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Utahraptor

Name: »Utah thief«

Length: 6.5 m

Height: 2 m

Weight: 700 kg

Diet: carnivore

Time: Cretaceous (132-119 MYA)

Location: North America

http://www.wikidino.com/wp-content/uploads/Utahraptor-1.jpg

http://www.wikidino.com/…/uplo…/Utahraptor-Todd-Marshall.jpg

Dinosaur stuff

Utahraptor (meaning “Utah’s predator”) is the largest known member of the theropod dinosaur family Dromaeosauridae, and dates from the upper Barremian stage of the Early Cretaceous period (132-119 million years ago).

James Kirkland, Rob Gaston, and Don Burge discovered Utahraptor in 1993 in Grand County, Utah, within the Cedar Mountain Formation. The type specimen is currently housed at the College of Eastern Utah, although Brigham Young University currently houses the largest collection of Utahraptor fossils.

The type species (and only known species of Utahraptor), Utahraptor ostrommaysi, was named for the American paleontologist John Ostrom, from Yale University’s Peabody Museum of Natural History, and Chris Mays, of Dinamation International. Sculptor Raymond Persinger was included in James Kirkland’s original abstract referencing Mr. Persinger’s concepts regarding the claw structure.

Like other dromaeosaurids, Utahraptor had a huge curved claw on the second toe that could grow to 23 centimetres (9.1 in) long. The animal may have grasped its prey with its forelimbs while kicking with its hindlimbs. Recent tests on reconstructions of the smaller Velociraptor suggest that claws of this type were used for stabbing or suffocating its prey, not slashing into their hide. Up to 6.5 m (21 ft) long, 2 m (6.6 ft) tall, and 700 kg (1,500 lb) in weight, Utahraptor would have been a formidable predator.

It is thought that Utahraptor may be closely related to the much smaller Dromaeosaurus and the giant Mongolian dromaeosaurid Achillobator.

When the movie “Jurassic Park” was released, dinosaur fans everywhere complained that director Steven Spielberg had made his movie Velociraptors much larger than they were in real life. In the midst of this controversy, Dr. James Kirkland and paleontology student Rob Gaston unearthed the real-life giant raptor that was shown in the movie – only bigger! Utahraptor was huge, and with its big killing claws, strong arms and hands, and sharp teeth, it was one of the most ferocious killers on the planet. One of the most unique aspects that Utahraptor shares with its more famous cousin Velociraptor is that both had a lethal killing claw on each foot. Each inside toe had a large (about 10 inches) hooked claw that was controlled by a strong tendon. This claw was held upward when the animal was walking or running. When it attacked, however, the tendon snapped tight and the claw clamped down with great speed and force, slicing deeply into its victim. Not a very pretty picture, but an effective way to inflict a serious wound. Utahraptor is the oldest known, and largest, of the dromaeosaurids. This is interesting as it points to a family that shrunk over time. Its hand claws were proportionally larger than other family members and Dr. Kirkland speculates that its hand claws were probably as important a weapon as the killing claws on its feet. Utahraptor is the subject of a best-selling book by Dr. Robert Bakker. Entitled “Raptor Red,” it is currently being developed into a motion picture.

In popular culture

The novel Raptor Red, by Bob Bakker, told the story of a pack of Utahraptor. Other speculative reconstructions of Utahraptor lifestyle and behavior were presented in the BBC television series Walking with Dinosaurs and the History series Jurassic Fight Club. Both of the television series portrayed Utahraptor as featherless, and the History series contained other anatomical inaccuracies including pronated hands. Another novel, Raptor by Paul Zindel, gave Utahraptor fictional characteristics including poison-secreting claws.

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Sauropsida

Superorder: Dinosauria

Order: Saurischia

Suborder: Theropoda

Family: Dromaeosauridae

Genus: Utahraptor Kirkland, Gaston & Burge, 1993

Species: U. ostrommaysi Kirkland, Gaston & Burge, 1993