Troodon formosus TROH-oh-don
"Wounding tooth"
You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Troodon 2.4 m (7.9 ft) long
2 people holding hands
- Length
- 2.4 m (7.9 ft) — About 2.4 m long, ~50 kg — emu-sized.
- Period
- Late Cretaceous (77–66 Mya)
- Place
- North America · Alaska · Montana · Alberta
- Food
- Omnivore — Small prey, eggs, and possibly plants — generalist diet.
Troodon had one of the largest brains for its body size of any dinosaur. Big eyes facing forward gave it strong binocular vision, suited to hunting at night or in low light. Troodon fossils have even been found inside the Arctic Circle, where it survived months of winter darkness — possibly the only dinosaur known to have lived under those conditions.
What we know
- One of the largest brain-to-body ratios among dinosaurs.
- Large forward-facing eyes — strong binocular vision and good low-light hunting.
- Fossils found above the Arctic Circle, in regions that had long polar nights.
- Eggs found in nests, brooded in the same posture used by modern birds.
What we guess
- Whether the genus name 'Troodon' is still valid — some scientists argue the type tooth is too fragmentary to define a genus.
- Diet: generalist omnivore is the best guess but specifics depend on the season and habitat.
- Whether the Arctic populations migrated south for winter or stayed and endured the dark.