Deinonychyus antirrhopus 'terrible claw'

DeinonychyusMiddle cretaceous, 10-11 feet long, approximately 6 feet tall. Most closely related to Dromaeosaurus.

First found in Montana by Grant Meyer and Professor John Ostrom of Yale University. Deinonychus has a large head. Skull is light but strong. Large and strong muscle attachments for the jaw. Neck slender, curved and flexible. Had many ligaments in the neck. Long arms have talons on the end. Humorous shows strong muscle attachment, from chest and arm muscles. Femur is smaller than tibia and fibia, so Deinonychyus is able to run fast. Feet are short but are specialized for its way of living. The large 'claw' was held up while running. As can be seen in the above animation. The tail could not become dislocated it also had elongated chevron bones and zygapophysis( Bones in the tail that kept if stiff). Also the tail was used as a balance and stability when running and changing directions at high speeds. In the same way a cheetah uses its tail for chasing its prey.Deinonychyus skull Deinonychus was a very fast and agile predator. The large skull and muscle attachment points show that it could bite down fast and hard. Using its razor-sharp curved teeth it pulled out large chunks of flesh. The long and strong arms would have held the prey. While the 'terrible claw' slashed the innards open making a quick and easy snack.
Deinonychyus claw



Deinonychus skull is above.
1. Is in "running" position.
2. Is in "slashing" position.
See actual size of "terrible claw".View Deinonychus model


Dromaeosaurus albertatensis 'running reptile'

6 feet long, carnivorous, late cretaceous. It had an eight-inch head, with large brain for its size. 3-inch sickle saw. Bird like head. Partial to complete skeletons has been found. Has a deep rounded snout. Similar to it's closest relative Dienonychus. May have hunted like wolves. View Dromaeosaurus

Paronychodon lacustris 'near claw'

Meat eater. 73-65 MYA Late Cretaceous. Based on teeth. The name is also used to describe nonserrated teeth. It is questionable as a valid name.

Saurornitholestes langstoni 'lizard bird robber'

Saurornitholestes next to a goose skeleton

6 feet long. 76-73 MYA Late Cretaceous. Small meat eater. Had large head with a narrow snout. Had large limbs. Had a sickle claw on second toe. Long stiff tail. Skeleton is almost similar to velociraptor from Mongolia.

last updated....8-27-98

Go to Carnosaurs or go to Theropods.



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