Omnisaura

Dinosaur genus

Stenonychosaurus

Sternberg 1932

Stenonychosaurus is a dinosaur genus known from bones, found in rocks 83.6–66 million years old, in Canada and the United States.

Confidence labels
How sure are we?0 high12 medium1 lowHow we rate confidence

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 11 October 2026
83.6–66 Ma
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
252 million years ago20114366

The last non-bird dinosaurs died out 66 million years ago. That's as far from us as the end of this bar.

Named by
Sternberg 1932
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.

Described in
C. M. Sternberg (1932). Two new theropod dinosaurs from the Belly River Formation of Alberta. Canadian Field-Naturalist 46(5): 99–105. Read it
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; its author and year match the naming authority (Sternberg 1932).
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
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Omnisaura calculation83.6–66 million years ago, from its dated fossil records
mediummedium: Omnisaura's calculation from 14 confirmed PBDB records.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.

Fossils found in
Canada
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (12 records).
United States
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Union of all sources (ISO 3166).

Rock formations
Dinosaur Park
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (6 records).
Lance Formation
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).
Oldman
mediummedium: Only PBDB records it (6 records).
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Canonical names, automatic and editor-approved matches applied.

Family
Troodontidae
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.

Parent group
Troodontini
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.

Species named in its records
Stenonychosaurus inequalis
Sources

Given by: Paleobiology Database (the species its fossil records are identified as).

Diet
carnivore, omnivore (inferred for its group)
mediummedium: Only PBDB gives this, and it infers it for the whole of Troodontidae, 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)
lowlow: PBDB infers this way of life for the whole of Troodontidae; 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).

Sources: Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0), Natural History Museum Data Portal (CC0 1.0), Wikidata (CC0 1.0)Confidence levels and gaps are Omnisaura's own assessment.

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.
  • 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, Lance.

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 Stenonychosaurus by where and when their fossils were found, by classification and by who named them. Select a name to open its page.

StenonychosaurusSame rocks, same timeSame familySame naming authorAlso found in CanadaSaurornitholestesTriceratopsRichardoestesiaTroodonand 65 moreAlbertavenatorAlmasAnchiornisArchaeornithoidesand 12 moreAmblydactylusAnodontosaurusBrachylophosaurusCaenagnathusand 10 moreCentrosaurusParonychodonDromaeosaurusCorythosaurusand 69 more

Same rocks, same time 69

Genera found in the same rock units, from rocks of overlapping age, the most shared fossil sites first.

SaurornitholestesTriceratopsRichardoestesiaTroodonCentrosaurusParonychodonDromaeosaurusCorythosaurusChasmosaurusEdmontosaurusLambeosaurusGorgosaurusStyracosaurusDaspletosaurusEuoplocephalusGryposaurusand 53 more

Named by Sternberg 14

Genera whose naming authority includes the same surname. The authority has no initials, so different people who share a surname can appear together.

AmblydactylusAnodontosaurusBrachylophosaurusCaenagnathusColumbosauripusEdmontoniaGypsichnitesIrenesauripusIrenichnitesMontanoceratopsOrnithomimipusPachyrhinosaurusParksosaurusTetrapodosaurus

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.