Dromaeosauroides

Name: Dromaeosauroides (Dromaeosaurus like).
Phonetic: Dro-may-o-sor-roy-deez.
Named By: P. Christiansen & N. Bonde - 2003.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria, Reptilia, Saurischia, Theropoda, Dromaeosauridae.
Species: D. bornholmensis (type).
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Comparison to dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaurs indicates that this dinosaur may have reached lengths of about 3 to 4 meters long.
Known locations: Denmark - Jydegaard Formation, Tornh�j Member.
Time period: Berriasian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Teeth.

       Dromaeosauroides is what is called a ‘tooth taxon’ as so far this dinosaur only has fossil teeth attributed to it. These teeth seem to come from a dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur, and this is reason why for the name which means Dromaeosaurus-like. Comparison of these teeth to those of other dromaeosaurids suggests that Dromaeosauroides attained lengths of about three to four meters. Large fossil teeth attributed to the genus Nuthetes may actually represent further fossils of Dromaeosauroides.
       Because Dromaeosauroides is only known from teeth, many consider the genus to be dubious given that it would be very difficult to attribute bones to the genus without a direct asssociation to the teeth. That said, Dromaeosauroides remains one of the so far few dinosaur genera to come from Scandinavia.

Further reading
- The first dinosaur from Denmark. - Neues Jahrbuch f�r Geologie und Pal�ontologie, Abhandlungen 227(2):287-299. - P. Christiansen & N. Bonde - 2003.
- Theropod dinosaur teeth from the lowermost Cretaceous Rabekke Formation on Bornholm, Denmark. - Geobios 41 (2): 253. - J. Lindgren, P. J. Currie, J. Rees, M. Siverson, S. Lindstr�m & C. Alwmark - 2008.

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