Deinonychus

“	That is Deinonychus. A raptor dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous.	„
	— Allen Johnson, about Deinonychus in Master of the Skies

Deinonychus (name meaning "Terrible Claw") is a genus of dromaeosaurid dinosaur that originated during the Early Cretaceous period in what is now North America. Measuring 4 meters long and weighing almost 70 kilos, it was one of the largest and best-known dromaeosaur dinosaurs that ever existed.

In the episode "Master of the Skies", a pack of Deinonychus chased the team throughout the region of Early Cretaceous North America, 127 million years ago. The pack, including its leader Terri, were eventually brought to the park and resides in the Raptor Peak Enclosure.

Facts[]

Era & Discovery[]

Deinonychus lived during the Early to Middle Cretaceous period, around 127 – 100 million years ago. Perhaps one of the top predators of its environment, it shared its environment with dinosaurs and other creatures like Iguanodon as well as Polacanthus, Ornithocheirus, Sauroposeidon, and the mighty Utahraptor.

The very first remains of Deinonychus were discovered in 1931 in southern Montana near the town of Billings. Since then, fossils have been recovered from the U.S. states of Montana, Wyoming, and Oklahoma, in rocks of the Cloverly Formation and Antlers Formation, though teeth that may belong to Deinonychus have been found much farther east in Maryland. Deinonychus has also become one of the best-known dinosaurs.

Physical Attributes[]

Though not much larger than a human and while not as large compared to other dromeosaurs, such as Utahraptor and Dakotaraptor, Deinonychus was nevertheless relatively large for a dromeosaur, standing approximately 5 – 6 feet (1.6 – 2 m) tall, measuring 8 – 13 feet (2.5 – 4 m) long, and weighing more than 150 pounds.

Like all raptors, Deinonychus was a very fast, agile, quick, and swift moving predatory animals, capable of running at incredible speeds and being able to leap over 10 feet (3 m.) into the air, which it did in order to attack larger prey, such as Iguanodon. As a species of raptor, Deinonychus possessed the infamous killing claw on its foot, which it used to attack and bring down its prey.

They possess thin but strong body frame, black and off-white skin patterns, and a coat of protofeathers along its neck, spine, shoulder regions and tail (which would stand up and bristle when Deinonychus was agitated, showing aggression or about to attack). It was also known to produce complex avian vocalizations varying from hisses and screeches to clucking. They began life as infants about the size of small cats. Much like Ornithomimus, male Deinonychus had blue coloring on their body while the females were gray in color.

Behavior & Traits[]

Like many members of the raptor dinosaurs, Deinonychus hunted in packs, soemtimes living in groups of two to three and even as many as nine individuals. They were also capable of killing animals as large as humans from a young age. Deinonychus had loose social structure; infants were prone to being attacked by older individuals, although Deinonychus did sometimes defend their own kind against larger creatures. Male Raptors were more aggressive than females, and were also had a much stronger metabolism,

Intelligent, vicious and aggressive predators, Deinonychus would chase after their prey before jumping onto them to kill by biting and stabbing. While they're willing to hunt and kill animals (even humans), they also weren't adverse to cannibalism; Deinonychus could also be moderately hostile but not actively aggressive towards other animals. Deinonychus would even fight off dinosaurs many times their own size, seen when Terri attacked an Iguanodon, despite the far greater size of its opponent. Because of their small body, it was hard for large dinosaurs to shake Deinonychus off.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

Deinonychus is the second dromaeosaur to be brought to the park.