Dromaeosauridae
The dromeosaurids (Dromaeosauridae, Greek for "running lizards") are a family of theropod dinosaurs of the clade Maniraptora, made up of small to medium-sized feathered carnivores, whose lineages began in the Middle Jurassic (167 million years ago, in the Bathonian) to survive until the Late Cretaceous (66 million years ago, in the Maastrichtian), existing for approximately 100 million years. Dromaeosaurid fossils have been found in North Africa, North America, Madagascar, Argentina, Mongolia, Antarctica, Europe, Japan & China.
The name comes from the Greek δρομευς (dromeus) and σαυρος (sauros), meaning &# 34;corridor" and "lizard", respectively.
Description
The distinctive body plan of dromaeosaurids helped revive theories that at least some dinosaurs may have been active, fast, and closely related to birds. Robert Bakker's illustration for John Ostrom's 1969 monograph, showing the dromaeosaurid Deinonychus in a rapid run, is among the most influential paleontological reconstructions in history. The dromaeosaurid body plan includes a relatively large skull, serrated teeth, narrow snout, and forward-directed eyes indicating some degree of binocular vision. Dromaeosaurids, like most theropods, had a moderately long neck on S-shaped, and a relatively short and deep trunk. Like other manirraptors they had long arms, which could be folded against the body in some species, and relatively large hands with three long fingers (the middle finger was the longest and the first was the shortest) ending in large claws. The dromaeosaurid hip structure featured a characteristically large pubic boot that projected below the base of the tail. Dromaeosaurid feet bore a large, recurved claw on the second toe. Their tails were slender, with long, low vertebrae, no transverse process, and neural spines after the 14th caudal vertebra.
It is now known that at least some (and probably all) dromaeosaurids were covered in feathers, including large flight feathers on the wings and tail. This development, which was first formulated in the mid-1980s and confirmed by fossil discoveries in 1999, represents a significant change in the way dromaeosaurids have historically been depicted in art and film.
Size
Dromeosaurids were small to medium-sized dinosaurs, ranging in length from 0.7 meters (in the case of Mahakala) to 6 meters (as in Utahraptor, Dakotaraptor, and Achillobator). Some may have reached even greater lengths; Undescribed Utahraptor specimens in the Brigham Young University collections belonged to individuals that may have reached up to 11 m in length, although these await further study. The large size of dromaeosaurids appears to have evolved on at least two occasions; first among dromaeosaurines (such as Utahraptor and Achillobator), and later among unenlagines (such as Austroraptor, which is 5 meters long). A possible third lineage of giant dromaeosaurids is represented by isolated teeth found on the Isle of Wight, England. The teeth belong to an animal the size of the dromaeosaurine Utahraptor, however the shape of the teeth seems to indicate that this hypothetical lineage was more closely related to velociraptorines.
Mahakala is the smallest and most primitive dromaeosaurid discovered to date. This evidence, combined with the small size of other primitive relatives such as Microraptor and the troodontid Anchiornis, indicates that the common ancestor of dromaeosaurids, troodontids, and birds (known as ancestral paravians) it may have been a very small animal, around 65 cm in length and 600 to 700 grams in mass.
Feet
Like other theropods, dromaeosaurids were bipedal; that is, they walked on their hind legs. However, while most theropods walked with three toes in contact with the ground, fossilized footprints confirm that many early paravian groups, including dromaeosaurids, maintained the second toe in a hyperextended position, with only the third and third. fourth fingers supporting the weight of the animal. This is called functional didactyly. The enlarged second toe had an unusually large, curved, sickle-shaped (sickle-shaped, held on the ground or 'retracted' when walking) claw, which is thought to have been used to capture prey and climb trees. This claw was especially blade-like in eudromeosaurs. One possible species of dromaeosaurid, Balaur bondoc, also possessed a first toe that was highly modified in parallel with the second. Both the first and second toes on each foot of B. bondoc also retained and bore sickle claws.
