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
you may also like
Giganotosaurus is another of the largest carnivorous dinosaurs. However, its exact size is difficult to calculate because we only have fragmentary remains of this predator. Some estimates suggest it was about the same size as Tyrannosaurus rex, another famous Cretaceous carnivore that lived m...
Dinosaurs were once the absolute overlords of this planet, but due to various reasons, they eventually withdrew from the stage of history and became evidence of people's exploration of history. But it is undeniable that dinosaurs were much larger and more lethal than humans. Today let us lear...
In June 1995, the American Museum of Natural History reopened its two dinosaur exhibition halls to the public after three years of renovation. The brand-new exhibitions immediately attracted great attention from the society. The new display not only makes the postures of dinosaurs more vivid...
Shantungosaurus was discovered at the Zhucheng Fossil Site in Shandong Province. The Zhucheng Fossil Site is located in the Dragon Bone Stream, 10 kilometers southwest of Zhucheng City. For a long time, local residents have picked up many bone fossils in the stream, which they are accustomed...
Everyone has watched dinosaur movies such as Jurassic World. The dinosaur blockbusters we watched when we were children are still deeply engraved in our minds. Many people loved dinosaurs when they were children, and they keep asking adults how they became extinct. The editor has found for yo...
The world's largest dinosaur nesting site is in Spain. Paleontologists have discovered a large number of dinosaur bone fossil fragments and dinosaur egg fossils in coastal sediments. These fossils have a long history and come from the late Cretaceous period about 70 million years ago. . The f...
In the list of the largest dinosaurs, plant-eating sauropods occupy all the top spots, but large carnivorous dinosaurs lived alongside them during the Mesozoic Era. Illustration of Spinosaurus compared to human size A reconstruction of Spinosaurus bas...
Triceratops is a very numerous and famous herbivorous dinosaur in the late Cretaceous. It and Tyrannosaurus lived at the same time in what is now North America. When encountering Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops used its strong and sturdy body to duel with its sharp triangle. Let's take a look at s...
Email: jsset#163.com (change # to @) Please indicate your purpose of visit! Guangdong ICP No. 2022053326 XML| map| Chinese
