Troodon

wounding tooth

• troo- · Greek · to wound
• odon · Greek · tooth

The name comes from Greek words meaning "to wound" and "tooth". Joseph Leidy named it in 1856 from a single small tooth with a sharp, serrated edge, which he thought belonged to a lizard. The name refers to the tooth's cutting, wounding look. Later finds showed it was a small, feathered, bird-like theropod.

Named by

Leidy

Year named

1856

Period

Late Cretaceous

Stage

Campanian

Found in

Judith River Formation, Montana, USA (type tooth). Other material has been referred from Alberta, Canada and Alaska.

The type species, Troodon formosus, is based on a single tooth. For this reason, some researchers have treated Troodon as a nomen dubium. Other researchers regard it as valid. Many specimens once called Troodon have been moved to other genera, such as Stenonychosaurus and Pectinodon. Troodon gives its name to the family Troodontidae. Leidy first thought the tooth belonged to a lizard. Its status is debated, so treat the 'accepted' label with some caution.