utahraptor skeletal

[spinosaurus1]

Scott Hartman has now released the utahraptor skeletal, and it seems to been built like a Sherman tank

[Simon]

 

WOW.  Now THAT was a RAPTOR.  Can you imagine a pack of those things descending upon its prey?  They were capable of taking down prey much larger than themselves. (I only question the tail - wouldn't it have been thicker - especially at the base?)

Alpha Predator of the mid-Cretaceous North America!

*Cue Phil Collins "Illegal Alien" song* :  "Its no fun, being an I-GUA-NO-DO-OON!!"  (*BOOM*  RACK ME!! I'm OUT!)

[Simon]

[stargatedalek]

(I only question the tail - wouldn't it have been thicker - especially at the base?)

It certainly would have been, generally best to take Hartman's soft tissue with some salt.

[Patrx]

Certainly an intimidating profile! Here's Hartman's blog post on the matter:
http://www.skeletaldrawing.com/home/at-long-last-utahraptor

[spinosaurus1]

making a anatomy drawing of the skeletal. this thing really was a Sherman tank of dromaeosaurids

[Halichoeres]

Man, that dentary.

[Tyto_Theropod]

Well, I definitely wouldn't want to mess with that thing! It's almost as if this branch of Dromaeosauridae were going the same way as Tyrannosauroidea and back-tracking from light, birdlike builds to something more akin to 'Carnosaurs'. Perhaps this big birb was filling a gap in the ecosystem at a time and place where animals such as Siats and the Carchardontosauridae were not present? AFAIK, remains of these animals aren't known until later strata in the Cedar Mountain Formation.

[Dinoguy2]

(I only question the tail - wouldn't it have been thicker - especially at the base?)

It certainly would have been, generally best to take Hartman's soft tissue with some salt.

I dunno, the newly revealed soft tissue outline around Anchiornis' tail is just as thin and probably what Hartman based this on. I do think that such a larger, beefier animal should probably have at least a slightly beefier tail than Anchiornis though.