Troodon Formosus : Smartest Dinosaur : Discovery Channel

Troodon formosus: One of the World's Smartest Dinosaurs

By Tracy V. Wilson, HowStuffWorks

The diminutive dinosaur Troodon formosus was about 6 feet tall and weighed about 110 pounds. It was a predator with sharp, serrated teeth, but it was only big enough to eat small creatures, like lizards and early mammals. Like Velociraptor, Troodon moved around on its hind legs only, using its forelegs to hold prey.

Magnificent Brains

Troodon was about the size of a man. Like a man, the size of its brain was fairly big when compared to the size of the rest of its body. This means Troodon may have been one of the most intelligent dinosaurs to have lived.

Seeing in the Dark

According to fossils of its skull, Troodon probably had good eyesight, which may have allowed it to hunt at night. Its eyes were also close enough together on the front of its head to allow it to have binocular vision, which would have given it the depth perception needed to be a more efficient hunter.

Thumbs and Claws

Both of Troodon's three-toed back feet sported a large claw that it held off the ground as it ran. This claw, combined with Troodon's agility, was probably a formidable weapon. This dinosaur's hands gave it an advantage, too. Its thumbs were partly opposable, giving it the ability to grasp objects.

For the Birds

Some fossils show Troodon adults sitting on or near clutches of eggs, suggesting that they brooded their eggs the way today's birds do. According to the fossil evidence, these dinosaurs probably lay and incubated eggs one or two at a time, also similar to today's birds. Another similarity is that Troodon was descended from feathered dinosaurs, although there's not a lot of conclusive evidence to prove whether it possessed them as well. Finally, Troodon could fold its arms the way birds fold their wings. Because of all these similarities, some paleontologists see Troodon as an evolutionary link between theropods and modern birds.

Dino Fast Facts

  Dinosaur Name: Troodon formosus

  Order, Suborder, Family: Saurischia, Therapoda, Troodontidae

  Name Means: "wounding tooth," because of its curved, sharp, serrated teeth

  Time: Late Cretaceous, 74-65 million years ago

   Location: Mexico, Canada, Montana, Wyoming

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