Skip to main content
Ornithopoda

Ornithopoda

9.9
Plant-eating dinosaurs with feet like a bird, for example duck-billed dinosaurs
  • noun
  • /ˌɔrnɪˈθɒpədə/
  • Specialized
translation icon : ornitópodo
  • Scientists believe that most Ornithopoda were highly social and traveled in herds.

Examples

  • The discovery of a new Ornithopoda species provided insights into dinosaur evolution.

  • Fossils from the Ornithopoda group are found on every continent.

  • The Ornithopoda group includes many fascinating species.

  • Did you know that Ornithopoda were primarily herbivores?

  • Fossils from the Ornithopoda group are found on every continent.

  • The discovery of a new Ornithopoda species provided insights into dinosaur evolution.

  • Scientists believe that most Ornithopoda were highly social and traveled in herds.

Synonyms

ornithopod dinosaur
vsOrnithopoda
  • Specialized
9.9

A two-legged plant-eating dinosaur with bird-like feet

is defined taxonomically rather than tied to specific periods
ornithopod
vsOrnithopoda
  • Specialized
9.9

A two-legged plant-eating dinosaur like Iguanodon

is the higher-level grouping that contains such species
Euronithopoda
vsOrnithopoda
  • Specialized
9.9

A group of dinosaurs that eat plants like duck-billed hadrosaurs and Iguanodon

is the broader category that covers all those relatives and more

Surface Forms

Ornithopoda singular
Ornithopodas plural

Morphology

Ornithopoda = ornithopod (opaque) = ornith + pod + a

The meaning is specialized and not directly derivable from the components 'ornith' (bird) and 'pod' (foot) without specific paleontological knowledge.

Etymology

Ornithopoda comes from the Greek parts ornitho- meaning 'bird' and -poda meaning 'feet', seen in words like ornithology, the study of birds, and tripod, a three-legged stand. So it literally means 'bird feet', which helps you remember these were plant-eating dinosaurs with bird-like feet.