Deinonychus

Deinonychus
Deinonychus, Ostrom, 1969

number on the map: 39

Superorder: Dinosauria

Clade: Saurischia

It’s a small theropod that lived on the territory of today’s North America. Currently one species of this genus is known: Deinonychus antirrhopus. The first part of the name has to do with the 13-centimetre-long crescent-shaped claws in its rear legs; the second part literally means “counterbalance” and has to do with the tail, which Deinonychus stretched back while running, in order to keep the balance. Deinonychus is likely to have had feathers, and the build of its skeleton had similar qualities to those of birds. The discovery and examination of Deinonychus’ fossil let John Ostrom formulate the hypothesis that birds are descendants of dinosaurs.

body length: 3 m
body mass: 70 kg
temporal range: ca. 115–108 mya