dromaeosaur, (family Dromaeosauridae), any of a group of small to medium-sized carnivorous dinosaurs that flourished in Asia and North America during the Cretaceous Period (145.5 million to 65.5 million years ago). Agile, lightly built, and fast-running, these theropods were among the most effective predators of their time.
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All dromaeosaurs were bipedal, and the second toe of each foot was extremely flexible and bore a specialized killing claw, or talon, that was not used in walking. Instead, it was always held off the ground because it was much larger and was jointed differently from the other claws. The largest killing claw belonged to Deinonychus and measured up to 13 cm (5 inches) in length.
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Dromaeosaurs had large heads equipped with many sharp serrated teeth, and their long arms ended in slender three-clawed hands that were used for grasping. Like troodontids and birds, dromaeosaurs had a unique wrist joint that allowed the hands to flex sideways. This evidently helped them seize their prey; in birds the same motion produces the flight stroke. The tails of dromaeosaurs were also unusually long and were somewhat stiffened by bundles of slim bony rods that were extensions of the arches of the tail vertebrae.
Dromaeosaurs apparently ran down their prey (probably small- to medium-sized herbivores), seizing it with the front claws while delivering slashing kicks from one of the taloned hind legs. In doing so, dromaeosaurs may have been able to hold this one-footed pose by using the rigidly outstretched tail as a counterbalance, or they may have attacked by using both feet in a single leaping action. The relatively large brains of dromaeosaurs enabled them to carry out these complex movements with a degree of coordination unusual among reptiles but quite expected in these closest relatives of birds.
Fossil evidence supporting the prediction of grasping arms and slashing foot claws was borne out by the discovery in the s of a Velociraptor preserved in a death position with a small ceratopsian dinosaur, Protoceratops. The hands of Velociraptor were clutching the frill of Protoceratops, and the large foot claw was found embedded in its throat.
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Deinonychus is a well-known dromaeosaur that averaged 3 metres (10 feet) in length, stood about 1.8 metres tall, and weighed up to 70 kg (155 pounds). Utahraptor was considerably larger but is incompletely known. Dromaeosaurus and Velociraptor both reached a length of about 1.8 metres. There is debate as to whether Microraptor, the smallest and most birdlike dinosaur known, is a dromaeosaur or a troodontid. Only about the size of a crow, Microraptor appears to have possessed feathers. The single specimen was discovered in China in from deposits dating to the Early Cretaceous.
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Learn MoreDeinonychus, (genus Deinonychus), long-clawed carnivorous dinosaurs that flourished in western North America during the Early Cretaceous Period (145.5 million to 99.6 million years ago). A member of the dromaeosaur group, Deinonychus was bipedal, walking on two legs, as did all theropod dinosaurs. Its principal killing devices were large sicklelike talons 13 cm (5 inches) long on the second toe of each foot. The slender, outstretched tail was enclosed in bundles of bony rods. These extensions of the tail vertebrae were ideal for helping the animal maintain balance as it ran or attacked prey.
Deinonychus was the model for the &#;raptor&#; dinosaurs of the motion picture Jurassic Park (). The name raptor has come to apply to dromaeosaurs in general as a contraction for Velociraptor, a genus of dromaeosaur that was considerably smaller than Deinonychus. However, the term raptor (from the Greek word for &#;seize&#; or &#;grab&#;) is more correctly applied to birds such as hawks and eagles, which grasp prey with their talons. Deinonynchus measured about 2.5 metres (8 feet) or perhaps more in length and weighed 45&#;68 kg (100&#;150 pounds). It was evidently a fast, agile predator whose large brain enabled it to perform relatively complex movements during the chase and kill.
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Dromaeosaurs and troodontids are the closest known relatives of Archaeopteryx and existing birds. These dinosaurs share with birds a number of features, including unusually long arms and hands and a wrist that is able to flex sideways. Such adaptations apparently helped these dinosaurs to grasp prey and later enabled birds to generate an effective flight stroke.
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