Pectinodon
Scientific Classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Theropoda
Family: Troodontidae
Genus: Pectinodon
Type Species: Pectinodon bakkeri meaning "Comb Tooth."
Described by Kenneth Carpenter, 1982.
Synonym: Troodon bakkeri (Carpenter, 1982).
Current Park Population: (8; all adults; 4 male, 4 female).
Park Diet: Pre-killed sheep, goats, mice, rats, chicken, eggs, vegetables like lettuce, and fruits like apples and grapes.
Natural Diet: Small Herbivore dinosaurs and young, small mammals, reptiles, birds, fish, amphibians, eggs, fruits, and plants.
Lifespan: 12 years
Habitat: Open Floodplain, Swamps, Open Canopy Forests, and Conifer Forests.
Native Ecosystem: Western North America, back when it was an island continent known as Laramidia. Hell Creek Formation and Lance Formation, South Dakota and Montana, USA, 67- 66 Million Years Ago, Maastrichtian Stage.
Breeding Season: April-July
Gestation Period: Two-Three Months
Eggs Laid: 12-24 eggs
Hatching Time: Three-Six Weeks
Danger Level: 8 out of 10.
Park Star Rating: 2 Stars.
Summary: One interesting dinosaur is the brainy Pectinodon. It was once lumped with Troodon, before being considered a valid species, Troodontid taxonomy is a fickle thing. Pectinodon are small predatory dinosaurs and are thought to be one of the smartest non-avian dinosaurs.
History of Discovery: In 1982, Kenneth Carpenter named a number of theropod teeth from the late Maastrichtian-aged Lance Formation of Wyoming as the type species Pectinodon bakkeri. The generic name is derived from the Latin word pecten, meaning "comb", and the Greek word ὀδών, odon, meaning "tooth", in reference to the comb-like serrations on the rear edge of the teeth. The specific name honors famed paleontologist Robert Thomas Bakker.
The holotype, UCM 38445, consists of a 6.2 mm long adult tooth. The paratypes are three juvenile teeth.
In 1985, Lev Nesov named a second species, Pectinodon asiamericanus, based on specimen CCMGE 49/12176, a tooth from the Khodzhakul Formation of Uzbekistan that dates from the Cenomanian age. This is today often considered a nomen dubium.
While historically considered synonymous with Troodon or more specifically the species Troodon formosus, Philip Currie and colleagues (1990) noted that the P. bakkeri fossils from the Hell Creek Formation and Lance Formation might belong to different species. In 1991, George Olshevsky assigned the Lance formation fossils to the species Troodon bakkeri. In 2011, Zanno and colleagues reviewed the convoluted history of troodontid classification in Late Cretaceous North America. They followed Longrich (2008) in treating Pectinodon bakkeri as a valid genus and noted that it is likely the numerous Late Cretaceous specimens currently assigned to Troodon formosus almost certainly represent numerous new species, but that a more thorough review of the specimens is required.
In 2013, Currie and Derek Larson concluded that Pectinodon bakkeri was valid and its teeth could be found both in the Lance Formation and the coeval Hell Creek Formation. Some teeth from the older Campanian Dinosaur Park Formation could not be statistically differentiated from them, likely due to an insufficiently large sample, and were referred to a cf. Pectinodon.
Description: Adults are covered with black spotted dark brown feathers ending with a saddle at the base of the tail, black and white feathers on the wings and tail feathers, the tail was light brown with black stripes, black cap heads with crests on the males, a white disk-like mask ending with a black border on the face, white stripes running from their top and bottom jaws, over their shoulders, down to their white undersides, and gray-scaly feet and snout ending with a black tip.
Juveniles have a white coat, speckled with black markings, their snouts bare, revealing the gray scales beneath.
Size: They measure 1 meter tall, 3 meters long, & 77 lbs.
Diet: Pectinodons aresmall predatory dinosaurs specialized to a nocturnal lifestyle. Their large, forward-facing eyes and acute hearing abilities make them especially adept at hunting prey at night, almost like a flightless owl. It specializes in small mammals, its long legs allowing it to chase down prey before dispatching them with the large claws on its feet. Pectinodon is omnivorous, however, and will also eat plants and eggs.
Adults can leap and catch flying prey from the air. Juveniles feed on flies living around the lake, the best way to eat as many as they can is to rush at the flies with their jaws fully agape.
Intelligence: Pectinodon had a large brain for its relatively small size and was probably among the smartest dinosaurs. Its brain is proportionally larger than those found in living reptiles, so the animal may have been as intelligent as modern birds, which are more similar in brain size.
Our scientists have observed tool use in Pectinodons, such as using beetles to bait fish/or small mammals, and tool use with sticks to probe for food under bark.
