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Oryctodromeus

Say it: or-ik-tow-DROH-mee-us

Name means: “digging runner”1 2

Ate: PlantsBeaked plant-eatersEarly Cretaceous to Late Cretaceous

Oryctodromeus was a small, fast dinosaur that dug burrows to live in. It is the first non-bird dinosaur ever found with proof that it lived underground. An adult, two babies, and their burrow were all fossilized together.1

Lived

106 to 94 million years ago4

Early Cretaceous to Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Montana and Idaho, USA1 4

Food

Plants4 1

Length

2.1 m1 2

Weight

22 kg to 32 kg1

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 8 house cats

as long as 4 house cats nose to tailas long as 12 bananas end to endas heavy as 6 watermelons

How big was Oryctodromeus compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Oryctodromeus means 'digging runner' because it could both dig burrows and run fast on two legs.1

Its burrow was about 2 meters (6.6 feet) long and 70 centimeters (2.3 feet) wide, with two turns.1

The adult Oryctodromeus was about 2.1 meters (6.9 feet) long and weighed between 22 and 32 kilograms (50 to 70 pounds).1

Two baby Oryctodromeus were found with the adult, showing that parents cared for their young in the burrow.1

Its strong shoulders and arms helped it dig, but it was not as specialized for digging as a mole or wombat.1

Oryctodromeus was named the state dinosaur of Idaho in 2023.1

The burrow was filled with sand and turned into sandstone, which preserved the bones inside.1

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

?How did Oryctodromeus dig?

It used its strong shoulders, arms, and broad snout to scratch and move soil. It was not as specialized for digging as a mole or wombat, but more like a rabbit or hyena.1 3

?What did Oryctodromeus eat?

It was a plant-eater, or herbivore.2

?When did Oryctodromeus live?

It lived during the mid-Cretaceous Period, about 105 to 96 million years ago.1

?Where was Oryctodromeus found?

Fossils have been found in Montana and Idaho in the United States.1 2

?Is Oryctodromeus a dinosaur?

Yes, it is a small, plant-eating ornithischian dinosaur.1 2

?Why is it called Oryctodromeus?

Its name means 'digging runner' because it could both dig burrows and run fast on two legs.1 2

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Oryctodromeus
Named by: Varricchio et al. 20074
Group: Beaked plant-eaters
Family / clade: Thescelosauridae4
Classification: Ornithischia4
Age of the rocks: 106 to 94 million years (Albian / Cenomanian)4
Rock formations: Wayan, Blackleaf4
Countries: USA4
Fossil records: 9 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: Oryctodromeus was named in 2007 by David Varricchio, Anthony Martin, and Yoshihiro Katsura. They found an adult and two juveniles inside a fossilized burrow in Montana.1 4
Still debated: Scientists are not sure if its close relatives Orodromeus and Zephyrosaurus also dug burrows, though they have similar features.1

Where the facts come from

Oryctodromeus (en.wikipedia.org)
Oryctodromeus | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
First trace and body fossil evidence of a burrowing, denning dinosaur (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Oryctodromeus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

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