Deinonychus Facts for Kids

23 Deinonychus Facts For Kids

1. The Deinonychus was a dinosaur that lived during the Early Cretaceous Period.
2. Deinonychus was a small feathered bipedal predator.
3. The Deinonychus was carnivorous and ate other dinosaurs (meat).
4. You pronounce the name Deinonychus by saying: “die-NON-i-kuss”.
5. The meaning of the dinosaur name Deinonychus is “terrible claw”.
6. There is one species of Deinonychus recognized by paleontologists.
7. The type species for the Deinonychus is Deinonychus antirrhopus.
8. American paleontologist Barnum Brown was the first person to discover a Deinonychus specimen in 1931.
9. American paleontologist John Ostrom scientifically described the Deinonychus in 1969.
10. The holotype specimen for Deinonychus is YPM 5205.
11. The Deinonychus was estimated to have an average body length between 10 and 11 feet.
12. The Deinonychus was estimated to have an average hip height between 2 and 3 feet.
13. The Deinonychus was estimated to have an average skull length of 16 inches.
14. The Deinonychus was estimated to have an average body weight between 130 and 160 pounds.
15. The lifespan of the Deinonychus is estimated to have been up to 10 years.
16. The running speed of the Deinonychus is estimated to have been around miles per hour.
17. Fossil specimens of the Deinonychus have been discovered in North America, notable in the U.S. states of Oklahoma, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming.
18. There was a tooth discovered in the U.S. state of Maryland that paleontologists believe belongs to a Deinonychus.
19. Paleontologists who have studied Deinonychus believe it was capable of flight.
20. Research on the Deinonychus done by John Ostrom in the 1960s changed the way paleontologists thought of dinosaurs and if they were cold-blooded or warm-blooded.
21. The bite force of the Deinonychus is estimated to be 319 PSI or 15% of the bite force of the American alligator.
22. The Deinonychus lived during the Early Cretaceous Period with dinosaurs like the Acrocanthosaurus and the Sauroposeidon.
23. A lot of people already know what Deinonychus looks like, the novel and film Jurassic Park features velociraptors, but their visual appearance is based entirely off the Deinonychus, all Michael Crichton did was change the name.

Deinonychus Pictures

There is a saying that claims a picture is worth a thousand words. If that is true then the below images will help you with your research on the Deinonychus Below you will find three pictures related to the Deinonychus dinosaur. These pictures should give you a bettering understanding of the Deinonychus and what it may have looked like.

A picture of a Deinonychus on a rock.

A picture of a Deinonychus in a field.

A picture of a Deinonychus roaring.