In Depth Sinusonasus is a genus of troodontid dinosaur that lived in China during the early Cretaceous. Sinusonasus means ‘wave nose’, and this name was given after the way the snout on the holotype skull has an undulating profile kind of like a wave. The tail vertebrae of Sinusonasus are also noteworthy in that the … Read more
In Depth Borogovia is a genus of troodontid dinosaur that lived in Mongolia during the late Cretaceous. As a troodont, Borogovia would have been a predator, certainly capable of taking down smaller prey animals by itself. Also like other troodonts, Borogovia had a specialised second toe, but unlike them, the claw was not sickle shaped … Read more
In Depth Urbacodon is truly an international genus, not so much by its geographic distribution, but because the team involved were from many different countries. The name Urbacodon means ‘URBAC tooth’, and URBAC is an acronym that recognises the Uzbek, Russian, British, American and Canadian nationalities of those involved. Urbacodon was described by a single … Read more
In Depth Classification and controversy of validity. Stenonychosaurus is a genus of troodontid dinosaur that spent much of its time depicted as a synonym to Troodon. Stenonychosaurus itself was first named in 1932 and for much of the twentieth century it was occasionally depicted as a small predatory dinosaur. Stenonychosaurus would also become the inspiration … Read more
In Depth Hesperornithoides is a genus of troodontid dinosaur that lived in North America during the late Jurassic. Further reading - A new paravian dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of North America supports a late acquisition of avian flight. - PeerJ 7:e7247. - S. Hartman, M. Mortimer, W. R. Wahl, D. R. Lomax, J. Lippincott … Read more
In Depth Remarkably when Troodon was first ‘discovered’ it was only known from a tooth, and it was the description of this tooth that gave rise to the genus. Although naming a creature after only discovering its teeth is hard to imagine today, it was a common place practice in the nineteenth century, and … Read more
In Depth Although the holotype specimen of Gobivenator was missing major bones of the limbs, some vertebrae and the tip of the snout, it remains one of the most complete late Cretaceous troodontid dinosaurs known from late Cretaceous Asia. Two areas that have been important to note during the description are that the parietal bones … Read more
In Depth Initially thought to be one of the most primitive birds in the fossil record, later studies have depicted Jinfengopteryx as a small troodontid theropod dinosaur. This new interpretation has been derived from observation of the form of the skull and the presence of an enlarged sickle claw on the second toe of each … Read more
In Depth Hailing from China’s world famous Yixian Formation, Sinovenator was a fairly small genus of troodontid dinosaur. Due to the small size, Sinovenator is perceived to have been a predator of smaller animals such as lizards and mammals. Further Reading - A basal troodontid from the Early Cretaceous of China. - Nature 415:780-784. - … Read more
In Depth Mei was named because it was found in a sleeping pose, not unlike birds today. Study of the bones has revealed they were not totally fused, meaning that the animal was a juvenile. Analysis of the stone the fossil was discovered in shows it to have been buried by volcanic ash. A second … Read more