Dino card No. 1598 of 2,027

Saurornitholestes

Say it: saw-OR-nith-oh-LES-teez

Name means: “lizard-bird thief”1

Ate: MeatRaptorsLate Cretaceous

Saurornitholestes was a small, fast, meat-eating dinosaur that lived in North America and maybe Europe. It had a big sickle claw on each foot and sharp teeth for catching prey.1

Lived

84 to 66 million years ago3

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada; Montana, New Mexico, Alabama, South Carolina, and other US states; also possible fossils in France, Romania, and Russia1 3

Food

Meat1

Length

1.3 to 1.8 m1

Weight

5 kg to 22.5 kg1

Height

0.6 m1

at the hips

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

How tall was it?

at the hips

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 6 house cats

as long as 4 house cats nose to tailas long as 10 bananas end to endas heavy as 4 watermelons

How big was Saurornitholestes compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

cool stuff

Fun facts

A tooth from Saurornitholestes was found stuck in the wing bone of a giant pterosaur, maybe a Quetzalcoatlus.1

Saurornitholestes was more lightly built and longer-legged than Velociraptor.1

It lived during the Late Cretaceous, from about 83.6 to 66 million years ago.3

Saurornitholestes used a 'puncture and pull' feeding method, like other meat-eating dinosaurs.1

It is the most common small theropod found in Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta, Canada.1

AI-made picture of Saurornitholestes — An AI-made picture of how Saurornitholestes might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Saurornitholestes

?How big was Saurornitholestes?

About 1.3 to 1.8 metres (4 to 6 feet) long, 60 centimetres (2 feet) tall at the hip, and weighed between 5 and 22.5 kilograms (11 to 50 pounds).1

?Did Saurornitholestes have feathers?

Yes, it likely had feathers. Its teeth may have been used for preening feathers, just like some other raptors.1 2

?When did Saurornitholestes live?

It lived during the Late Cretaceous, between about 76.5 and 74.8 million years ago.2

?Where was Saurornitholestes found?

Fossils have been found in Canada (Alberta and Saskatchewan) and the United States (Montana, New Mexico, Alabama, and South Carolina).1

?Was Saurornitholestes bigger than Velociraptor?

It was about the same size as Velociraptor, but more lightly built and longer-legged.1 2

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Saurornitholestes
Named by: Sues 19783
Group: Raptors
Family / clade: Dromaeosauridae3
Classification: Theropoda > Dromaeosauridae3
Age of the rocks: 84 to 66 million years (Campanian / Maastrichtian)3
Rock formations: Dinosaur Park, Oldman, Aguja3
Countries: Canada, USA, Romania, Russia, France3
Fossil records: 148 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: In 1974, amateur paleontologist Irene Vanderloh found a skeleton near Steveville, Alberta. Hans-Dieter Sues named it Saurornitholestes langstoni in 1978.1
Still debated: Scientists are not sure if Saurornitholestes is more closely related to Velociraptor or to other dromaeosaurids.1

Where the facts come from

Saurornitholestes (en.wikipedia.org)
Saurornitholestes | The Canadian Encyclopedia (thecanadianencyclopedia.ca)
Saurornitholestes in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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