Etymology: Byron’s Reptile
First Described By: Norell, Makovicky, & Clark, 2000
Classification: Dinosauromorpha, Dinosauriformes, Dracohors, Dinosauria, Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Troodontidae, Troodontinae
Time and Place: Between 78 and 75 million years ago, in the Campanian of the Late Cretaceous
Byronosaurus is known from the Ukhaa Tolgod of the Djadokhta Formation in Mongolia
Physical Description: Byronosaurus was a Troodontid, a type of slender almost-bird with the same sickle-shaped claws as the famous Raptors, but much smaller and built more for trapping food than strategic stabbing. Like other members of the group, Byronosaurus was fairly small, slender, with large wings and skinny legs 0 it only reached about 1.5 meters in length, and 50 centimeters in height, weighing only 4 kilograms. It had a long, narrow snout attached to a decently sized neck. Its tail was also long, ending in a tail fan. Like other Troodontids, it had very closely-spaced together teeth, and a lot of them to boot. These were non-serrated teeth, which is weird for a Troodontid. It was also extremely intelligent - Troodontids had some of the larger brains for their body size of dinosaurs at the time. It would have been very fluffy indeed. We also have babies of Byronosaurus, which were either just hatched or about to hatch; they had big eyes, like most babies, and in general “cute” features.
By Michael B. H., CC BY-SA 3.0
Diet: Byronosaurus would have fed on a variety of small animals such as mammals, lizards, and baby dinosaurs.
Behavior: Byronosaurus would have been a fairly active and skittish animal, attempting to dodge predators and larger dinosaurs while still finding food. It probably would have ducked in between and around shrubs and other brittle desert plants, looking for its prey. It then could have darted into the brush, grabbed the food, and pinned it down using its feet. It probably didn’t engage much in raptor-prey-restraint flapping, though it could have if it needed to; though it likely did engage in wing-assisted-inclined-running, using powerful flaps and its light weight to run up vertical surfaces such as cliffs. It probably used its wings and tail fan for display, fluffing them out and extending them to talk to other Byronosaurus. They also would have looked distinctly different from other feathery dinosaurs in the area, using color and patterns to stand out amongst their cousins. As a desert animal, it also probably would have tried to conserve its energy wherever it could, hiding in places of shade. Byronosaurus took care of its young, and its possible that they did so in family groups.
Ecosystem: The Djadochta Formation was an arid desert, with red sand and dirt for miles around. This red coloration of the ground gave it the famous name “Flaming Cliffs,” and probably would have made most dinosaurs in the area actually quite red themselves, in order to blend in. Freshwater here was present - enough to have freshwater-adapted animals - but rare, only taking the form of oases and arroyos. No plant fossils are known, but they would have likely been dry shrubs and other arid-adapted plants. Here, Byronosaurus shared its environment with an innumerable variety of dinosaurs - ankylosaurs like Pinacosaurus, ceratopsians like Protoceratops, Alvarezsaurs like Kol and Shuvuuia, Oviraptorosaurs like Citipati and Khaan, Dromaeosaurs like Halszkaraptor and Velociraptor and Acheroraptor, other Troodontids like Almas, Opposite Birds like Gobipteryx, and True Birds like Apsaravis. Non-dinosaurs were present in droves too - there were Crocodylomorphs like Shamosuchus and Zaraasuchus, lizards aplenty from Slavoia to Isodontosaurus to Parmeosaurus to Mimeosaurus to Adamisaurus, turtles like Zangerlia, and a lot of small mammals like Deltatheridium and Maelestes and Zalambdalestes and Bulganbaatar and Kryptobaatar. Ultimately, lizards grew like weeds in the Djadochta, and would have been the primary source of food for Byronosaurus. Interesting enough, Byronosaurus may have had its eggs stolen and eaten by - or it parasitized the nests of - Citipati.
Other: Byronosaurus is one of many theropods known from the Djadokhta Formation, a place that is weirdly theropod heavy (and, at that, fluffy theropod heavy). It is known from multiple specimens, and is closely related to the Troodontines of North America.
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