement changes as they become an adult. Male and female mass would have been the same.

What were the male and female names of the species?

Male and female species are not addressed differently. They were similar in appearance and size and differed only in their reproductive functions. Both parents take care of their young equally.

What would you call a baby Stenonychosaurus?

A young baby stenonychosaurus is called a hatchling since the young hatch from eggs is similar to modern-day reptiles including turtles and crocodiles.

What did they eat?

Stenonychosaurus have primarily been carnivores throughout ages. They belong to the genus Stenonychosaurus. They may have consumed mass meat of different kinds within their habitat range including insects as well as small animals. Juveniles consume a diet similar to adults.

How aggressive were they?

These Canadian species have a predatory instinct and would have been aggressive owing to their predatory instinct. They majorly attacked their prey using their claw and their sharp teeth to bite their prey. They are relatively small in size however, they have a strong predatory instinct.

Did you know...

The largest troodontid in the world is the Latenivenatrix and had strong teeth. Latenivenatrix lived in the Cretaceous period. The Cretaceous period is the third and final period of the Mesozoic period.

North America is known for being the most fertile single source point of dinosaur fossils in the world. North America has a rich dinosaur fossils record.

Chickens are closely related to the T-rex. Theropods are a large comparable and diverse group of animals that have hollow bones and are related to the current day chicken species. Dinosaur is smaller than half the size of dinosaurs. Other comparable and closest specimens to dinosaurs include crocodiles, lizards, turtles, and snakes.

How did the Stenonychosaurus get its name?

Stenonychosaurus (Stenonychosaurus inequalis) was named by C.M. Sternberg in 1932 on the basis of a foot, the wreckage of a hand, a foot, and some caudal vertebrate from the Late Cretaceous of Alberta. The caudal vertebrae are the bones that make up the tails of the dinosaur.

the length of the caudal vertebrae may vary from on species to another. These beings from the Late Cretaceous of Alberta were later described in more detail by D.A.

Russell in 1969 which shaped the scientific foundation of a famous life-sized sculpture accompanied by its fictional, Stenonychosaurus humanoid. A complete Stenonychosaurus skeleton was described by D.A. Russell.

It belongs to the genus troodon, which was assigned by Phil Currie. The genus was previously associated with bird-like dinosaurs.

The name troodon formosus was given to a tooth collected in Montana in 1855. Their name stands Stenonychosaurus means narrow clawed lizard. They belong to the genus Stenonychosaurus.

How smart was the Stenonychosaurus?

Paleontologists discovered that the Stenonychosaurus has a large brain as compared to any other dinosaur since ages. In 1982, Dale A. Russell conjectured a possibility of the evolutionary path for Stenonychosaurus if had not become extinct there would evolve into intelligent beings in a paper.

Troodontids had semi semi-manipulative fingers. Russell suggested that his dinosauroid would have has large eyes, three fingers on each hand.

This experiment has been met with criticism from various paleontologists since 1980 when Stenonychosaurus became well known as a theropod. A model of the hypothetical human-like dinosauroid is placed at the dinosaur museum in Dorchester, England if you wish to know more Stenonychosaurus info and to visit the place if possible.

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 Pleurocoelus facts, or Fukuivenator facts for kids.

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

Main image by IJReid.

Second image by Scott Hartman.

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Written by Abhijeet Modi

Master of Computer Science

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Abhijeet ModiMaster of Computer Science

An experienced and innovative entrepreneur and creative writer, Abhijeet holds a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Computer Application from Birla Institute of Technology, Jaipur. He co-founded an e-commerce website while developing his skills in content writing, making him an expert in creating blog posts, website content, product descriptions, landing pages, and editing articles. Passionate about pushing his limits, Abhijeet brings both technical expertise and creative flair to his work.

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