Deinonychus
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Deinonychus is a genus of theropod that existed around 110m years ago during the Early Cretaceous period. Its name translates to ‘terrible claw’, a reference to the long, scything talon on the second toe of its hind feet, which Deinonychus uses to defend itself from predators and attack its prey. Deinonychus is a close relative of Velociraptor and can grow up to 3m in length.
Discovery
Barnum Brown, known colloquially as ‘Mr. Bones’, discovered the first Deinonychus fossils in 1931 while exploring the Cloverly Formation in Montana in search of Tenontosaurus remains. During the mid-1960s over a thousand more Deinonychus bones were discovered near the location of the original find, allowing researchers to gain a much better understanding of Deinonychus’ appearance and behaviour.
Palaeoecology
Deinonychus lived on the floodplains of the western states of the United States and Canada, roaming nearby forests and lagoons. It co-existed with – and preyed upon - many dinosaurs including Acrocanthosaurus and Sauropelta, and preferred to hunt alone rather than in packs.
Information
- Era
- Early Cretaceous
- Family
- Dromaeosauridae
- Genus
- Deinonychus
- Height
- 1.6M
- Length
- 3.2M
- Weight
- 100Kg
- Diet
- Carnivore, Live Prey
- Egg batch size
- 3 - 5
