|We know this animal's primary habitat was the ancient primordial forests that once covered this planet. It's called Dryosaurus. Before our research, there was no information on adult specimens of this dinosaur. We only had the fossilized record of juveniles. But now, that's all changed.
Dryosaurus is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur in the Jurassic World Evolution series, originating in Late Jurassic North America. A bipedal herbivore distantly related to Iguanodon, Dryosaurus is one of the smallest dinosaurs available to the Hammond Foundation, and is known for its speed and strong, stiff tail.
Dryosaurus is a small, agile herbivore with an elongated neck, slender but powerful legs and a long stiff tail. The base genome of the Dryosaurus is green, with yellowish stripes across its body, similar to Herrerasaurus.
Dryosaurus is a shy herbivore that needs dense areas of forest to feel comfortable. They can live alone or in large groups and make a great companion to larger herbivores. However they are defenceless against most carnivores. Just like its distant relative the Iguanodon, Dryosaurus receive paleobotany benefits from Rotten Wood and Conifers.
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Dryosaurus was one of the most common herbivores in the Morrison Formation during the Late Jurassic and as such is an extensively studied animal. While often thought of as a small dinosaur, the maximum size of Dryosaurus has never been recorded, as no fully grown Dryosaurus has ever been found. The closest are near mature individuals which measure up to 4 meters in length.
Dryosaurus had a horned beak, densely packed molars and cheek pouches to prevent the loss of food while chewing. It had long, slender yet strong legs and a stiffened tail, as its main defence was to run from predators. It also had large eyes and near all round vision, indicating that it had good eyesight. This would have been useful in detecting predators and herds of Dryosaurus may have had a few individuals acting as lookouts, much in the same way as modern meerkats do today.
Dryosaurus was one of the first dinosaurs to have its growth studied. Young Dryosaurus grew up quickly and could walk and run in the first few hours after hatching. They continued growing throughout their lifetime, indicating that they were warm-blooded.
Dryosaurus lived in a semiarid environment with distinct wet and dry seasons. The main predators of Dryosaurus were small and medium carnivores such as Ceratosaurus, though larger predators such as Allosaurus would have also been threats. As well as their sight and speed, Dryosaurus may have mingled with larger herbivores such as Apatosaurus, Brachiosaurus, Camarasaurus, Diplodocus, and Stegosaurus for protection.
- Dryosaurus on Wikipedia