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Description
Troodon sp. (Alaskan)
Diet: Omnivore (Primarily on meat; prey included Edmontosaurus sp. and Pachyrhinosaurus perotorum, but they'll mainly target the juveniles; it also fed on small mammals and other small creatures, and carrion, as well as plants)
Length: 9 to 13 feet (2.5 to 4 meters) (Estimated: judging from the size of the teeth, compared to its southern relatives, shown in red)
Weight: 100 lbs.
Region: Northern Alaska USA (Kikak-Tegoseak Quarry, Liscomb Quarry, Byers Bed, and Magical Mystery Bar in the Prince Creek Formation)
Age: 70.6-69.1 million BC (Early Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous)
Rivals: Nanuqsaurus hoglundi (Only in the Kikak-Tegoseak Quarry)

Well-known for being considered the most intelligent of dinosaurs, as well as being one of the first nonavian dinosaurs found in North America, the remains of Troodon were found all across North America, from Alaska to Texas and New Mexico, though paleontologists are questioning whether every single discovery truly belongs to the same genus, since this was the continent's widespread dinosaur.

This one, found in the North Slope of Northern Alaska along the Colville River, was known from dental remains, including teeth, as well as two partial braincases.

Previously assigned to Troodon formosus, it was not yet fully described and it was probably a subspecies.

The large number of dental remains belonging to this dinosaur found in the Prince Creek Formation of Alaska show that it was the most abundant theropod in the region around 69.1 million years ago, during the Early Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous period, when Alaska was very different than it was today.

During that time, the region where it lived in was a forest of coniferous trees that would've lost their leaves during winter with an understory of ferns and flowering plants and it was only 350 miles close to the North Pole. The climate was alot warmer than it is today and there were no polar ice caps, but during winter, there would've been prolong periods of total darkness that lasted 6 months, with temperatures at below freezing.

Troodon were alot common in Alaska towards the end of the Cretaceous period, far more than their southern relatives. But how did this dinosaur survived the harsh cold dark winters?

The feathery coats would've provided warmth.

One adaptation that sets this-at any latitude-apart from other theropod dinosaurs were the exceptionally large eyes. Its believed that as in modern animals, proportionally large eyes tend to be an adaptation for living in low light conditions. Troodon may have been peadapted to the physical constraints of the high-latitude environment, which gave it competitive advantage and set it on the path to become the northern ecosystem's most abundant predators. While it was well adapted to the low light of the Arctic winters, Troodon might have spent most of its time in the dark, dense forests during the long periods of daylight in warmer summer months, as modestly dense forest can appreciate how much lower light level in the woods than in the open field. Not only were the eyes of Troodon large, but they face forward, giving it binoccular vision and depth perception, allow it to become an active hunter.

The large eyes may have led to hunting longer hours, or more successful hunting in Cretaceous Alaska as compared to the tyrannosaurid, Nanuqsaurus that also lived in the region.

It had a sickle-like claw on its two that was used to stab and kill its prey, while studies show that the ears of this dinosaur were assymetrically-aligned (with the left ear placed higher up on the head than the one on the right), similar to an owls, allowing it to listen carefully to any prey in the darkness of the Arctic winters.

In 2008, paleontologist Tony Fiorillo of the Museum of Science and Nature in Dallas, Texas, studied a number of teeth of Troodon that had been discovered near the Colville River in the North Slope of Alaska. When he compared it to the teeth of Troodon formosus (Pictured red) previousy discovered in Montana and Alberta Canada, he realized that the Alaskan fossils were 50% bigger than those of its southern cousins. As tooth size usually relates to body size, Fiorillo estimated that the Alaskan Troodon were twice the size of those found in the lower states, perhaps up to 13 feet in length.

By comparing the wear and tear on both the Alaskan and southern Troodon, Fiorillo worked out that both populations ate the same kind of food, a mixture of meat and plant-life. This study hypothesizes a diet consisting of primarily meat. The large size could be that Troodon's large eyes gave it a competitive advantage, eventually allowing it to become a top predator and to increase size.

As well as feeding on plants, small animals, and carrion, its believed that, due to its increase of size, the Alaskan Troodon would've hunted large prey. Among them was the duck-billed hadrosaur, Edmontosaurus, the most common plant-eating dinosaur of Alaska during the Late Cretaceous period and comprising 80% of the herbivores found in Alaska. The Liscomb Bone Bed in the North Slope of Alaska that contains the richest sources of dinosaur bones in the area were dominated by the remains of a juvenile Edmontosaurus, some show evidence of bitemarks made by Troodon. This suggests that they would mainly target the young, since the adults are too large and dangerous for them to take down. Despite its small size, the Alaskan Troodon thrived there to exploit the vulnerability of the juveniles throughout the long, dark winter months. With a steady food supply, Troodon can survive the harsh, cold, dark winters and in doing so, they grew double the size of their southern relatives.

