ornithopod
- noun
- /ˈɔrnɪθəˌpɒd/
- Specialized
- The ornithopod is known for its characteristic beak and ability to walk on two legs.
- crested ornithopods
Examples
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Paleontologists discovered a fossil of an ornithopod that measured over 30 feet long.
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Many ornithopods developed specialized teeth for grinding plant material.
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Scientists believe this particular ornithopod species could run quickly to escape predators.
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The fossilized skeleton of an ornithopod was discovered in the ancient riverbed.
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The ornithopod walked on two legs.
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Many ornithopods lived during the Jurassic period.
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Some well-known ornithopods like Iguanodon roamed the Earth millions of years ago.
Synonyms
A two-legged plant-eating dinosaur with bird-like feet
A plant-eating dinosaur with a flat beak like a duck
Compounds
Surface Forms
Morphology
ornithopod = ornith + pod
The components 'ornith' (related to birds) and 'pod' (foot) are not directly transparent to the meaning of a dinosaur group without specialized knowledge.
Etymology
Ornithopod comes from two Greek parts: ornitho- 'bird' and -pod 'foot', the same -pod you see in tripod. So an ornithopod is literally a 'bird-foot' dinosaur, a two-legged plant-eating animal named for its bird-like feet.