Utahraptor Research, Part 3: Weapons and how it used them during mating season

Weapons

Utahraptor had many extremely dangerous weapons to use in combat. Its first weapon was its brain. Utahraptor was a master strategist, and had a fairly expanded brain. Its second weapon it had were the claws on its hands. It used the claws to slash and rip apart its prey, and also to get to the good stuff once the prey animal had died. Its third combat weapon was its second toe, which was the deadly toe claw. Utahraptor would use its toe claw to stab its prey, possibly in the jugular vein or spine, causing paralysis and/or death. Its teeth in its jaws were also a crucial weapon, used to tear apart and eat a carcass. Its next weapon was crucial in the hunting process. Utahraptor’s tail was used for balance when it was bringing down a prey animal, and also when the animal was running.

How it used these weapons during mating season

During the mating season, Utahraptor males would probably become more aggressive towards each other. During the fight to find a female, however, the males were probably careful not to hurt each other. They might've grab onto each other’s shoulders and had a shoving match. Whoever fell to the ground first would be the loser, and he wouldn’t win the right to mate. Of course, sometimes they would snap at each other, but rarely would any of the males be seriously injured. In the case of two females in the group, the best two males would get to choose a female. Sometimes, a certain male could become unlucky all through its life. The shoving matches they had may not have always been safe. If the male who lost the match wasn’t happy, it may have gotten into a screeching match with the winner. And in some of these cases, the winner may challenge the loser to a real fight; one that has all the dangers; a fight to the death. Here is what a fight to the death may have looked like:
The losing Utahraptor and the winning Utahraptor are circling each other slowly. They are snarling and hissing at each other, trying to get the other to back down before things got ugly. But neither of them are backing down. Their pride as a Utahraptor is on the line if nobody backs down. At first, it looks as if the Utahraptor that isn’t going to mate is backing down. But then, he rams the other Utahraptor right in the stomach. The raptor falls to the ground, surprised. The winner then leaps to his feet and tackles the other Utahraptor. They start to roll in the dirt, clawing and biting at each other. Suddenly, there is a loud shriek of pain. The Utahraptor that had the right to mate has just stuck his toe claw in the other Utahraptor’s stomach! The victor decides to gloat by roaring loudly.

Fossil photos

A 50 million year old shark tooth.

Fossil dung, a.k.a. coprolite.

A fossil leaf.

Some fossil fish from Green River, Wyoming.

Dinosaur web show coming soon

I have decided to create and publish a dinosaur web show every two weeks. These web shows will contain information about certain families of dinosaurs (for example, the first show will focus on dromaeosaurs). There will always be a part one and a part two of the web show, so I will discuss approximately twelve dinosaur families per year. I will try to get these web shows up as soon as they are finished.

Utahraptor Research, Part 2: Social behavior, intelligence, and an example of pack hunting

Social behavior and intelligence

Scientists say dromaeosaurs like Utahraptor probably hunted in packs. I believe this is true. I also think that they lived together in these packs full time. The pack they lived in was almost like their family, even if there were few or no actual blood relations. They would have competed for food, territory, and the right to mate in these packs. They could've also acted as a team to bring down an animal several times their size. In order to do this, they may have had some form of communication, like we do today, but probably not to our extent. Utahraptor packs would have usually consisted of an alpha female, and at least three others; probably most of the rest were males. Few dromaeosaur egg specimens are in human possession today, although as time progresses, we may find more.
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Dromaeosaurs were one of the most intelligent groups of dinosaurs that ever existed, second only to the troodonts. They were master strategists. Paleontologists figure out relative dinosaur intelligence based on their Encephalization Quotient, or EQ. Basically put, an EQ is the brain to body mass ratio. For example, for humans, the figure comes out at about 7:14, but this does not always determine high intelligence. The EQ of a bird is about 7:20, which would make them appear smarter than humans. The EQ of a troodont is about 6 even, and dromaeosaurs aren’t far behind; with an average EQ of about 5.87 or higher. The EQ of Utahraptor is about the same as a troodont, which makes Utahraptor the most intelligent dromaeosaur, and possibly dinosaur, of all time. Utahraptor was probably just as smart as a modern-day fox.

Pack hunting: An example of what it might look like

Pay close attention to the following description of how a pack of Utahraptor might have brought down its prey. Bear in mind that Utahraptor and Triceratops lived millions of years apart, and a meeting like this would be impossible.
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A herd of Triceratops is grazing in the prairie. The ferns are tall and thick, but the Triceratops don’t seem to mind. In fact, they are feeding on these high ferns. They have a baby with them. The little guy is in the middle of the herd. None of them suspect what will happen next…
A lone Utahraptor leaps out of its hiding place and races toward the herd of Triceratops. They turn to face the Utahraptor, and get into a defensive circle. The Utahraptor can’t get past the Triceratops! Suddenly, from behind, 5 more Utahraptor race to the center of the herd, since the back of the defense shield is open. They get to the baby, but one of the adults sees them! It quickly warns the others, and they face the other way. Then the lone Utahraptor snatches the baby and runs. The rest of the pack follows…all except one. That one is fighting off the mother of the baby they killed. The mother tries to gouge the Utahraptor with its horns. The Utahraptor jumps out of the way, and the Triceratops’ horns harmlessly hit the dirt. The last Utahraptor finally gets away unharmed. The Triceratops make barking sounds, almost like dogs, at the Utahraptor as they retreat into the night…

Breaking news: Dinosaur color uncovered

I recently read an article talking about dinosaur color. A recent discovery in China reveals the color of dinosaur feathers! Researchers came to the conclusion that the theropod Sinosauropteryx had bristles in orange and white rings down its tail. Researchers also concluded that the bird Confuciusornis had patches of white, black and orange-brown coloring.

