ornithopod dinosaur
- noun
- /ˌɔrnɪˈθɒpəd ˈdaɪnəsɔr/
- Specialized
:
dinosaurio ornitópodo
- The hadrosaur is a well-known example of an ornithopod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period.
Examples
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Many ornithopod dinosaurs had specialized teeth for chewing tough plants.
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Paleontologists discovered fossils of an ornithopod dinosaur in the sedimentary layers of North America.
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The ornithopod dinosaur walked on two legs.
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Many ornithopod dinosaurs lived during the Jurassic period.
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The hadrosaur is a well-known example of an ornithopod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period.
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Paleontologists discovered fossils of an ornithopod dinosaur in the sedimentary layers of North America.
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Many ornithopod dinosaurs had specialized teeth for chewing tough plants.
Synonyms
A two-legged plant-eating dinosaur like Iguanodon
Plant-eating dinosaurs with feet like a bird, for example duck-billed dinosaurs
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun phrase is directly compositional: 'ornithopod' names a particular type of bipedal dinosaur and adding 'dinosaur' simply specifies its broader category. A B1 learner who knows both constituent meanings can therefore derive the full referent; although 'ornithopod' is a technical term, the combination follows a clear, cross-linguistically common noun + noun specification pattern.
Etymology
Ornithopod dinosaur gets its name from old Greek words that mean bird and foot, because many of these dinosaurs had bird-like feet and walked on two legs. So the name helps you remember they were 'plant-eating' dinosaurs that stood on two legs.
