Troodon pectinodon

Length: 8-10 feet
Height: 3-4 feet
Weight: 70-100 pounds

   **Coloration:**

*Adult and juvenile (both sexes) –* The upper body is a
pale gray, mottled with darker gray patterns. The throat and underside
of the neck are red in color. The eyes are a milky white and reflects
light, allowing them to glow in the darkness.

**Diet:**

 Meat from small to medium-sized animals, including small
 ornithopods such as Dryosaurus and young hadrosaurs, as well as other
animals native to Costa Rica such as sloths, monkeys, birds and small
reptiles and mammals.

**Preferred Habitat:** Dense forests, underground Caverns and remains of human constructs, hidden in shadow.

**Social Structure:** Packs lead by an alpha male and/or female.

**Description:** Small bipedal carnivore. Slender build, long legs.
 The jaws are wide and the small teeth are interlocking; with no lips
the teeth are visible when the jaws are closed. The large, bulbous eyes
 glow in darkness. The animal’s head, back, tail tip and the undersides
 of the arms are adorned with quill-like structures. The hands are
strong with three long fingers tipped with sharp claws, and there is an
 enlarged claw on the second toe of each foot. While similar to a
Velociraptor's killing claw, Troodon relies on this claw less while
hunting, preferring to use its venomous bite to subdue its prey.

**Behaviors:** Troodon is one of four extant venomous dinosaurs on
 Sorna; the other three being Dilophosaurus, Segisaurus and
Compsognathus. Troodon bite wounds are ragged and extremely painful, and
 the venom which secretes from glands in the animal’s jaws causes
massive drowsiness, hallucinations, high fevers, convulsions, seizures,
 paralysis and eventual brain death. Similar to Komodo dragons, a single
 Troodon in a pack will rush out and bite a prey animal once, and then
 the pack will linger back, waiting for the effects of the venom to set
 in before moving in to feed. It is thanks to its highly toxic venom
that enables the Troodon to bring down animals up to four times its
size with minimal effort. The pack will usually drag the dead or
suffering victim back to its lair, to be stored away for later as a
nest or a food source. The Troodon feeding habits are highly unpleasant
 – the pack will use teeth and claws to dismember the victim will it is
 still breathing, ripping it apart beyond recognition. Pieces of the
carcass may be buried under mounds of dirt and plant matter to disguise
 the scent from scavengers such as Compsognathus. The Troodon will
consume all the flesh until only the bones are left –the floor of the
Caverns is littered with the many bones of Troodon past meals.

Troodon females use the intact bodies of other animals as living nests
 for their young. This behavior is more akin to parasitic wasps than
dinosaurs. With the aid of a sharp ovipositor, the female penetrates the
 chest cavity of a comatose or paralyzed victim, before releasing one
to three eggs, with two being the most common. The eggs are incubated
by the body heat of the dying animal, and when the young hatch they eat
 the body from the inside out, emerging around a week later as
miniature versions of the adults. The young Troodon require little care
 from the adults and are able to move about and hunt with the pack soon
 after eating their way out of their nests.

The Troodon vocalizations consist mostly of a sinister clicking sound,
 similar to that of a crow or raven. When the animal is attacking, it
makes a low snarling sound, and when it is excited, it makes a guttural
 squealing or screeching. The reverberating sound of its vocalizations
is enough to send many other dinosaur species fleeing in fright. Even
the deadly Velociraptor has high respect for this dinosaur, as does the
 venomous Dilophosaurus.

Troodon is primarily nocturnal, and it has the best night vision of
all the dinosaurs cloned by InGen. However, Troodon is highly sensitive
 to bright sunlight, and so it prefers to hunt at night or on overcast
days. For most of the time it hides away, preferring dense forest or
deep within the underground Caverns of Sorna. It may also find refuge
among the ruins of man-made buildings, where conflicts with Velociraptor
 may occur.

Troodon moves with deliberation using slow, stalking movements to
slink from shadow to shadow. It is capable of high-speed running when
necessity calls for it, such as fleeing from bright light or large
predators. Together with its alarming appearance, highly toxic venom,
eerie calls and an intelligence that rivals Velociraptor; Troodon has
earned itself the reputation as not only the most feared, but also the
creepiest of Isla Sorna's inhabitants.