| The Deinonychus was discovered in Montana by Grant E. Meyer and John H. Ostrom in 1964. Ostrom named it in 1969. In Montana ,Wyoming , and Utah over eight fossils have been found. Anatomy Deinonychus was a swift ,bird-like dinosaur. This dinosaur was a killer. This carnivore had a flexible ,curved neck ,and a large head with powerful jaws that had sharp teeth. It had hands with three fingers that had long ,sharp claws. It had a long tail which it used for balance and to turn quickly and had feet with four toes. Its second toe had a long ,sickle-like claw that was about 5 inches in length. It used this claw slash at its prey. Period/ Environment The Deinonychus lived in the early Cretaceous period. It lived in an environment with rivers ,lush plant life ,and warm weather. This is what Montana , Utah ,and Wyoming (the area it lived in )was like in the Cretaceous period. Behavior/ Diet This dinosaur could have hunted in packs ,just like wolves do today. It could have attacked Tentosaurus ,an unarmored herbivore dinosaur. But it did not choose which dinosaur to attack by its heath ,strength ,or size like some other predators do. It attacked any prey available. |
| Deinonychus |
 |
 |
 |