Deinonychus
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Deinonychus is the raptor that that one movie dromaeosaur is supposed to be. But more importantly, it's the dinosaur that led to the beginning of the dinosaur renaissance. The small, slender Deinonychus was clearly not a plodding cold-blooded reptile like had previously been assumed for dinosaurs. It led to the hypothesis that dinosaurs were warm-blooded and revived the idea that birds are dinosaurs. Like all dromaeosaurs, it is a lightweight animal with a long, narrow snout, a long stiff tail (which gives it its species name antirrhopus, "counterbalanced") and a large sickle-shaped claw on the second toe. Juveniles have more curved sickle claws, potentially good for climbing. It is not that big, it is not that fast (evolution traded off speed for sickle claw strength), and it certainly has feathers. Deinonychus was a predator that may have lived and hunted in groups. Its bite force wasn't high and the sickle claw, lacking a serrated edge, was bad at slashing - but good at puncturing and holding onto things. It more likely killed prey using raptor prey restraint - hopping onto the prey, sinking talons into it and taking bites out of it, flapping wings for balance. A similar kill strategy is evident in modern birds of prey. We have a group of three Deinonychus. |
Scientific name Location Time Length Diet |