Utahraptor
Utahraptor ostrommaysi
Utahraptor ostrommaysi foi o maior dromaeossaurídeo conhecido, com garra em foice de 22cm capaz de perfurar até grandes presas.
Utahraptor (meaning "Utah's predator") is a genus of large dromaeosaurid (a group of feathered carnivorous theropods) dinosaur that lived during the Early Cretaceous period from around 139 to 135 million years ago in what is now the United States. The genus was described in 1993 by American paleontologist James Kirkland and colleagues with the type species Utahraptor ostrommaysi, based on fossils that had been unearthed earlier from the Cedar Mountain Formation of Utah. Later, many additional specimens were described including those from the skull and postcranium in addition to those of younger individuals.
It is the largest-known member of the family Dromaeosauridae, measuring about 6–7 meters (20–23 ft) long and typically weighing around 500 kilograms (1,100 lb). As a heavily built, ground-dwelling, bipedal carnivore, its large size and variety of unique features have earned it attention in both pop culture and the scientific community. The jaws of Utahraptor were lined with small, serrated teeth that were used in conjunction with a large "killing claw" on its second toe to dispatch its prey. Its skull was boxy and elongated, akin to other dromaeosaurids like Dromaeosaurus and Velociraptor.
Being a carnivore, Utahraptor was adapted to hunt the other animals of the Cedar Mountain Formation ecosystem such as ankylosaurs and iguanodonts. Evidence from the leg physiology supports the idea of Utahraptor being an ambush predator, in contrast to other dromaeosaurs that were pursuit predators. Fossil remains of several individuals of various ages have been found together, suggesting that Utahraptor was gregarious (social) and practiced degrees of post nestling care.
- Família
- Dromaeosauridae
- Ordem
- Saurischia
- Período
- Cretaceous (129.4-125.0 MYA)
- Dieta
- Carnivore
- Comprimento
- 5.0-7.0 m
- Peso
- 250-500 kg
Fatos científicos
- Maior "raptor" conhecido, peso de urso pardo
- Garra do pé de 22cm, proporcionalmente maior que outros
- Evidências de caça de presas maiores que ele
- Possível armadilha predatória preservada
- Viveu 50 milhões de anos antes do Velociraptor
- Robusto demais para ser corredor veloz