Caenagnathus

Say it: SEE-nag-NAY-thus

Name means: “recent jaw”3

Ate: A bit of everythingOdd feathered dinosLate Cretaceous

Caenagnathus was a big, bird-like dinosaur with a toothless beak. It lived in what is now Canada and the United States during the Late Cretaceous. Scientists think it ate both plants and meat, like a modern-day crow.3 1

Lived

84 to 66 million years ago3

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Alberta, Canada and South Dakota, USA3

Food

A bit of everything3

Length

2.5 to 3.5 m1

estimated from related caenagnathids

Weight

50 kg to 100 kg1

Height

1 to 1.5 m2

at the hips

Artist's life restoration of Caenagnathus — How Caenagnathus may have looked, by Benwrops. CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Scientists still argue about colours and details.

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

Caenagnathus was first thought to be a bird because its jaw looked so bird-like.3

It was one of the largest caenagnathids, rivaling the size of Anzu wyliei.1

Its beak had three ridges on the tip, which may have helped it grip food.2

Caenagnathus lived alongside other caenagnathids like Citipes and Chirostenotes in the Dinosaur Park Formation.1

The type specimen is a lower jaw (mandible) found in Alberta, Canada.2

It was a ground-dwelling dinosaur that walked on two legs.3

Myth buster

Myth: Caenagnathus was a bird.

Truth: Caenagnathus was a feathered dinosaur, not a bird. It belongs to the oviraptorosaur group.3

For dino experts

Scientific name: Caenagnathus
Named by: Sternberg 19403
Group: Odd feathered dinos
Family / clade: Caenagnathidae3
Classification: Theropoda > Oviraptorosauria3
Age of the rocks: 84 to 66 million years (Campanian to Maastrichtian)3
Rock formations: Dinosaur Park, Hell Creek3
Countries: Canada, USA3
Fossil records: 8 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Caenagnathus was named by R. M. Sternberg in 1940 based on a jaw fossil from the Dinosaur Park Formation in Alberta, Canada.3
Still debated: Scientists are still debating whether some fossils belong to Caenagnathus or to other similar caenagnathids.1

Where the facts come from

Caenagnathids of the Dinosaur Park Formation (Campanian) of Alberta, Canada: anatomy, osteohistology, taxonomy, and evolution | Vertebrate Anatomy Morphology Palaeontology (journals.library.ualberta.ca)
PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
Caenagnathus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.