| Saurornithoides | |
|---|---|
 | |
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Name:Chinese bird form |
'NA' |
|
Age: |
Late Cretaceous |
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Length: |
2-3 Metres |
|
Weight: |
23-54kg |
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Range: |
Mongolia |
Saurornithoides is a small size theropod dinosaur that lived in what is now the Gobi Desert, Mongolia during the Late Cretaceous Period around [75-65] Saurornithoides means "Chinese bird form" because its fossils were discovered in Ejinhoro Formation in China in 1924. It belonged to the family of the Troodontidae, a group of small avian-like theropods that closely resembled the maniraptorids. As part of this family, Saurornithoides had large eye sockets, a small head filled with small sharp teeth, long arms and legs with a light body balanced by a relativly long tail. It closely resembled its North American relative Troodon, but was slightly smaller. Saurornithoides's large eye sockets suggest that it was a nocturnal carnivore, preying on small animals such as lizards, mammals, and insect. This animal actually had owl-like rings around its eyes. Its small teeth may have also been used to strip off plants. It is also possible that they sported feathers and watched over its nest of eggs like a modern bird. This dinosaur was seen in the episode "Feathered Dragons". A mother Saurornithoides forages for vegetation to cover her nest of eggs from the heat. However, while doing so, an Oviraptor raids her nest and manages to get two eggs. The mother quickly notices and rushes back toward her nest to scare the egg thief away. But shortly after, a Gigantoraptor unexpectly attacked and killed the unfortunate dinosaur.