Chinese name: Troodon
Latin name: Troodon
Age of survival: Late Cretaceous
Fossil origin: Canada, United States, China
Physical characteristics: 2 to 3.5 meters long
Diet: carnivore
Type: Theropod
Definition: gnawing teeth
Troodon is a small theropod dinosaur that looks like the famous Velociraptor and lived in North America during the Late Cretaceous. Troodon once caused great confusion to the paleontological community when it was first discovered. Initially, many paleontologists classified them as ornithischian dinosaurs. If this were the case, Troodon would be the only carnivorous dinosaur in the ornithischian family. But after a period of research, paleontologists determined that it was actually a theropod dinosaur belonging to the order Sauruschia.
It is generally believed that Troodon mainly preyed on mammals. Their sharp claws are very lethal. If they form a group to hunt and siege, they can kill medium-sized herbivorous dinosaurs. Compared with other carnivorous dinosaurs, Troodon's eyes were much larger, which shows that it had excellent eyesight and could adapt to dark living environments, which undoubtedly increased its living space.
Both paleontologists and dinosaur enthusiasts believe that Troodon is the most intelligent dinosaur. Some even say that Troodon was the dinosaur that could slow down the evolution of mammals by millions of years! Comparing brain size with body shape, paleontologists have found that Troodon had the largest brain among dinosaurs, proving that they may have been the smartest group in the Late Cretaceous. Some paleontologists even believe that it may have an IQ similar to that of an ostrich, which would be smarter than any living reptile. Paleontologists believe that in the era when dinosaurs were on the verge of extinction, the most advanced and intelligent dinosaur at that time was probably Troodon. According to Larry Whitmer, a paleontologist at Ohio State University in the United States, Troodon was "like a fox." Just as cunning," they are small, upright walking animals and like to live in groups. By studying their brain capacity, Whitmer found that not only do they have good eyesight, but they even have potential problem-solving abilities.
If the dinosaurs had not become extinct, could Troodon, which had a relatively large brain, long claws and big eyes, evolve to become smarter over tens of millions of years? Evolutionary paleontologist Dr. Morris believes that Troodon likely evolved along the lines of primates or humans. Dr. Morris said: "Human beings are created by nature and have evolved according to a special and perfect model of life. If humans can evolve on the earth, why can't dinosaurs evolve in the same good way and finally evolve into intelligent hominins? "
animal tags： Troodon
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