The teams of paleontologists from the University of Bristol in the UK and The Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing, China report two different kinds of melanosomes found in numerous feathers of birds and dinosaurs from Southeast China.

Melanosomes are organelles that bear color that are found within feathers and hair in modern animals. Because melanosomes are a part of the protein structure of the feather, they survive with the feather.

This is the first report of melanosomes being present in the feathers of dinosaurs and early birds. These discoveries confirm that birds evolved from a line of theropod dinosaurs. It also shows that the unique characteristics that make a modern bird evolved over about 50 million years of dinosaur evolution, through the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.

Source: http://www.bris.ac.uk/news/2010/6806.html

Utahraptor Research, Part 1: Introduction and Physical Appearance

Hey, it’s Random Scientist Inc. Sorry I haven't been able to post lately; I've been very busy. So, without further ado, here is Part 1 of my Utahraptor Research. Enjoy!

Introduction:

Dinosaurs have fascinated the minds of humans ever since the word “dinosaur” was invented in 1842. Sir Richard Owen was the person who coined the name, which derives from the Greek words “deinos,” meaning terrible, and “sauros,” meaning lizard. Today, there are over 800 different known species of dinosaur, and there are probably many more different kinds yet to be discovered. The dinosaur we will be discussing is a dromaeosaur. The first dromaeosaur ever found, Dromaeosaurus albertensis, was discovered in Alberta, Canada in 1914. Later, Velociraptor mongoliensis was found in the Gobi Desert in 1922 by Roy Chapman Andrews. A few years later, in 1931, Barnum Brown discovered Deinonychus antirrhopus. Brown first named his find “Daptosaurus,” meaning “active lizard.” Brown made preparations to describe “Daptosaurus,” but he never finished his work. Therefore, the “active lizard” had no name….that is, until John Ostrom officially named it Deinonychus in 1964. But this research isn’t about any of those. It’s about the biggest dromaeosaur ever discovered…so far. In Grand County, Utah, within the Cedar Mountain Formation, James Kirkland and his team of paleontologists discovered a large dromaeosaur previously unknown to science. It had a huge toe claw, long claws on its hands, and an appetite for meat. That’s right…I’m talking about the mighty Utahraptor ostrommaysorum. The “Jack the Ripper” of his day, which was in the early Cretaceous about 125 MYA. Not much is known about the world’s largest dromaeosaur, even though it was discovered a decade and a half ago. I believe I can change that. I have compiled a lot of research on Utahraptor. I have done tons of intense research to give you these facts. Even after you read this, I will continue to dish out new ideas about Utahraptor. Let’s get started!

Physical Appearance:

Utahraptor was, without a doubt, the largest dromaeosaur that ever lived. It was about 2 meters tall, 7 meters long, and weighed half a ton at most. Its skeletal design is like that of a modern turkey or chicken. Its bones were hollow, but strong. It had a rectangular head with a jaw packed with razor-sharp teeth, like steak knives. It had long and relatively thin arms, which ended in three huge claws. The first claw was the shortest, and the middle was the longest. It had a long tail used for balance. It had short and robust legs. Their feet had four toes. The first toe wasn’t used very much. The second toe was a deadly retractable toe claw that could grow up to 12 inches long. The claw was covered with a layer of keratin to protect the bone (keratin is the same stuff your fingernails are made out of). The toe claw was held off the ground so it could stay nice and sharp, ready for combat. The claw was most likely used for stabbing, rather than ripping or tearing apart, its prey. The third and fourth toes were used for balance. Utahraptor and other dromaeosaurs may have had binocular vision, like that of an eagle. Its hearing was probably very excellent. Scientists recently discovered that dromaeosaurs in general could hear low frequency sounds the best. It could smell prey from at least a mile away. Dromaeosaurs like Utahraptor were likely covered in feathers. The arms, legs and tails would’ve been covered in true feathers, whilst the rest of the body was probably covered in protofeathers. However, one small species of dromaeosaur, Microraptor gui, may have been able to glide due to its feathers. The feathers on the arms of young raptors would’ve enabled a special type of locomotion called wing-assisted incline running, or WAIR for short. Discovered by Ken Dial, a Montana zoologist, this is a behavior used by modern birds that combines flapping the wings back and forth, rather than up and down, while running up the sides of trees. This flapping pushes the feet of the birds against the trees, allowing it to run vertically up the trunk. This indicates, but does not prove, that young raptors may have spent part of their lives in trees.

Paleontologists moving bones from southern Utah

Paleontologists have begun moving a rich collection of fossils uncovered recently in southern Utah. Paleontologist Alan Titus says the site, which was found in 2007, is one of the best uncovered so far at the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

He says among the fossils found there are remnants of a hadrosaur, an ankylosaurid, and some kind of pterosaur. Some of the bones were taken out via helicopter last month.

One of the dinosaurs uncovered at the site two years ago (Gryposaurus monumentensis) will be reconstructed and displayed at the new Utah Museum of Natural History, which is under construction at the University of Utah.

Source: http://www.localnews8.com/Global/story.asp?S=11553530