Dinosaurs A to Z
Thescelosauridae

Oryctodromeus

"digger"

Generic ornithopod body-plan outline
You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Oryctodromeus 2.1 m (6.9 ft) long
as long as 2 people standing fingertip to fingertip
generic ornithopod body plan, scaled to length — not a silhouette of Oryctodromeus
Length
2.1 m (6.9 ft)
Period
Late Cretaceous (100–66 Mya)
Place
Montana, USA
Food
Herbivore
Clade
Thescelosauridae

Oryctodromeus (from Ancient Greek ὀρυκτήρ (oruktḗs), meaning “digger”, and δρομαῖος (dromaîos), meaning “runner”) is an extinct genus of small orodromine thescelosaurid dinosaur. Fossils are known from the Late Cretaceous Blackleaf Formation of southwestern Montana and the Wayan Formation of southeastern Idaho, USA, both of the Cenomanian stage, roughly 105-96 million years ago. A member of the small, presumably fast-running herbivorous family Thescelosauridae, Oryctodromeus is the first non-avian dinosaur published that shows evidence of burrowing behavior.

What we know

  • Named by Varricchio et al., 2007.
  • Body length estimated at about 2.1 m.
  • Fossils found in Montana, USA.

What we guess

The reconstruction notes for Oryctodromeus — soft tissue, color, behavior — haven't been written up yet. Only the recorded basics above are filled in so far.