Adjacent Words

deinonychus definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: swift agile wolf-sized bipedal dinosaur having a large curved claw on each hind foot; of the Cretaceous

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: New Latin, from Greek deinos terrifying + -onychos -clawed (from onych-, onyx claw, nail) — more at dire, nail Date: 1969 any of a genus (Deinonychus) of small bipedal carnivorous theropod dinosaurs from the Cretaceous having a very large sharp claw on the second digit of both hind feet

Britannica Concise

Genus (Deinonychus) of theropod dinosaurs that flourished in W N. America during the Early Cretaceous period (144-97.5 million years ago). Deinonychus walked and ran on two legs, yet its killing devices, large sickle-like talons 5 in. (13 cm) long on the second toe of each foot, required it to stand on one foot while slashing at its prey with the other. Its long, outstretched tail was enclosed in bundles of bony rods that grew out of the tail vertebrae, making it very rigid. About 8-13 ft (2.4-4 m) long and weighing 100-150 lbs (45-68 kg), it had a large brain and was evidently a fast, agile predator.