Tail
Dromaeosaurids had long tails. Most tail vertebrae have rod-like bony extensions, as well as prezygapophyses, postzygapophyses (anterior and posterior elements of the neural arch), and chevrons (parts of the haemal arch) in some species. In his study of Deinonychus, Ostrom proposed that these features stiffened the tail so that it could only flex at the base, and the entire tail would move like a simple, rigid lever. However, one sample The well-preserved Velociraptor mongoliensis (IGM 100/986) has an articulated tail skeleton that is curved horizontally in a long S-shape. This suggests that, in life, the tail could be bent from side to side with a substantial degree of flexibility. It has been proposed that this tail was used as a stabilizer or counterweight while running or in the air; in Microraptor, an elongated fan of diamond-shaped feathers is preserved at the end of the tail. This may have been used as an aerodynamic stabilizer and rudder during gliding or flight.
History
The discoveries of Sinornithosaurus and Microraptor in China and Bambiraptor in the United States suggest that dromaeosaurids are the most closely related dinosaurs with the birds It is considered that, in general, they were covered in plumage very similar to that of modern birds. The Microraptoria possessed wings indistinguishable from those of primitive birds, in addition to another pair of wings on the hind legs. Synornithosaurs, flightless dromaeosaurids, had their bodies covered in both protofeathers and more complex feathers.
They diverged widely in size, with Microraptoria being the smallest known to date, at just 77 centimeters in length, and the largest, Utahraptor, up to 7 meters. long.
Systematics
Dromaeosauridae is defined as the clade that includes all descendants of the last common ancestor among Microraptor zhaoianus, Sinornithosaurus millenii and Velociraptor mongoliensis.
Taxonomy
- Family Dromaeosauridae
- Boreonykus
- Luanchuanraptor
- Nuthetes
- Ornithodesmus
- Pamparaptor
- Palaeopteryx?
- Phaedrolosaurus
- Pyroraptor
- Richardoestesia
- Shanag
- Variraptor
- Subfamily Halszkaraptorinae
- Halszkaraptor
- Hulsanpes
- Mahakala
- Subfamily Microraptorinae
- Changyuraptor
- Graciliraptor
- Hesperonychus
- Microraptor
- Rahonavis
- Sinornithosaurus
- Tianyuraptor
- Zhenyuanlong
- Zhongjianosaurus
- Subfamily Unenlagiinae
- Austroraptor
- Buitreraptor
- Neuquenraptor
- Unenlagia
- Unquillosaurus (?)
- Rahonavis
- Class Eudromaeosauria
- Subfamily Dromaeosaurinae
- Achillobator
- Adasaurus
- Dakotaraptor
- Dromaeosaurus
- Dromaeosauroids
- Utahraptor
- Zapsalis?
- Subfamily Velociraptorinae
- Acheroraptor
- Deinonychus
- Itemirus
- Linheraptor
- Tsaagan
- Velociraptor
- Yurgovuchia
- Subfamily Saurornitholestinae
- Saurornitholestes
- Bambiraptor
- Atrociraptor
Phylogeny
The following cladogram follows a 2012 analysis by Turner, Makovicky, and Norell:
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The following cladogram follows a 2012 analysis by Phil Senter, James I. Kirkland, Donald D. DeBlieux, Scott Madsen, and Natalie Toth.
| Dromaeosauridae |
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Dromaeosaurinae
It is a subfamily of bird-like theropod dinosaurs that lived during the late Cretaceous.
Dromaeosaurines include the largest specimens of maniraptors. They have strong skulls with deep jaws and the characteristic claws on the third metatarsal and long arms with strong fingers.
Formally, the definition of Dromaeosaurinae is: "the most inclusive clade containing Dromaeosaurus albertensis (Matthew and Brown, 1922), but not Velociraptor mongoliensis (Osborn, 1924), Microraptor zhaoianus (Xu et al., 2000), Unenlagia comahuensis (Novas and Puerta, 1997), Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758)".
The earliest record is Utahraptor ostrommaysorum from the Cedar Mountain Formation in Utah in the United States, considered to be part of the Albian. The last record belongs to Adasaurus mongoliensis from the Maastrichtian, from the Nemegt Formation in Mongolia.
