| Troodon | |
|---|---|
| |
| Biological information | |
| Time period : | Late Cretaceous period |
| Lifestyle : | Carnivore/Omnivore |
| In the series | |
| Brought back : | One individual, dubbed Rascal (unintentionally) |
| Appearances : | "Supercroc" |
Troodon (name meaning "Wounding tooth") is a genus of troodontid theropod dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Cretaceous period.
Portrayal in the series[]
Much like its earlier cousin, Mei long, Troodon are shown as intelligent and opportunistic pack hunters. They live together in groups and appear to operate together to ensure that their prey is brought down. They also utilize this tactic when a predator is seeking to steal their kill, as shown when several individuals move in to steal Nigel's bait meat while others distract him. However, they are easily startled by loud noises, such as when Nigel used an air horn to shoo the Troodon pack away from the bait meat.
In Prehistoric Park[]
Supercroc[]
A Troodon is first encountered heading towards Nigel's jeep, with more already there feeding on meat meant to be used as bait for a Deinosuchus. Nigel scares them away with a bike horn. That night, the remaining bait is left without anyone right next to it, as Nigel hopes to trap a Deinosuchus. A Troodon take the chance to steal it.
Troodon eating some the bait the first time.
Later, when Nigel is bringing a Deinosuchus back to the park, a Troodon manages to sneak into the back of his jeep to eat what's left of the bait meat. After they all make it to the present, Bob is picking up Nigel's mess with the jeep when the Troodon pops out of the back and startles him. This causes Bob to lose control of the vehicle and crash into one of the park's titanosaurs, spooking it and causing it to go on a rampage. As Bob gets out of the jeep, the Troodon escapes into the woods. Later, Nigel spots the Troodon chasing a park worker over the security cameras, near the Ornithomimus or Elasmotherium pen. Weeks later, Bob manages to capture the Troodon and names him Rascal.
Trivia[]
- The Troodon model is a recolored Mei long model.
- The scene where Nigel scares a pack of Troodon off with a blow horn is likely a reference to the documentary Chased by Dinosaurs, in which Nigel scares away a pack of Velociraptors that were attacking him.
- Troodon, and troodonts in general, were actually omnivores, not pure carnivores.
Errors[]
- Troodon were shown to only have a coating of feathers in the series, but in reality, they also had wings and a tail fan.
- Like other theropods, Troodon didn't have pronated hands, so they couldn't bend their wrists far downwards without breaking them.
- It's highly likely that Troodon had an owl-like ring around its eyes.
- In 2017, Troodon had most of its assigned specimens moved into other genera, leaving only the holotype tooth as merit to the genus.
- Consequently, the validity of Troodon has been called into question, due to the undiagnostic nature of the holotype tooth, and thus, it is considered a dubious taxon.
- Troodon is not known to have lived in Texas, although intermediate troodontid remains have been found in the state (some of which have been referred to as cf. Troodon). However, the remains are not, or are unable, to be definitively classified as Troodon.