Dryodon

Dryodon
Dryodon
Meaning: Tree Tooth
Description: Small bipedal ornithopod
Species: D. impavidus
Family: Ornithopoda, Hypsilophodontidae
Length: 20-24 feet
Lifestyle: Predator, scavenger
Range: Australia

Distinguishing features: A midsize and relatively inconspicuous creature at first glance, Dryodon is an enigmatic ornithopod that has taken the spot in the food chain previously occupied by the continent’s now extinct abelisaurs. Unlike its ancestors, this is the only known flesh-eating Hypsilophodont. It is distinguishable by the spiny feathers on its arms and back, its sharp flesh-ripping teeth that evolved from molars, a viciously hooked beak that can break bone, long grasping claws, and its somewhat robust. Sand red in color, with black stripes and a white underbelly, this animal blends in quite well in its environment. A pack hunter by nature, Dryodon lives in family related packs usually measuring up to six. An alpha pair leads these packs and the rest consist of their children. During breeding seasons, which happen every four years, these adolescents are chased away to make room for a new family. The male will then build a bower, a huge nest out of any vegetation he finds, and the female will inspect his work. If she likes the nest, the pair will mate, if she is not impressed, she will destroy it, forcing him to redo the whole process over again. The female will lay her eggs in the nest and will watch over them until they hatch while the male hunts for her. The young will hatch after a period of four months and stay with their parents until they are four years old.

Habits and Habitat: A fast sprinter of scrubland and grassland, Dryodon is a predator of the ground dwelling birds, Kangaroodon, and juvenile iguanadonts. Dryodon is a precision killer, not unlike the Bengal Naga of Asia. It aims for the neck, back and skull, using the hooked tip to create a crippling wound that disables the victim. The pack will then eat in hierarchal order. This prevents squabbling among the pack members and assures the order of the hierarchy. Solitary Dryodon are different from packs in that they eat only smaller prey or stick to only one herbivore species until they form packs of their own. At kill sites they can wolf down much of a carcass in as little as half an hour. They have to be fast eaters, as the larger Australian predators, such as Australocarcharias will steal their kills from them, or even eat them to get their food. It is not uncommon to see a group of these creatures end up making a kill only to become appetizers for a bigger, nastier predator.


The meanest hypsilophodont ever. i had real difficulty drawing it without it looking like a Rhynchoraptor from The Speculative Dinosaur Project until i remembered the mighty Phorusrhacid terror birds. so, i based it off of them. and what emerged was a very formidable and rather creepy predator.