Drinker

Drinker is a genus of small hypsilophodontid dinosaur that lived in the Late Jurassic in North America. Unusually for a dinosaur, even if the species is based on good fossils, it remains quite obscure.

Description
One of the smaller dinosaurs, Drinker was like any other ornithopod dinosaur, with a small, short head, and long legs. It was also a biped (walking on two legs), unlike other ornithopods which are quadrupedal (four-legged).

Etymology
The name Drinker stems from Edward Drinker Cope, a famous American palentologist. His rival in the infamous "Bone Wars", Othniel Charles Marsh, also has two dinosaurs named after him, Othnielia and Othnielosaurus. Rather ironically, Drinker and Othnielia are sometimes thought to be the same dinosaur!

Environment and behavior
Studies concerning Drinker have noted the unusually large size of its feet, which may have been adaptations to its wetland environment. Evidence for this is found in fossils of marsh plants and lungfish teeth. A theory by Robert Bakker, supported by fossils of Drinker found in groups., is that Drinker may have had a burrowing lifestyle.

Fast facts

 * Special ability: Fast running
 * Description: Small, possibly burrowing dinosaur from the late Jurassic period.
 * Diet: Low-growing marsh vegetation
 * Weight: 22 pounds (10 kilograms)
 * Meaning of name: "Drinker's animal"
 * Fun fact: Besides Drinker, there is another example of a burrowing dinosaur, Oryctodromeus.
 * Classification: Ornithopoda
 * In popular culture: "Weird dinosaur name" lists
 * Size: 6 ft (2 meters)

Navigation
Species number: #004

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