Facts About the Deinonychus Dinosaur

Deinonychus (pronounced die-Non-ee-kiss) dinosaur is widely debated among scientists. Some scientists believe that this prehistoric killer was both warm-blooded and possibly very intelligent. The skull of Deinonychus suggests that it had a large brain, and was possibly capable of learning behaviors.

Deinonychus belongs to an extinct prehistoric family of dinosaurs called dromaeosaurs. They all share the same characteristics of a lightly built skull with sharp backwardly curved teeth, elongated arms and hands with sharp claws. When a more complete fossil of the prehistoric Deinonychus was unearthed in the 1960s, paleontologists for the first time discovered that this dinosaur wielded sickle-shaped claws on the second toe of each "foot." It could retract these like a switchblade but, to preserve the sharpness of its valuable weapons, Deinonychus held the claws upright and instead walked on its third and fourth toes. Dromaeosaurs probably had keen vision and their brains were relatively large for a dinosaur. The dromaeosaurs lived throughout the Cretaceous period, 140 to 65 million years ago.

The name Deinonychus means "terrible claw" and this extinct animal was given this name because of the large, hunting claw on each of its feet. It is believed by some scientist that it used this claw to tear into the flesh of the dinosaurs it hunted. The claw would snap forward and make a large, deep wound when it attacked.
If this extinct animal traveled in packs its members could have brought down dinosaurs much larger than themselves. In fact, the bones of several individuals of Deinonychus have been found with the skeleton of a large plant eating dinosaur, called Tenontosaurus. Some authorities maintain that this established that they hunted in packs.

Back in the 1980s, most scientists regarded Deinonychus as a scaly dinosaur more reptilian in appearance than bird-like. It would take nearly a quarter of a century to realize that a live Deinonychus could have been covered in feathers. This discovery has been a journey for Stephen and Sylvia Czerkas who, as artists, created lifesize models representing what scientists had thought Deinonychus could have looked like. Decades later, Stephen's own research was the first to reveal that smaller ancestors of Deinonychus were not just feathered, but that they had wings and were actually birds which had the ability to fly.

Deinonychus was highly specialized for swift movement and savage attack. With its terrible claw flicked forward it slashed its prey with one foot while standing on the other. This kind of behavior required good coordination, excellent eyesight and a high level of energy.

http://www.kidsdinos.com/dinosaurs-for-children.php?dinosaur=Deinonychus

http://www.planetdinosaur.com/dinosaurs_a2z/D/deinonychus.htm

http://www.dinosaur-museum.org/featheredinosaurs/show.htm

http://www.dinosaur-world.com/feathered_dinosaurs/deinonychus_antirrhopus.htm