Deinonychus

Page history last edited by JoannM 3 years, 2 months ago

Deinonychus!- (die-NOn-ih-kiss)

(Its a Dinosaur :] )

WHEN DEINONYCHUS LIVED

Deinonychus lived during the Cretaceousperiod ,about 110 to 100 million years ago .They belongs to a family of dinosaurs called dromaeosaurs. 2\06\09

WHAT THEY ATE:

The Deinonychuswas a carnivore.(<-- that means it eats meat). Deinonychus means terrible claw, so it probably ate just about anything it could slash and tear apart. When hunting in packs, Deinonychus could probably kill any prey it desired. 2\10 \09

WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE

Also they must have been fast runners because of there two slender,bird like legs and they were light weight. Deinonychus had large hands with three powerful fingers. And each with a dangerous sharp claw.The tail of Deinonychus was stiff and could not be swished.Deinonychus was about 10ft (3m) long and weighed 130-155lb,(about the same as an adult human) 2\14\09

2\18\09 Ostrom, 1964, The Picture Above

CLASSIFICATION

Deinonychus belonged to the:

Kingdom Animalia (animals)
Phylum Chordata (having a hollow nerve chord ending in a brain)
Class Archosauria (diapsids with socket-set teeth, etc.)
Order Saurischia - lizard-hipped dinosaurs
Suborder Theropoda - bipedal carnivores
Infraorder Coelurosauria - lightly-built fast-running predators with hollow bones and large brains
Superfamily Maniraptoriformes - advanced coelurosaurs with a fused wrist bone
Family Dromaeosauridae - the smartest dinosaurs. They were equipped with sickle-like foot claws. These included Velociraptor, Utahraptor, Saurornitholestes, and Dromaeosaurus).
Genus Deinonychus
Species antirrhopus (the type species). 2\18\09

Interesting Facts

Found in Montana, USA
Deinonychus is one of the best-known members from the group of meat-eaters known as raptors.
Fossils of Deinonychus come from the Midwest, mainly from Montana and Wyoming.
When remains of Deinonychus were dug up and studied in the 1960s, they exploded the myth that dinosaurs were slow, small-brained, and stupid.