Dino card No. 0786 of 2,027

Harenadraco

Say it: hah-REH-nah-DRAY-koh

Name means: “sand dragon”1

Ate: MeatRaptorsLate Cretaceous

Harenadraco was a small, fast dinosaur that lived in the desert. It was a troodontid, a smart cousin of the raptors. It ran through the sand dunes of ancient Mongolia.1

Lived

84 to 72 million years ago5

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Ömnögovi Province, Mongolia1

Food

Meat2

Length

1 m3

estimate

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

as long as 2 house cats nose to tailas long as 6 bananas end to end

How big was Harenadraco compared to YOU?

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

cool stuff

Fun facts

Harenadraco is the first troodontid dinosaur ever found in the Baruungoyot Formation. Other troodontids were known from nearby rock layers, but not this one.1

Its name means 'sand dragon' in Latin. It was named for the sandy desert where its bones were discovered.1

The only known skeleton of Harenadraco is a partial leg and hip. Scientists found pieces of the thigh bone, shin bone, foot bones, and part of the hip.1

Harenadraco lived about 83 to 72 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous period. That was the time of T. rex and Triceratops.2

The Baruungoyot Formation was a dry, sandy place with wind-blown dunes and occasional lakes. Harenadraco was built for running in this open landscape.1

Troodontids like Harenadraco had big brains for their size. They were among the smartest dinosaurs.1

AI-made picture of Harenadraco — An AI-made picture of how Harenadraco 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 Harenadraco

?How big was Harenadraco?

Harenadraco was a small dinosaur, about 1 metre long. That is roughly the size of a big chicken.3

?What did Harenadraco eat?

Scientists do not know exactly, but as a troodontid it probably ate small animals like mammals and maybe insects. Its leg bones suggest it was fast enough to chase agile prey.4

?When did Harenadraco live?

Harenadraco lived during the Late Cretaceous, about 72 to 71 million years ago. That was around the same time as T. rex and Triceratops.3 1

?Was Harenadraco a dinosaur?

Yes, Harenadraco was a small theropod dinosaur, specifically a troodontid. Troodontids are bird-like dinosaurs, not birds themselves.1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Harenadraco
Named by: Lee et al. 20245
Group: Raptors
Family / clade: Troodontidae5
Classification: Theropoda > Troodontidae5
Age of the rocks: 84 to 72 million years (Campanian)5
Rock formations: Baruungoyot5
Countries: Mongolia5
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database5
Discovery: The Harenadraco fossil was found in 2018 at a place called Hermiin Tsav in Mongolia. Scientists led by Sungjin Lee named it in 2024.1
Still debated: Scientists are not sure exactly how big Harenadraco was. Only a few leg bones have been found, so its full size is a guess.1

Where the facts come from

Harenadraco (en.wikipedia.org)
PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
New Bird-Like Dinosaur Unearthed in Mongolia | Sci.News (sci.news)
The first troodontid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous Baruungoyot Formation of Mong (dinosaurier-info.de)
Harenadraco 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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