Dromaeosaurus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids DromaeosaurusTemporal range: Upper Cretaceous,
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Skull cast | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Class: | |
| Superorder: | |
| Order: | |
| Suborder: | |
| Infraorder: | |
| Family: | |
| Genus: |
Dromaeosaurus
|
Dromaeosaurus was a type of meat-eating dinosaur called a theropod. It lived about 75 million years ago during the Upper Cretaceous period. Its bones have been found in the western United States and Alberta, Canada.
Contents
About Dromaeosaurus
Dromaeosaurus albertensis was a small carnivore. It was about 2 meters (7 feet) long, similar to the size of a wolf. It weighed around 15 kg (40 lb). This dinosaur had a mouth full of sharp teeth. It also had a large, curved "sickle claw" on each foot.
Scientists believe Dromaeosaurus was a strong animal. It likely had feathers, just like its close relatives. It also had big eyes, which means it probably had excellent vision. Its senses of smell and hearing were likely very good too. Its neck was flexible, and its jaws were very strong. The tail was flexible at its base but stiffened by bony rods. This allowed it to be held in an upright position.
How Dromaeosaurus Was Discovered
Even though Dromaeosaurus is famous in dinosaur books and museums, we don't have many actual fossils of it. Many museum skeletons are casts made using information from other similar dinosaurs found later.
The first Dromaeosaurus bones were found in 1914. Paleontologist Barnum Brown discovered them near the Red Deer River in Canada. He was working for the American Museum of Natural History.
Several types of Dromaeosaurus have been named. However, Dromaeosaurus albertensis is the most complete one we know about. It was one of the first small meat-eating dinosaurs ever described. In 1969, John Ostrom noticed that Dromaeosaurus was very similar to Velociraptor and Deinonychus. He then grouped them into a new family called Dromaeosauridae.
What Dromaeosaurus Ate
Dromaeosaurus had a short, strong skull and powerful jaws. Its teeth were also very tough. Unlike some of its relatives, its teeth show a lot of wear. This suggests that Dromaeosaurus used its jaws for crushing and tearing its food. It didn't just slice through meat.
Its bite was almost three times stronger than a Velociraptor's bite. This means Dromaeosaurus might have used its jaws more than its claws to kill its prey. It was probably better at hunting larger animals than the more lightly built Saurornitholestes.
Dinosaur Family Tree
The exact family tree of Dromaeosaurus is still being studied. Even though it looks rugged and old, it was a very specialized animal. It usually belongs to its own group called Dromaeosaurinae. This group might include other dinosaurs like Utahraptor, Achillobator, Adasaurus, and possibly Deinonychus. Scientists are still working to understand how all these dinosaurs are related.
Dromaeosaurus in Movies and Shows
Dromaeosaurus has appeared in popular dinosaur shows.
- In Walking with Dinosaurs, they are shown hunting young Torosaurus. They also try to steal eggs from Tyrannosaurus. However, Dromaeosaurus and Tyrannosaurus did not live at the same time.
- In Jurassic Fight Club, a group of Dromaeosaurus is shown taking down an Edmontosaurus. But a Tyrannosaurus later takes their kill. Again, these two dinosaurs did not live together.
Images for kids
-
1922 diagram of the original skull
-
Artistic restoration of D. albertensis
-
D. albertensis skull cast exhibited at the Geological museum, Copenhagen, Denmark
-
Size of Dromaeosaurus (4) compared with other dromaeosaurs
See also
In Spanish: Dromaeosaurus albertensis para niños
