Overview
Troodon was small, fast, and unusually intelligent for a dinosaur. With forward-facing eyes that gave it excellent stereoscopic vision, a large brain relative to its body, and grasping hands, it is often cited as one of the most cognitively advanced non-avian dinosaurs. In 1982, palaeontologist Dale Russell famously speculated that if Troodon had survived another 50 million years, it might have evolved into a bipedal humanoid — the 'Dinosauroid' thought experiment.
Key fact
Had the largest brain-to-body ratio of any known dinosaur — sparking famous speculation about what it might have evolved into had the extinction not occurred.
Did you know?
- Dale Russell's 'Dinosauroid' — what Troodon might have evolved into — remains a famous thought experiment.
- Had forward-facing eyes like an owl, giving it exceptional depth perception.
- Fossils show it incubated its eggs in a nest, like a bird.
- Its serrated teeth could handle both plant and animal material.