Dinosaurs 101

  Derek Deinonychus and Velma Velociraptor compare their claw toes!

 Meet Derek Deinonychus: die- NON- ih - kuss

Here's 10 quick facts about our friend Derek!

1. Deinonychus is Greek for "terrible claw".

2. Derek probably used this claw to inflict deep stab wounds on its prey, perhaps withdrawing to a safe distance as its dinner bled to death.


3. The first Deinonychus fossils were discovered in 1931...

4. In 1964,a paleontologist named John Ostrom led a fossil-hunting expedition through Montana and Wyoming, and wound up discovering hundreds of bones later diagnosed as belonging to Deinonychus.


5. Deinonychus inspired the theory that birds descended from dinosaurs.

6. Deinonychus was the model for Jurassic Park's Velociraptors.

7.The jaws of Deinonychus were relatively weak...
Deinonychus had a wimpy bite compared to other, larger theropod dinosaurs of the Cretaceous period Their bite was only about as powerful as that of a modern alligator.

8. Derek was not one of the fastest dinosaurs either! He may have walked at a steady 6 mph!

9.Deinonyhcus grew to be about 11 ft long and weighed about 160 pounds.

10. To date, no direct evidence has been found for Deinonychus feathers, but the proven existence of other feathered raptors implies that this dinosaur must have looked a bit like Big Bird.

Learn more here: http://dinosaurs.about.com/od/typesofdinosaurs/a/Deinonychus-Facts.htm

Dinosaurs 101

Meet Valerie, one of the most intelligent dinosaurs ever!

She and her twin sister stopped by on their way to the Sand Dunes for directions to the nearest pedicure!veh-loss-ih-RAP-tor

"Valerie the Velociraptor exemplifies many of the numerous similarities between dinosaurs and birds, which go far beyond the skin-deep appearance of feathers. Like birds, Velociraptor had hollow bones, tended nests of eggs, and probably behaved in similar ways.
Despite their birdlike plumage these dinosaurs were not fliers. Their short forelimbs made liftoff impossible, though they may be the evolutionary remnants of an ancient ancestor's flight-giving wings.
Velociraptor was probably one of the more intelligent dinosaurs, because it had a large brain proportionate to its body size. It was formidable on land and, as the name suggests, almost certainly covered ground quickly. Moving upright on two legs, they may have been able to reach speeds of 24 miles an hour (39 kilometers an hour).
When they caught up to prey, these predators likely brought them down quickly with a long, 3.5-inch (9-centimeter) retractable claw on each foot and a mouth full of sharp teeth. Velociraptor is known to have preyed on herbivores such as Protoceratops. One famous fossil immortalized the two species locked in an ancient duel to the death."
 Velociraptor was about 5 to 6 feet long (1.5-2 m), and 3 feet tall (1 m). It may have weighed about 15 to 33 pounds (7 to 15 kg). It had a stiff tail that worked as a counterbalance and let it make very quick turns.
 Valerie lived about 85 - 80 million years ago and she lived in a desert-like environment that had some streams.  



http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/activities/checklist/Velactivity.shtml
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/prehistoric/velociraptor-mongoliensis/