Dinosaur genus
Saurornitholestes
Saurornitholestes is a dinosaur genus known from bones, found in rocks 83.6–66 million years old, in Canada and the United States.
Confidence labels are switched off. Facts with low confidence, or where sources disagree, still carry a small dot: tap it for the reason.
At a glance
Data as of 10 October 2026- Named by
- Sues 1978
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Described in
- H.-D. Sues (1978). A new small theropod dinosaur from the Judith River Formation (Campanian) of Alberta Canada. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 62: 381–400. Read it
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; its author and year match the naming authority (Sues 1978).Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. The publication the Paleobiology Database gives as the authority for this genus name, usually the one that first named and described it.
- Lived
- Campanian to Maastrichtian, 83.6–66 million years ago
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Omnisaura calculation83.6–66 million years ago, from its dated fossil recordsmedium
medium: Omnisaura's calculation from 125 confirmed PBDB records.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Fossils found in
- CanadaUnited States
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (80 records).medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (45 records).Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Union of all sources (ISO 3166).
- Rock formations
- 15, including Dinosaur Park, Oldman, Ferris and Hell Creek Formation
mixed
mixed: Levels differ between entries; each has its own.Show all 15, each with its confidence
AgujaDinosaur Parkmedium
medium: Only PBDB records it (4 records).Ferrismedium
medium: Only PBDB records it (46 records).Foremostmedium
medium: Only PBDB records it (14 records).Hell Creek Formationmedium
medium: Only PBDB records it (3 records).Javelinamedium
medium: Only PBDB records it (9 records).Judith River Formationmedium
medium: Only PBDB records it (3 records).Oldmanmedium
medium: Only PBDB records it (7 records).Two Medicinemedium
medium: Only PBDB records it (30 records).Coachmanmedium
medium: Only PBDB records it (3 records).Donoho Creeklow
low: Only one PBDB record.Kirtlandlow
low: Only one PBDB record.Mesaverdelow
low: Only one PBDB record.Prince Creeklow
low: Only one PBDB record.Wapitilow
low: Only one PBDB record.low
low: Only one PBDB record.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Canonical names, automatic and editor-approved matches applied.
- Family
- Dromaeosauridae
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Parent group
- Saurornitholestinae
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Species named in its records
- Saurornitholestes langstoni, Saurornitholestes sullivani
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (the species its fossil records are identified as).
- Diet
- carnivore (inferred for its group)
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this, and it infers it for the whole of Dromaeosauridae, the group this genus belongs to, not from this genus's own fossils.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB, inferred from a group the genus belongs to.
- Way of life
- ground dwelling (inferred for its group)
low
low: PBDB infers this way of life for the whole of Dromaeosauridae; behaviour is rarely known for one genus.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB, inferred from a group the genus belongs to.
- Known from
- Bones
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (what the name was based on).
Gaps are answers
What isn't known yet
- Type species: no source we use gives it yet.
- Order: no source we use gives it yet.
- Common names: no source we use gives it yet.
- What it was named after: no source we use gives it yet.
- Held back: 23 fossil records left out: identified only tentatively (for example "cf.", "?" or the name in quotation marks).
- Resting on one source: 5 facts come from a single source with nothing against them (rated medium): authority (PBDB); parent group (PBDB); family (PBDB); age (headline) (PBDB); diet (PBDB).
Size and appearance aren't covered yet, and diet and way of life only as PBDB infers them for the wider group. Omnisaura leaves the rest out rather than guess.
Where sources disagree
None open. Where our sources overlap, they agree on everything shown here.
Did it meet…?
Yes. Both are found, identified to species, in the same rocks of the same age: Dinosaur Park, Hell Creek, Kirtland.
Going by the ages and rock formations of their dated fossils, as on the map. Compare their fossil sites on the map.
Connections
Genera linked to Saurornitholestes by where and when their fossils were found, by classification and by who named them. Select a name to open its page.
Same rocks, same time 105
Genera found in the same rock units, from rocks of overlapping age, the most shared fossil sites first.
Same family: Dromaeosauridae 30
Other genera in Dromaeosauridae with a full profile.
Named by Sues 4
Genera whose naming authority includes the same surname. The authority has no initials, so different people who share a surname can appear together.
Found in Canada 73
Other genera found in Canada, from rocks of overlapping age, the most fossil sites there first.
Credits
Where this page comes from
- Paleobiology DatabaseCC BY 4.0 · fossil records, ages, classification
- Natural History Museum Data PortalCC0 1.0 · catalogued specimens
- WikidataCC0 1.0 · names and identifiers
- OmnisauraOmnisaura editorial · confidence levels and gaps
- PaleoMAP PaleoCoastlines (Kocsis and Scotese 2021)CC BY 4.0 · ancient coastlines on the small map
- Natural EarthPublic domain · today's coastlines
Pictures linked from this page are credited beside each one, with their own licences; the full list is in the JSON download.