Orodromeus
Orodromeus was a small, speedy dinosaur that ran on two legs. It lived in what is now Montana, USA, about 75 million years ago. This plant-eater used its beak and cheek teeth to munch on tough plants.12
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Fun facts
Orodromeus was discovered at a site called Egg Mountain, which was a nesting colony of the much larger dinosaur Maiasaura.1
The first fossils were found by Robert Makela, and the dinosaur was named after him: Orodromeus makelai.1
Some eggs once thought to belong to Orodromeus are now believed to be from a troodontid dinosaur, like Stenonychosaurus.1
Orodromeus embryos had well-developed bones and teeth, suggesting the babies could walk and feed themselves soon after hatching.1
This dinosaur may have dug burrows, like its relative Oryctodromeus, because its bones have been found in places where they would not normally be scattered.1
Orodromeus lived alongside predators like Daspletosaurus and the horned dinosaur Einiosaurus.1
Most asked questions about Orodromeus
?How big was Orodromeus?
About 2.5 metres (8.2 feet) long. That is roughly the size of a large dog.12
?What did Orodromeus eat?
It was a plant-eater. It used its horny beak and grinding cheek teeth to eat tough plant material, and it probably fed on plants no higher than 1 metre (3.3 feet) off the ground.12
?When did Orodromeus live?
It lived during the Late Cretaceous Period, about 75 million years ago, in what is now Montana, USA.12
?How fast could Orodromeus run?
Nobody knows for sure, but its name means 'mountain runner' and it was built for running on two legs. It was probably very quick.12
?Did Orodromeus dig burrows?
Maybe. Scientists think it may have dug burrows like its relative Oryctodromeus, because its bones are sometimes found packed together in ways that suggest burrowing.1
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Orodromeus
- Named by
- Horner and Weishampel 19883
- Group
- Beaked plant-eaters
- Family / clade
- Thescelosauridae3
- Classification
- Ornithischia3
- Age of the rocks
- 84 to 66 million years (Campanian / Maastrichtian)3
- Rock formations
- Two Medicine, Hell Creek, Judith River3
- Countries
- USA3
- Fossil records
- 9 in the Paleobiology Database3
- Discovery
- Orodromeus was named by Jack Horner and David Weishampel in 1988. The first fossils were found by Robert Makela in Teton County, Montana, during an excavation of the Egg Mountain site.1
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure if Orodromeus really dug burrows, because the evidence is not yet strong.1
Where the facts come from
- Orodromeus (en.wikipedia.org)
- Orodromeus (nhm.ac.uk)
- Orodromeus 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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