Genus
Valid Extinct

Deinonychus

Ostrom 1969
Etymology Terrible griffe

Deinonychus is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur with one described species, Deinonychus antirrhopus. This species, which could grow up to 3.4 meters (11 ft) long, lived during the Early and Late Cretaceous Period, about 115–98 million years ago. Fossils have been recovered from the U.S. states of Montana, Utah, Wyoming, and Oklahoma, in rocks of the Cloverly Formation and Antlers Formation, though teeth that may belong to Deinonychus have been found much farther east in Maryland.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
47
Group
Dinosaures
Carnivore Ground dwelling Terrestrial
Deinonychus
click to enlarge
Deinonychus skeletal mount on display at the Field Museum of Natural History. © Jonathan Chen · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Dinosauria Unranked clade
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Theropoda Unranked clade
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Neotheropoda Unranked clade
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Averostra Unranked clade
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Tetanurae Unranked clade
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Coelurosauria Unranked clade
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Maniraptora Unranked clade
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Paraves Unranked clade
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Deinonychosauria Infraorder
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Dromaeosauridae Family
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Eudromaeosauria Unranked clade
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Deinonychus Genus
Measurements
Length
3,55 m ⓘ
Deinonychus antirrhopus
3,4 m ⓘ
Mass
100 kg ⓘ
Deinonychus antirrhopus
Fossil sites 47 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇺🇸 United States
46
🇧🇷 Brazil
1
Geological formations
Cloverly
38
Antlers
4
Cedar Mountain
2
Sousa
1
Arundel Clay
1
Holly Creek
1
Temporal distribution
Cenomanian (100.5–93.9 Ma)
1
Albian (113.2–100.5 Ma)
34
Aptian (121.4–113.2 Ma)
11
Valanginian (137.05–132.6 Ma)
1
Species (1)
Deinonychus antirrhopus 121 Ma
Images 7
Bibliography
Original description
J. H. Ostrom. 1969. A new theropod dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of Montana. Postilla 128:1-17
Bibliography (19)
J. R. Nudds, D. R. Lomax, and J. P. Tennant. 2022. Gastroliths and Deinonychus teeth associated with a skeleton of Tenontosaurus from the Cloverly Formation (Lower Cretaceous), Montana, USA. Cretaceous Research 140 DOI ↗
C. A. Suarez, J. Frederickson, and R. L. Cifelli, J. G. Pittman, R. l. Nydam, R. K. Hunt-Foster, K. Morgan. 2021. A new vertebrate fauna from the Lower Cretaceous Holly Creek Formation of the Trinity Group, southwest Arkansas, USA. PeerJ 9(e12242):1-60 DOI ↗
J. A. Frederickson, M. H. Engel, and R. A. Cifelli. 2020. Ontogenetic dietary shifts in Deinonychus antirrhopus (Theropoda; Dromaeosauridae): insights into the ecology and social behavior of raptorial dinosaurs through stable isotope analysis. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 552 DOI ↗
J. A. Frederickson, T. R. Lipka, and R. L. Cifelli. 2018. Faunal composition and paleoenvironment of the Arundel Clay (Potomac Formation; Early Cretaceous), Maryland, USA. Palaeontologia Electronica 21(2):31A:1-24 DOI ↗
J. I. Kirkland, M. B. Suarez, and C. A. Suarez, R. K. Hunt-Foster. 2016. The Medial Cretaceous in East-Central Utah—the Cedar Mountain Formation and its Bounding Strata. Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Field Trip Guide. DOI ↗
M. P. J. Oreska, M. T. Carrano, and K. M. Dzikiewicz. 2013. Vertebrate paleontology of the Cloverly Formation (Lower Cretaceous), I: faunal composition, biogeographic relationships, and sampling. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 33(2):264-292 DOI ↗
P. M. Gignac, P. J. Makovicky, and G. M. Erickson, R. P. Walsh. 2010. A description of Deinonychus antirrhopus bite marks and estimates of bite force using tooth indentation simulations. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 30(4):1169-1177 DOI ↗
W. L. Parsons and K. M. Parsons. 2009. Further descriptions of the osteology of Deinonychus antirrhopus (Saurischia, Theropoda). Bulletin of the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences 38:43-54
B. A. Swanson, V. L. Santucci, and S. K. Madsen, A. S. Elder, J. P. Kenworthy. 2005. Arches National Park paleontological survey. Geological Resources Division Technical Report NPS/NRGRD/GRDTR 05/01:1–36
W. Parsons and K. Parsons. 2004. Postcranial ontogeny of Deinonychus antirrhopus (Saurischia, Theropoda). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 24(3, suppl.):100A
M. J. Wedel, R. L. Cifelli, and R. K. Sanders. 2000. Osteology, paleobiology, and relationships of the sauropod dinosaur Sauroposeidon. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 45(4):343-388
M. Wedel. 2000. New material of sauropod dinosaurs from the Cloverly Formation. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 20(3 (suppl.)):77A
R. L. Cifelli, J. D. Gardner, and R. L. Nydam, D. L. Brinkman. 1997. Additions to the vertebrate fauna of the Antlers Formation (Lower Cretaceous), southeastern Oklahoma. Oklahoma Geology Notes 57(4):124-131
W. D. Maxwell and J. H. Ostrom. 1995. Taphonomy and paleobiological implications of Tenontosaurus-Deinonychus associations. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 15(4):707-712 DOI ↗
W. D. Maxwell. 1993. Neonate dinosaur remains and dinosaur eggshell from the Lower Cretaceous Cloverly Formation, Montana. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 13(3, suppl.):49A
F. A. Jenkins, Jr. and C. R. Schaff. 1988. The Early Cretaceous Mammal Gobiconodon (Mammalia, Triconodonta) from the Cloverly Formation in Montana. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 8(1):1-24 DOI ↗
G. Leonardi. 1984. Le impronte fossili di Dinosauri [The fossil footprints of dinosaurs]. Sulle Orme dei Dinosauri
J. H. Ostrom. 1976. On a new specimen of the Lower Cretaceous theropod dinosaur <i>Deinonychus antirrhopus</i>. Breviora 439:1-21
J. H. Ostrom. 1970. Stratigraphy and paleontology of the Cloverly Formation (Lower Cretaceous) of the Bighorn Basin area, Wyoming and Montana. Peabody Museum Bulletin 35:1-234