Dino card No. 0342 of 2,027

Canadaga

Say it: ka-NAD-ah-ga

Name means: “Canadian bird”1

Ate: MeatEarly birdsLate Cretaceous

Canadaga was a big, flightless seabird that lived in the Arctic during the time of dinosaurs. It had teeth and used its strong legs to dive and swim in the sea.1

Lived

84 to 66 million years ago3

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Bylot Island and Devon Island in Nunavut, Canada1

Food

Meat3

Length

2.2 m1

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

as long as 4 house cats nose to tailas long as 12 bananas end to end

How big was Canadaga compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

cool stuff

Fun facts

Canadaga is one of the largest known members of its group, reaching about 2.2 metres (7.2 feet) long.1

It lived in the Arctic, which is unusual because most of its relatives lived in warmer waters.1

Canadaga was one of the last of its kind, living about 67 million years ago, just before the dinosaurs went extinct.1

Its fossils were found in rocks from the Kanguk Formation, which is from the Late Cretaceous period.1

Scientists found only a few bones: three neck vertebrae, one tail vertebra, and two thigh bones.1

Canadaga could not fly, but it was a great swimmer, using its legs to push through the water.1

AI-made picture of Canadaga — An AI-made picture of how Canadaga might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Canadaga

?Was Canadaga a dinosaur?

Yes, Canadaga was a dinosaur. Like all birds, it belongs to the group of dinosaurs called theropods.1

?How big was Canadaga?

Canadaga was about 2.2 metres (7.2 feet) long, making it one of the largest known members of its group.1

?Could Canadaga fly?

No, Canadaga could not fly. It was a flightless bird that used its strong legs to dive and swim in the sea.1

Ask Rex about Canadaga

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Myth buster

Myth: Some people think Canadaga was a dinosaur.

Truth: Canadaga was a bird, not a dinosaur, even though it lived during the age of dinosaurs.1

For dino experts

Scientific name: Canadaga
Named by: Hou 19993
Group: Early birds
Family / clade: Hesperornithidae3
Classification: Theropoda > Avialae3
Age of the rocks: 84 to 66 million years (Campanian / Maastrichtian)3
Rock formations: Kanguk3
Countries: Canada3
Fossil records: 2 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: The fossils were collected from Bylot Island, Canada, and were studied by Chinese scientist Hou Lian-Hai, who named the species Canadaga arctica in 1999.1 2
Still debated: Scientists are still debating why Canadaga and other large hesperornithids went extinct, with some thinking their large size and special features played a role.2

Where the facts come from

Canadaga (en.wikipedia.org)
NEW HESPERORMTHID (AVES) FROM THE CANADIAN ARCTIC (vertpala.ac.cn)
Canadaga 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.

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