Deinonychus files		Illustrations
Species list D. antirrhopus (Ostrom, 1969) type species

Name : Deinonychus		Species : antirrhopus
Pronounced : dye-NON-i-kus		Pronounced : AN-ti-ROH-pus
Meaning : "terrible claw"		Meaning : "counter-balancing"
Length : 3.4 meters (11')		Height at the hips : 87 cm ( 34")	Weight : 75 kg (over 160 lbs.)
Diet : carnivor = meat eater		Period : Lower Cretaceous
Superorder : Dinosauria	Order : Saurischia	Suborder : Theropoda	Family : Dromaeosauridae
Discovered by: John Ostrom		When Discovered: 1964	When Described: 1969
Fossils found in : Montana and Wyoming (cloverly formation) and possibly Maryland
Charactistics and things of interest: The Large sickle-shaped claw on the 2nd toe of the foot is its most distinctive feature, it was retractable and held in an upright position when not being used to slash and kill its prey. Deinonychus had 60 backward-directed knife-like teeth used for slicing its food. The arms were able to clutch and hold its prey close to its body. The tail was rigid being surrounded by a sheath of fine bony rods used as muscle attachments and for stiffening the tail. The tail may have been held still when running.
Similar to: Velociraptor		Debate and Controversy:

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	Last Updated on 01/01/2008