The Deinonychus ( Deinonychus antirrhopus ), whose name means ' Terrible Claw' , lived during the early Cretaceous period about 110 million years ago. It is part of the same family of dinosaurs as the Velociraptor. This predator, which fed on small animals and dinosaurs, was three meters long and weighed between 73 and 100 kilos in its adult form.
Its name derives from one of its most outstanding characteristics, a claw on the second toe of its legs with which it riddled its prey. In addition, it had about 60 teeth whose bite would have been similar to that of a crocodile.
Group hunter, his first fossils were found in 1931 in southern Montana, United States, but it was not until 1969 when the studies were published and he was officially baptized. Since then other Deinonychus fossils have been found in Oklahoma and other parts of North America.
Many paleontologists believe that it is the "cheetah of dinosaurs."
