| Dromaeosaurus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous | |
|---|---|
| |
| A life restoration of Dromaeosaurus albertensis | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Sauropsida |
| clade: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | Saurischia |
| Suborder: | Theropoda |
| Family: | †Dromaeosauridae |
| Subfamily: | †Velociraptorinae |
| Genus: | †Dromaeosaurus Matthew & Brown, 1922 |
| Type species | |
| †Dromaeosaurus albertensis Matthew & Brown, 1922 | |
Dromaeosaurus was a genus of theropod dinosaur that Dromaeosaurids are named after. It lived in North America in the Late Cretaceous for 80 to 70 million years ago, and it was thought to have incredible speed, so it was called "Swift Running Lizard", though most experts nowadays conclude that dromaeosaurs were comparatively robust and likely short distance runners.
Discovery and naming[]
Description[]
Dromaeosaurus was a small carnivore, about 2 m (6 feet 7 inches) in length and 15 kilograms (33 lbs) in weight. Its mouth was full of sharp teeth, and it had a sharp "sickle claw" on each foot. It lived during the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous, however, some fragmentary remains such as teeth which may belong to this genus have been found from the late Maastrichtian age Lance and Hell Creek Formations, dating to 66.038 million years ago. Dromaeosaurus had a relatively robust skull with a deep snout. Its teeth were rather large and it had only nine of them in the maxilla. In Dromaeosaurus albertensis, a vein at the back of the head, the vena capitis dorsalis, drains the front neck muscles through two long canals running to the posterior surface of the brain.
Classification[]
Paleobiology[]
In popular culture[]
- It appeared in the BBC documentary Walking with Dinosaurs, where one tried to raid a Tyrannosaurus nest, but is scared away. A pack of them also attack a herd of Torosaurus later on, and is also seen ambushing a pair of Thescelosaurus. It lack feathers, even though it would be covered head to toe in filamentous feathers and wings made from pennaceous feathers.
- Another group appeared in Jurassic Fight Club, hunting an Edmontosaurus, after killing it, a Tyrannosaurus rex showed up and took the Edmontosaurus leaving just the tail. It lack feathers minus the quills on the top of the skull, even though it would be covered head to toe in filamentous feathers and wings made from pennaceous feathers (although in many scenes Dromaeosaurus is shown having small wing and tail feathers, which it had in real life, but much larger.)
- A few evolved Dromaeosaurus appeared in Dinosapien. One of them is the hero of the series named Eno. His parents appeared in the final episode.
- It appears in the TV show, Dino Dan as well as Dino Dan: Trek’s Adventures & Dino Dana. It only has filamentous feathers, when it would have wings made from pennaceous feathers, although the model in the show also had pennaceous feathers that formed a tail fan, which it may of had in life, and some pennaceous feathers on the elbows, which might have represented wings.
