Deinonychus antirrhopus

Deinonychus antirrhopus. Artist: Kate Nolan. Source: Museum Victoria.

Deinonychus was a small predatory dinosaur. Its skeleton was made of hollow bones, with long powerful legs, and a well balanced body. The tail was long and stiff, with bony rods holding the tail straight, so that it could only be pivoted at its base. This would have allowed Deinonychus to use its tail as a counter-balance-throwing its tail to one side would help it to turn quickly after its prey. On the second toe of each foot was a large sickle-like claw that was held away from the ground when the animal was walking or running. Only when Deinonychus attacked its prey, would the claw be brought down, slashing into the flesh of its victim.

A great deal is known about Deinonychus, as a large number of specimens have been excavated from a site in southern Montana, U.S.A. The fossil evidence indicates that hunting was probably done in packs, enabling these predators to tackle even quite large prey. Arms and hands would have been used to tackle and hold on, the powerful jaws and backward sloping serrated teeth would have torn off large chunks of meat, and the hind feet with their huge claws would have killed the prey, probably by kicking and disembowelling. Small wonder that Steven Spielberg used this dinosaur as a model for the vicious raptors in the film Jurassic Park!