Dromaeosaurus

 

Dromaeosaurus albertensis (Matthew and Brown, 1922)

Dromaeosaurus albertensis, the “runner lizard from Alberta”, was discovered in 1914 in 75 million-year-old rocks in what is now Dinosaur Provincial Park,  Alberta. It was named in1922 from a partial skull and some bones from the feet that were very long for its size, suggesting it was built for running.

Dromaeosaurus was 6.5’ long nose-to-tail, 1.5’ tall at the hips, and could reach up to 2.5’ high with its mouth. It weighed around 35 pounds. Its skull, 9” long and loaded with sharp teeth, is one of the most powerful bite-wise of all the raptors. Though it has the famous raptor “killing claw”, which is the second toe of each foot that doesn’t touch the ground and thus is always sharp, it’ bite strength and large hand claws suggest it didn’t rely on the “killing claw” alone to finish off prey. Rather, it was more than capable of feeding using its mouth and hands alone!

 

 

This is an interpretation of Dromaeosaurus without feathers.  Such illustrations were the norm until the early 2000s.

 

This is an image of a cast of a Dromaeosaurus lower jaw.  Notice the stout teeth, unusual for a "raptor" dinosaur.