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Hey, it’s Random Scientist Inc. with Part 4 of my Utahraptor Research. First, I want to say this is the last part of my research. Phew! Glad to have gotten it done! Second, I would like to say that if you have any questions about my research, or suggestions for improvement, please let me know! And sorry if I couldn’t get the New Years special up; I’ve been extremely busy the last few days. Here we go!
Questions
Q: Was Utahraptor warm-blooded or cold-blooded?
A: This is one of the toughest questions asked by paleontologists: were dinosaurs warm-blooded or cold-blooded? It actually depends on the creature. Predators like Allosaurus, for example, had to be warm-blooded so they could catch their prey in the early morning, which is when they usually liked to hunt. Now, in the case of Utahraptor and other dromaeosaurs, I think they were warm-blooded because they could run fairly quickly. Plus, they might have been nocturnal, which means they hunted at night. Night was the coldest time, and its prey was probably not very fast at night.
Q: How did Utahraptor die out?
A: Utahraptor probably died out because of the changing environment. You have to remember; it lived in the early Cretaceous. Earth was cooling down. Utahraptor had probably been adapted to a warmer and drier climate. Once the climate became somewhat cooler and wetter, this caused Utahraptors everywhere to die.
Q: How old did Utahraptor get before it died?
A: That’s a very good question. I’m not entirely sure, but I think it could probably live to be up to 65-70 years old, based on modern-day lifespans of creatures it is related to.
Q: How long did Utahraptor live before they became extinct?
A: Utahraptor lived about five million years before they became extinct.
Habitat
Utahraptor packs probably lived in forests or deserts/prairies where hunting wouldn’t be a problem. They probably had a certain amount of territory, probably up to three miles in all directions, and part of their territory could have been near a water source, such as a lake, river or stream. This suggests, but does not prove, that Utahraptor ate fish as part of its regular diet. The following descriptions are of the habitats of Utahraptor.
Forest
In the forest, Utahraptor probably would probably have hunted rodent-like creatures and lizards. The forest is probably where they would put their nests. Utahraptor packs guarded their nests very well. They would leave one or two guards behind while the rest of the pack hunts. Then, they would probably bring back some leftovers for the guards. Forest Utahraptors would have been rare, since at that time, the landscape was mostly barren desert, with very few forests.
Deserts/Prairies
The desert/prairie was probably where Utahraptor did most of its hunting when it comes to big game. They would try to separate a young or weak creature from the rest of the herd, then they would kill the separated creature. Often, the prey animal wouldn’t be enough to supply all Utahraptor with food. Therefore, there were probably feeding frenzies, in which some of the members of the pack may have been injured or killed.
Well, that’s it for my Utahraptor Research. Again, if you have any suggestions for improvement or questions you would like to ask, then let me know! And who knows; I may include some of the questions you ask in my research…so ask away!
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I have a few concerns, but overall I thought it impressive! However, it leads me to wonder where you got your information.
Do you mind in citing sources in a Bibliography? I’d very much like to see these sources as I would like to make sure you are not claiming to have actually studied any specimens and/or reading someone’s material who may not be credible. It’s a little thing to remember when posting research like you would in scientific journals such as Plos One, Nature, Scientific American, and so on.
I can honestly say that I can’t truly debate on the genus until I have actually studied the animal. I will make my concerns known in due time. Otherwise, I like these posts very much, though as I said, I have concerns that will be made known in due time.
I think that you are making good conclusions based on what is known about them Random Scientist. This is the way Paleontologists and most science works. A logical conclusion based on what we know. If we were completely sure, would humans have had to be there? I have been studying genetics and we possess a record of our bloodlines history about what we ate and what conditions occured throughout our history in the combinations of our regular genes and the previously thought as 90% "junk" Genes in our genetics. They never even looked at those "junk" genes till recently. It shows you how little science really knew before the last five years and think about how they have always said they knew. Darwins theory of evolving from the sea may be wrong. It is possible that with one flip of genetics that whales may have actually gone to the sea from being land creatures. How wrong our conclusions may have been in the past. Even if we unlocked our genetic memory, we probably were not there when the dinosaurs roamed the earth 5 million years ago. But our genetics does contain the dinosaurs genetics with lots added on, and a few switches turned off. This could be because we have continuously eaten the genetics of the dinosaur throughout our history. But since this is true, we still may be able to read this information, but not know exactly what it means. Since chickens are related to dinosaurs so closely, did T-rex walk like a chicken? Did He cluck? Would there be enough chicken feed in marquette county if he did return? Or would he have to eat us.
Raptor Lewis, I probably looked at Wikipedia once or twice, and that’s the only site I can remember basing my research on. The rest I thought up myself. I did not examine any Utahraptor specimen myself, but I intend to in the future. However, I did study a Deinonychus specimen at the Museum of the Rockies, and I based some of my research on that study, but I couldn’t base all of it on that study, since Deinonychus obviously is just related to Utahraptor. So I don’t have any sites for a bibliography other than Wikipedia. In the future I intend to look for sites that have information that backs up my data.
Now, when it comes down to the estimates based on modern animals, well, I’m sort of an amateur zoologist. I know a lot about animals that are considered to be related to dinosaurs. So that’s how I got that information.
Thank you for your comments, Raptor Lewis and Rickymouse.
While Wikipedia is an excellent source for information, it is very important for scientific studies to look at the actual base material or fossil specimens and the original scientific papers published in credible journals. Most university libraries can provide copies to you for a nominal fee.
Good luck with your research!
If you read the scientific journals you would find you aren’t that far off Random Scientist. A little creative but that is fun of all learning. I would personally compare them to a present day coyote from what I do know of them.
Thank you for the info, Fossil Huntress and rickymouse!
Hello random scientist, I enjoyed reading your findings. I have a question concerning the Utah raptor. What would be the reproductive success of their eggs? I know that they could lay up to 12 eggs but how much of them would actually hatch?
Hello, Oz. I would guess that it depends on the durability of the shells. If the shells are easily broken, then the egg may not hatch. However, if the egg is too tough, the baby might not be able to make it out of the egg. I would estimate seven or eight out of twelve eggs would hatch on average.