Physical Description

Deinonychus was an 11 foot long paravian raptor. It was around three feet high at the hip, though it's possible they got larger, as this is based on a few fully mature specimens. Based on fossils, Deinonychus was clearly an active predator, and was warm blooded. Though there is no evidence in Deinonychus fossils, there was a very high chance that it was covered with feathers. They are quite birdlike, and raptors related to it have fossil evidence of feathers. They had around 70 blade-like teeth, though their jaw was not very strong. Deinonychuses had skulls similar to Allosaurus, and they had narrower snouts. Each hand sports three clawed fingers, and their feet had large claws that they kept elevated while walking. Baby and juvenile Deinonychuses may have been light enough and had big enough wings to fly, though adults likely used their feathers to make their body more aerodynamic whilst running to their prey. They could use their wings to leap onto prey, as discussed in Food and Hunting. Deinonychuses had strong foot bones to help handle the force of impact from jumping off of a tenontosaurus. Unlike other raptors, Deinonychus had stockier legs, and could only run at about 6 mph*. It sacrificed speed for strength. It is unknown what color they were, but they likely had bright colors, such as red and magenta. Their wings were too small for flying, so they were likely used as mating displays. Many other paravian dinosaurs had colourful wings, as we could see by the preserved melanosomes.