The discovery proved that the terrifying animals used to live in South Dakota. It is not clear if the dinosaurs performed their gruesome hunting in groups, but Burnham said there was some evidence that they travelled in packs, as the discovery of their fossils usually yields more than one raptor in the same area. It’s not just going to stomp you to death or bone-crush you to death. “It’s not a big, fat claw like on a T rex or something. “It’s very laterally compressed so that means it was probably made for piercing flesh,” Burnham said. It measures about 9.5in along the outer curve and is “bigger than anything” Burnham has seen in this category of dinosaur.Ī replica of a Dakotaraptor skeleton. The purpose of their wings remains unclear but the study hypothesized that they could be for prey capture, protecting eggs or even mate attraction.Īccording to David Burnham, a study co-author and paleontologist, “the most scary thing” about Dakotaraptors was their sickle claw. The discovery is the first time scientists have documented evidence that a large raptor had feathered wings, according to DePalma.ĭespite having feathers and wings, however, the dinosaurs could not fly, because of their size. These usually indicate where feathers attach to the bone.

Scientists believe Dakotaraptors were feathered because of “quill knobs” found on the lower arm bones. The only known raptor larger than the Dakotaraptor was the Utahraptor, which was 23ft long, but it died out approximately 60m years before the Dakotaraptor came along. They were about 17ft long, making them among the largest raptors in the world, and their wings stretched about 3ft. The Dakotaraptor was discovered in 2005 in the aptly named Hell Creek Formation, also known as the home of the famed Tyrannosaurus rex and the three-horned Triceratops.ĭakotaraptors were carnivores that walked the Earth about 66m years ago. These claws could grab on to anything and just slice them to bits. “It could run very fast, it could jump incredibly well, it was agile and it had essentially grappling hooks on the front and rear limbs.

Saurian dakotaraptor climbing