Fun Technosaurus Facts For Kids

The Technosaurus, also known as Technosaurus smalli, is known to be a North American dinosaur, and Technosaurus fossil remains have been discovered in the Cooper Canyon Formation (Dockum Group) of Texas. Another similar formation is the Bull Canyon Formation from the Upper Triassic of North America.

The Technosaurus is dated to the Late Triassic period and is known to have lived from 228-208.5 million years ago.

Fossil remains that were discovered consisted of an upper jaw tip (pre-maxilla), a back vertebra, two pieces of the lower jaw, and an ankle bone (astragalus). The possible habitat that these dinosaurs might have inhabited include wooded areas with water bodies.

These dinosaurs are known to have lived from 228-208.5 million years ago. Like all other dinosaurs, this one used to engage in sexual reproduction where the male used to deposit sperm in the body of the female, and the female laid fertilized eggs containing embryos.

While the physical appearance of the Technosaurus dinosaur is not well known, there have been certain features that have been studied and those include a long snout. The size of this dinosaur was not bigger than a large dog and thus, is considered to be a small dinosaur.

Technosaurus teeth were considered to be ridged in order for them to eat plants.

The probable diet is herbivorous, so it used to feed on plants. It is a possibility that this animal used to browse on all four legs but used to run only on its hind legs.

The name Technosaurus is derived from the Greek word 'tekhne' meaning 'skill' or 'acumen' and is kept in reference to the name of Texas Tech University and also means tech-lizard. The specific name 'smalli' was kept to honor scientist Bryan Small.

The Technosaurus was described by Sankar Chatterjee in 1984 and was initially thought to be a fabrosaurid. There are still studies and research going on in order to validate if these fossils are mixed with other animals as the jaw fragments found in these fossils were actually of the Shuvosaurus.

These remains are considered to be similar than those of the archosaur. The classification is still uncertain.

It is quite gripping to learn about this extinct animal and if you are interested, read about the Tupuxuara and the Sauropelta, too.

Technosaurus Interesting Facts

How do you pronounce 'Technosaurus'?

Technosaurus is pronounced as 'Teck-noh-sore-us'.

What type of dinosaur was a Technosaurus?

It belongs to the type Ornithischian.

In which geological period did the Technosaurus roam the earth?

It is believed that this dinosaur existed in the Late Triassic period.

When did the Technosaurus become Extinct?

The time period of extinction of this species is unknown.

Where did a Technosaurus live?

It is noted that the Technosaurus used to live in the United States of America and its fossil was found in the Cooper Canyon Formation (Dockum Group) of Texas.

What was a Technosaurus's habitat?

Little information is available about the habitat of the Technosaurus but scientists believe that it was a land-dwelling animal and might have lived in wooded areas with water bodies.

Who did a Technosaurus live with?

Not much is known about this ornithischian species from the Late Triassic period, whether is was solitary or lived in groups.

How long did a Technosaurus live?

This species is known to have lived from 228-208.5 million years ago.

How did they reproduce?

Reproduction of this species from the Late Triassic period, just like others, takes place through sexual reproduction where the male used to deposit sperm in the body of the female and the female used to lay eggs that were fertilized.

Technosaurus Fun Facts

What did a Technosaurus look like?

Many paleontologists believed that the size of the Technosaurus was small and features and characteristics of the bone of this dinosaur are considered to match primitive vertebrates rather than evolved ones. Research has also shown that the vertebra is indeterminate and the astragalus is an unidentifiable fragment.

Judged by the maxillary, non-Shuvosaurus jaw, and mandible fossils, it is noted that the snout probably was long.

Technosaurus remains are now considered to be only the posterior fragment and a lower jaw piece; there were two pieces of lower jaw found. Teeth of this dinosaur were described as ridged and these teeth helped the dinosaur eat plants.

How many bones did a Technosaurus have?

The number of bones this species had is unknown.

How did they communicate?

Communication of this species used to take place through visual and vocal mediums which included a variety of sounds, postures, and gestures.

How big was a Technosaurus?

The length was estimated to be around 4 ft (122 cm). The size could be compared to a large dog.

How fast could a Technosaurus move?

The moving speed of this ornithischian dinosaur from the Late Triassic is not known. It was thought that this dinosaur was probably a quick and good runner.

How much did a Technosaurus weigh?

The approximate weight of this dinosaur is around 25 lb (11 kg).

What were the male and female names of the species?

There are no sex-specific names for this dinosaur from the Late Triassic.

What would you call a baby Technosaurus?

A baby Technosaurus, just like other dinosaur babies, was referred to as a hatchling.

What did they eat?

This dinosaur may have been a plant-eating animal, and thus, had a herbivorous diet.

How aggressive were they?

It is difficult to determine the aggressiveness of this dinosaur, but it has been stated that a dinosaur, in general, was instinctively violent and aggressive.

Did you know...

Technosaurus tends to mean 'tech-lizard' as it is known to have been found near Texas Tech University. Techno is derived from Greek 'tekhne' meaning 'skill' or 'acumen'.

The specific name 'smalli' was given to acknowledge and honor scientist Bryan Small who played a major role in the unearthing and examination of this dinosaur's fossils.

The Technosaurus is known to have been a chimera of different animals from the Late Triassic period.

It is known to have been based on the TTUP P9021 and remains consisted of the upper jaw tip (pre-maxilla), back vertebra, two pieces of the lower jaw, and an ankle bone (astragalus).

The Technosaurus smalli, when named by Sankar Chatterjee, was described as a fabrosaurid.

It has been recorded that Sankar Chatterjee has named Shuvosaurus after his son Shuvo.

Paul Sereno is known to be associated with the review of the genus in 1991 and raised the doubt if its classification was ornithischian or may have belonged to other groups.

Research states that this animal used all four of its legs to browse but used only its hind legs to run.

Some enemies and predators of this dinosaur include other types of meat-eating dinosaur-like animals such as the Coelophysis and a large reptile-like animal, the Postosuchus.

Some believe that the word Technosaurus means 'mess'.

After a review in 2007, remains were considered to be similar to that of an archosaur named Shuvosaurus, and one of the jaw fragments was actually considered to be that of Shuvosaurus.

Certain similarities have also been found between the Silesaurus and the Technosaurus.

The classification of this animal is not yet complete and in the future, there is a possibility that this dinosaur could be placed in a different classification.

Technosaurus rex is a song by the artist Giacomo Sturiano.

Technosaurus Disgaea is a character in the game Disgaea.

Another similar formation to that of Cooper Canyon formation is the Bull Canyon formation from the Upper Triassic of North America.

What kind of dinosaurs lived in Texas?

Around 21 types of dinosaurs of three batches based on the geologic time are thought to have lived in Texas. These dinosaurs were found in regions like the Texas Panhandle, the Big Bend, and central Texas. Some of these dinosaur types include the Coelophysis, the Technosaurus, the Tenontosaurus, the Iguanodon, the Torosaurus, and the Alamosaurus.

When and how was the Technosaurus discovered?

Fossils were discovered by Sankar Chatterjee, a paleontologist, during excavation and these fossils were discovered in Cooper Canyon Formation in Texas and were named in 1984. The exact time of when fossils were discovered is unknown.

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 Puertasaurus facts and Yinlong facts for kids.

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

The second image is by Shalom.
*We've been unable to source an image of a Technosaurus and have used an image of a Silesaurus instead. If you are able to provide us with a royalty-free image of a Technosaurus, we would be happy to credit you. Please contact us at hello@kidadl.com.