Interactions with other species: They prey on small animals including mammals like Didelphodon although these mammals can pack a bite and are fearless.
They prey on small dinosaurs like Leptoceratops, Thescelosaurus, and Trierarchuncus, in packs they would hunt Pachycephalosaurus, Anzu, and Ornithomimus, and the young of Triceratops, Torosaurus, Edmontosaurus, Alamosaurus, Ankylosaurus, and Denversaurus.
These Herbivores do have defenses against Pectinodons, Leptoceratops, and Thescelsoaurus and retreat to their burrows to hide. Leptoceratops are tough and would bite back with their sharp teeth and their frills as a shield and a plug when hiding in their burrows. Thescelosaurus would claw the Dromaeosaurs with their forearm spurs, kick with their legs, bite with their sharp beaks, and dig out dirt at the Dromaeosaurus while in the burrow.
Pachycephalosaurus, Anzu, and Ornithomimus would run off as their main defense their secondary defense Pachycephalosaurus would use their dome heads to ram their opponents and bite with their sharp beaks while Anzu and Ornithomimus would fight back with their claw arms and a blow kick from their strong legs.
Triceratops, Torosaurus, Edmontosaurus, Alamosaurus, and Ankylosaurus will trample and charge at the Pectinodons to defend their young, the Dromaeosaurus must be careful from being gored by the horns of a Triceratops or Torosaurus, the Forelimbs punches and whipping tails of Edmontosaurus and Alamosaurus, and the Ankylosaurus and Denversaurus, their armor and spike and club tails.
Tyrannosaurus see them as a nuisance when scavenging their kills, and a threat to their young, the same as Acheroraptor and Pectinodon. Pectinodons are competitors towards Dromaeosaurus and Acheroraptor although they avoid one another way depending on what time of day they hunt Dromaeosaurus are diurnal predators while Pectinodon are nocturnal.
Pectinodons would prey on the eggs and hatchlings of reptiles and dinosaurs, although they must avoid the wrath of the mothers.
They would have competed and would be preyed upon by pterosaurs like Quetzalcoatlus and prey to semi-aquatic predators like Thoracosaurus, Borealosuchus, Champsosaurus, and Brachychampsa.
Pectinodon would prey on mammals like Alphadon, Cimolestes, Meniscoessus, and Didelphodon, although they will fight back, reptiles like Dinilysia, Axestemys, Basilemys, Chamops, and Palaeosaniwa, but this lizard can fight back and has a venomous bite, amphibians like Palaeobatrachus, Scapherpeton, and Habrosaurus, Invertebrates like Casterolimulus, birds like Brodavis and Styginetta, and fish like Myledaphus, Paleopsephurus, Lonchidion, Lepisosteus occidentalis, and Melvius.
Extinction: Despite their intelligence, unfortunately, Pectinodons went extinct with the dinosaurs, due to a lack of prey once the herbivores died off.
Danger Tip: It's not their teeth, claws, or hunting in groups that makes them deadly hunters, but their intelligence and that could make them escape artists. Their intellect is why DNA fingerprint locks are required on all the gates, both in the park and also the electric fence around the park, and also kept away from bait traps. Their enclosure will have electric wiring around the fences to prevent them from jumping over.
Significant Events: On the Third Day of the Rescue Team's First Mission, the group follows a sound to a clearing to find a pack of Pectinodons feasting upon a dead Pachycephalosaurus, Numbuh 2 used audio recordings of a T. rex roar causing them to charge into the portal. They live in the Hell Creek Predator Paddocks.
Hell Creek Predator Paddock: These two paddocks house the carnivores like Pectinodons and Dromaeosaurus. The paddock is mostly forest with fallen logs and rocks, a creek, and to keep them busy keepers use plenty of enrichment, from hidden food to scratching posts.
Notable Individuals:
Roland: A Male Pectinodon and mate to Kendall.
Kendall: A Female Pectindon and mate to Roland.
Conclusion: Since Troodontids are known for their intelligence, researchers are observing to learn from these dinosaurs like Pectinodons. These small dinosaurs are an example that size isn't everything in the age of dinosaurs, but smarts too thus making them brainy and deadly additions to Prehistoric Park.
Well, this completes the Hell Creek Section of our Field Guide. The Next Section will explain the Titans of the Ice Age.
The Field Guide might take a long time, like structuring and writing descriptions of the creatures, but also my time in college and spending time with my family. So you can suggest additional information quotes, descriptions, and natural or speculative behaviors for the prehistoric animals that I can edit and you send your suggestions either in reviews or Private Messages.
Examples: Inferring what the toons are doodling on the sketches or snarking quotes.
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