Facts about the Deinonychus or "terrible claw" dinosaur

  • Deinonychus was one of the most deadly dinosaurs of the Cretaceous period.
  • Fossils have been recovered from the U.S. states of Montana, Wyoming, and Oklahoma.
  • The name Deinonychus literally translates to, 'terrible claw'.
  • Deinonychus may have hunted in packs, attacking even very large animals, perhaps even large sauropods and ankylosaurids.
  • Deinonychus was 5 feet (1.5 m) in height and 3.4 metres (11 ft 2 in) in length and weighed around 80 kg (43.5 lb).
  • Deinonychus is part of an extinct prehistoric family of dinosaurs that are called dromaeosaurs.
  • Their intelligence (as measured by its relative brain to body weight, or EQ) was the highest among the dinosaurs.
  • Deinonychus had a bird-like metabolism and it is believed to have been covered by feathers.
  • Deinonychus possessed large hands with 3 claws on each forelimb. The first digit was shortest and the second was longest. Each hind foot bore a sickle-shaped claw on the second digit, which was probably used during predation.