Look up · dinosaur 1283 of 1,425
sharp-clawed runner · Disputed
Troodon
Say it like this: “TROH-uh-don”
Troodon formosus
Troodon ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in the United States.
- When
- Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago
- Named in
- 1856 · Leidy, J.
- Hip height
- Not established
- Length
- 3 m · 10 ft
- Weight
- Not established
- Found in
- the United States · Judith River
- Food and walking
- Carnivore · Two legs
- Kind
- sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
- Family branch
- Troodontinae
The story in short
The genus Troodon dates to 1856, the year J. Leidy described it.
It lived in the Late Cretaceous (Campanian), roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago. Finds come from the United States, including the Judith River Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Troodon at a length near 3 m.
On the family tree it sits in Troodontinae, among the theropod dinosaurs.
Close relatives
Albertavenator
Albertavenator curriei
Late Cretaceous (Campanian · Maastrichtian) · roughly 83.6 to 66 million years ago
Borogovia
Borogovia gracilicrus
Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago
Byronosaurus
Byronosaurus jaffei
Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago