Utahraptor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Utahraptor Fossil range: 132–119 Ma Early Cretaceous |
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| Life restoration of Utahraptor ostrommaysi. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Superorder: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | Saurischia |
| Suborder: | Theropoda |
| Family: | Dromaeosauridae |
| Genus: | Utahraptor Kirkland, Gaston & Burge, 1993 |
| Species | |
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U. ostrommaysi Kirkland, Gaston & Burge, 1993 (type) |
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Utahraptor (meaning "Utah's predator")[1] 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).[1]
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[edit] Discovery
James Kirkland, Rob Gaston, and Don Burge discovered Utahraptor in 1991 in Grand County, Utah, within the Cedar Mountain Formation.[1] The type specimen is currently housed at the College of Eastern Utah Prehistoric Museum, 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.
The holotype of Utahraptor is fragmentary, consisting of skull fragments, a tibia, claws and some caudal (tail) vertebra. The few elements suggest an animal about twice the size of Deinonychus.[1] Like other dromaeosaurids, Utahraptor had a huge curved claw on the second toe; one is preserved at 22 centimetres (8.7 in) in length and is thought to reach 24 centimetres (9.4 in) restored. 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.[1]
It is thought that Utahraptor may be closely related to the much smaller Dromaeosaurus and the giant Mongolian dromaeosaurid Achillobator.[1] [2]
[edit] In popular culture
The novel Raptor Red, by Robert Bakker, tells the story of a Utahraptor from the perspective of the animal. 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 almost completely featherless, (apart from a small crest of feather spikes on their heads) and the History series contained further anatomical inaccuracies including pronated hands. A Utahraptor is one of the main characters in the webcomic Dinosaur Comics. This Utahraptor appears without feathers.
[edit] Gallery
 Model of a Utahraptor foot, showing specialised claw |
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f Kirkland, J.I., Burge, D., and Gaston, R. (1993). "A large dromaeosaur [Theropoda] from the Lower Cretaceous of Utah." Hunteria, 2(10): 1-16.
- ^ Turner, Alan H.; Pol, Diego; Clarke, Julia A.; Erickson, Gregory M.; and Norell, Mark (2007). "A basal dromaeosaurid and size evolution preceding avian flight". Science 317: 1378–1381. doi:. PMID 17823350.
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