Note: Coloration, as in most deviantArtists of it, based on Snowy owl. Based skeletal artwork by Scott Hartman (scotthartman.deviantart.com/ar… )

Description
Troodon sp. (Alaskan)
Diet: Omnivore (Primarily on meat; prey included Edmontosaurus sp. and Pachyrhinosaurus perotorum, but they'll mainly target the juveniles; it also fed on small mammals and other small creatures, and carrion, as well as plants)
Length: 9 to 13 feet (2.5 to 4 meters) (Estimated: judging from the size of the teeth, compared to its southern relatives, shown in red)
Weight: 100 lbs.
Region: Northern Alaska USA (Kikak-Tegoseak Quarry, Liscomb Quarry, Byers Bed, and Magical Mystery Bar in the Prince Creek Formation)
Age: 70.6-69.1 million BC (Early Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous)
Rivals: Nanuqsaurus hoglundi (Only in the Kikak-Tegoseak Quarry)

Well-known for being considered the most intelligent of dinosaurs, as well as being one of the first nonavian dinosaurs found in North America, the remains of Troodon were found all across North America, from Alaska to Texas and New Mexico, though paleontologists are questioning whether every single discovery truly belongs to the same genus, since this was the continent's widespread dinosaur.

This one, found in the North Slope of Northern Alaska along the Colville River, was known from dental remains, including teeth, as well as two partial braincases.

Previously assigned to Troodon formosus, it was not yet fully described and it was probably a subspecies.

The large number of dental remains belonging to this dinosaur found in the Prince Creek Formation of Alaska show that it was the most abundant theropod in the region around 69.1 million years ago, during the Early Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous period, when Alaska was very different than it was today.

During that time, the region where it lived in was a forest of coniferous trees that would've lost their leaves during winter with an understory of ferns and flowering plants and it was only 350 miles close to the North Pole. The climate was alot warmer than it is today and there were no polar ice caps, but during winter, there would've been prolong periods of total darkness that lasted 6 months, with temperatures at below freezing.

Troodon were alot common in Alaska towards the end of the Cretaceous period, far more than their southern relatives. But how did this dinosaur survived the harsh cold dark winters?

The feathery coats would've provided warmth.

One adaptation that sets this-at any latitude-apart from other theropod dinosaurs were the exceptionally large eyes. Its believed that as in modern animals, proportionally large eyes tend to be an adaptation for living in low light conditions. Troodon may have been peadapted to the physical constraints of the high-latitude environment, which gave it competitive advantage and set it on the path to become the northern ecosystem's most abundant predators. While it was well adapted to the low light of the Arctic winters, Troodon might have spent most of its time in the dark, dense forests during the long periods of daylight in warmer summer months, as modestly dense forest can appreciate how much lower light level in the woods than in the open field. Not only were the eyes of Troodon large, but they face forward, giving it binoccular vision and depth perception, allow it to become an active hunter.

The large eyes may have led to hunting longer hours, or more successful hunting in Cretaceous Alaska as compared to the tyrannosaurid, Nanuqsaurus that also lived in the region.

It had a sickle-like claw on its two that was used to stab and kill its prey, while studies show that the ears of this dinosaur were assymetrically-aligned (with the left ear placed higher up on the head than the one on the right), similar to an owls, allowing it to listen carefully to any prey in the darkness of the Arctic winters.

In 2008, paleontologist Tony Fiorillo of the Museum of Science and Nature in Dallas, Texas, studied a number of teeth of Troodon that had been discovered near the Colville River in the North Slope of Alaska. When he compared it to the teeth of Troodon formosus (Pictured red) previousy discovered in Montana and Alberta Canada, he realized that the Alaskan fossils were 50% bigger than those of its southern cousins. As tooth size usually relates to body size, Fiorillo estimated that the Alaskan Troodon were twice the size of those found in the lower states, perhaps up to 13 feet in length.

By comparing the wear and tear on both the Alaskan and southern Troodon, Fiorillo worked out that both populations ate the same kind of food, a mixture of meat and plant-life. This study hypothesizes a diet consisting of primarily meat. The large size could be that Troodon's large eyes gave it a competitive advantage, eventually allowing it to become a top predator and to increase size.

As well as feeding on plants, small animals, and carrion, its believed that, due to its increase of size, the Alaskan Troodon would've hunted large prey. Among them was the duck-billed hadrosaur, Edmontosaurus, the most common plant-eating dinosaur of Alaska during the Late Cretaceous period and comprising 80% of the herbivores found in Alaska. The Liscomb Bone Bed in the North Slope of Alaska that contains the richest sources of dinosaur bones in the area were dominated by the remains of a juvenile Edmontosaurus, some show evidence of bitemarks made by Troodon. This suggests that they would mainly target the young, since the adults are too large and dangerous for them to take down. Despite its small size, the Alaskan Troodon thrived there to exploit the vulnerability of the juveniles throughout the long, dark winter months. With a steady food supply, Troodon can survive the harsh, cold, dark winters and in doing so, they grew double the size of their southern relatives.

Note: Coloration, as in most deviantArtists of it, based on Snowy owl. Based skeletal artwork by Scott Hartman (scotthartman.deviantart.com/ar… )