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Hey, it’s Random Scientist Inc. I’ve been conducting research on Utahraptor lately, and I thought I would share some of my research with you. Remember; this research is liable to change at anytime, since science is a constantly changing field.
Introduction:
Dinosaurs have fascinated the minds of humans ever since the word “dinosaur” was invented in 1842. Sir Richard Owen was the person who coined the name, which derives from the Greek words “deinos,” meaning terrible, and “sauros,” meaning lizard. Today, there are over 800 different known species of dinosaur, and there are probably many more different kinds yet to be discovered. The dinosaur we will be discussing is a dromaeosaur. The first dromaeosaur ever found, Dromaeosaurus albertensis, was discovered in Alberta, Canada in 1914. Later, Velociraptor mongoliensis was found in the Gobi Desert in 1922 by Roy Chapman Andrews. A few years later, in 1931, Barnum Brown discovered Deinonychus antirrhopus. Brown first named his find “Daptosaurus,” meaning “active lizard.” Brown made preparations to describe “Daptosaurus,” but he never finished his work. Therefore, the “active lizard” had no name….that is, until John Ostrom officially named it Deinonychus in 1964. But this research isn’t about any of those. It’s about the biggest dromaeosaur ever discovered…so far. In Grand County, Utah, within the Cedar Mountain Formation, James Kirkland and his team of paleontologists discovered a large dromaeosaur previously unknown to science. It had a huge toe claw, long claws on its hands, and an appetite for meat. That’s right…I’m talking about the mighty Utahraptor ostrommaysorum. The “Jack the Ripper” of his day, which was in the early Cretaceous about 125 MYA. Not much is known about the world’s largest dromaeosaur, even though it was discovered a decade and a half ago. I believe I can change that. I have compiled a lot of research on Utahraptor. I have done tons of intense research to give you these facts. Even after you read this, I will continue to dish out new ideas about Utahraptor. Let’s get started!
Physical Appearance:
Utahraptor was, without a doubt, the largest dromaeosaur that ever lived. It was about 2 meters tall, 6.5 meters long, and weighed almost a ton. Its skeletal design is like that of a modern turkey or chicken. Its bones were hollow, but strong. It had a rectangular head with a jaw packed with razor-sharp teeth, like steak knives. It had long and relatively thin arms, which ended in three huge claws. The first claw was the shortest, and the middle was the longest. It had a long tail used for balance. It had short and robust legs. Their feet had four toes. The first toe wasn’t used very much. The second toe was a deadly retractable toe claw that could grow up to 12 inches long. The claw was covered with a layer of keratin to protect the bone (keratin is the same stuff your fingernails are made out of). The toe claw was held off the ground so it could stay nice and sharp, ready for combat. The claw was most likely used for stabbing, rather than ripping or tearing apart, its prey. The third and fourth toes were used for balance. Utahraptor and other dromaeosaurs may have had binocular vision, like that of an eagle. Its hearing was probably very excellent. Scientists recently discovered that dromaeosaurs in general could hear low frequency sounds the best. It could smell prey from at least a mile away. Dromaeosaurs like Utahraptor were likely covered in feathers. The arms, legs and tails would’ve been covered in true feathers, whilst the rest of the body was probably covered in protofeathers. However, one small species of dromaeosaur, Microraptor gui, may have been able to glide due to its feathers. The feathers on the arms of young raptors would’ve enabled a special type of locomotion called wing-assisted incline running, or WAIR for short. Discovered by Ken Dial, a Montana zoologist, this is a behavior used by modern birds that combines flapping the wings back and forth, rather than up and down, while running up the sides of trees. This flapping pushes the feet of the birds against the trees, allowing it to run vertically up the trunk. This indicates, but does not prove, that young raptors may have spent part of their lives in trees.
Keep an eye out; part 2 is coming soon!
Random Scientist Inc.
Thanks for this post Random, very interesting information.
Love your articles about Utahraptor! :). But I don’t agree about the feathers. I think it would get too hot for it, if it was covered in feathers, since the climate was warmer by then and it would be big enough already to keep itself warm. It probably had some feathers on its head to impress the ladies, or scare the other males away. Probably also some feathers on its arms and tail to easier turn and keep the balance.
Sorry about the spelling errors - I’m from Denmark.
Actually, Utahraptor didn’t have true feathers all over its body, as a bird did. Instead, its arms, legs, tail and head probably had true feathers, and the rest of its body probably had something called protofeathers. Protofeathers are large enough to keep heat in during cold weather, but small enough to not trap heat during warm weather.
I am an art student.I’m working on a sculpture of a pack of Utahraptors hunting Iguanodon,and planning to make a few life size Deinonychus’s threatening imposter trom another pack.I’m hopeing you can give me few informations if you will.I can not find detailed musculature reconstructions of dromaesurids or theropods in general.Besides Iguanodon,what other prey item was then and there available as a big game for Utahraptor?If I understand it well,fossil finds of Utahraptor are fragmentary and rare find…Can you tell me how many of them are found,and how complete at best?Thanks.
Boy, you know a lot of names for an art student, you must have been studying them lately
I’m not sure exactly how many Utahraptor specimens have been found, but I would estimate that probably around five to seven mostly complete specimens have been found. This doesn’t include individual claws and teeth found. Also, there has never been a complete specimen of Utahraptor found.
Utahraptor probably hunted a variety of animals, from dinosaurs such as Iguanodon to fish. Iguanodon certainly wasn’t the only dinosaur Utahraptor preyed on. There have been a couple other herbivorous dinosaurs found in the Yellow Cat Formation, where Utahraptor has been found. One of them is the ankylosaur Gastonia. Gastonia, however, would have been a last resort for Utahraptor. Gastonia was covered from head to toe in armor, and deadly spikes jutted out of its side. The tail, if moved right, could cause these spikes to close, so if the Utahraptor hunting it moves in too close, the Gastonia could simply close the spikes, crushing whatever part of the Utahraptor is in the zone. I hope this answers your question.
Tanks.Is there any study of theropod muscculature in a form of ilustrations and as a function of muscles in locomotion?Generaly,I’m mostly puzzled by musculature of a base of a tale-by what kind and position of muscle groups it connects with hips and legs.