Microraptorinae
It is a subfamily of bird-like theropod dinosaurs that lived during the Cretaceous.
The microraptorines include the smallest specimens of the maniraptors, they had the body covered with feathers and wings on their forelimbs and possibly on the hindquarters. Whether they were able to fly is under discussion.
Formally, the definition of Microraptorinae is: "the most inclusive clade containing Microraptor zhaoianus (Xu et al, 2000) but not a Dromaeosaurus albertensis (Matthew and Brown, 1922), Velociraptor mongoliensis (Osborn, 1924), Unenlagia comahuensis (Novas and Puerta, 1997), Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758)".
The earliest record is Sinornithosaurus millenii from the Yixian Formation in China, considered to be part of the Barremian. The last record belongs to Bambiraptor feinbergi from the Campanian, from the Two Medicine Formation in Utah, United States.
Unenlagiinae
It is a subfamily of bird-like theropod dinosaurs that lived during the late Cretaceous.
Makovicky et al. (1999) provided a phylogenetic definition for a taxon originally presented as a subfamily by José F. Bonaparte (1999) for Unenlagia comahuensis (Novas and Puerta, 1997). The intent of the original definition by Makovicky et al (2005) was to unify Unenlagia with the other southern forms such as Buitreraptor and Rahonavis . The analysis shows only a weak association between these taxa; other authors have placed Unenlagia and Rahonavis in positions closer to Aves. The current definition, then, adds new restrictions to its taxonomic content by including three additional specifiers to ensure that the group does not include Aves, another dromaeosaurid taxon, or equivalent Linnaean ranks (for example Dromaeosaurinae, Microraptorinae or Velociraptorinae).
Formally, the definition of Unenlagiinae is: "the most inclusive clade containing Unenlagia comahuensis (Novas and Puerta, 1997) but not Velociraptor mongoliensis (Osborn, 1924), Dromaeosaurus albertensis (Matthew and Brown, 1922), Microraptor zhaoianus (Xu et al, 2000), Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758)".
The earliest record is Buitreraptor gonzalezorum from the Candeleros Formation in Argentina, considered to be part of the Cenomanian-Turonian (Makovicky et al, 2005). The last record belongs to Rahonavis ostromi from the Maastrichtian, from the Maevarano Formation in Madagascar (Forster et al, 1998).
Velociraptorinae
It is a subfamily of dromaeosaurid dinosaurs that lived during the Cretaceous period. Rinchen Barsbold created this group in 1983 to include only the famous Velociraptor, but later studies included Deinonychus and doubtfully Saurornitholestes, and with the discovery from Tsaagan more has been added to this subfamily.
This group contains typical predatory members, with low skulls and upturned snouts (which makes them very different from other dromaeosaurid subfamilies), a deadly claw on each foot, and stiff tails. They could have been covered in feathers and used as thermal insulation. Their remains have been found in North America and Asia, where other types of dromaeosaurids are very common.
Formally, the definition of Velociraptorinae is: "the most inclusive clade containing Velociraptor mongoliensis (Osborn, 1924), but not Dromaeosaurus albertensis (Matthew and Brown, 1922), Microraptor zhaoianus (Xu et al, 2000), Unenlagia comahuensis (Novas and Puerta, 1997), Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758)".
The earliest record is Deinonychus antirrhopus from the Cloverly Formation in Montana and the Antlers Formation in Oklahoma in the United States, considered to be part of the Aptian-Albian. The last record is Velociraptor mongoliensis from the Maastrichtian, from the Djadochta Formation in Mongolia and Minhe Formation, China (Novell & Makovicky, 2004).
Paleobiology
Skin covering
There is a large body of evidence showing that dromaeosaurids were covered in feathers. Some dromaeosaurid fossils preserve long pennaceous feathers on the forelimbs (rémiges) and tail (rectrices), as well as shorter, feathery feathers covering the rest of the body. Other fossils, which do not preserve the actual impressions of the feathers, they still retain the bumps on their forearm bones associated with their presence, where the wing feathers would have attached in life. In general, this feather pattern closely resembles that of Archaeopteryx.
The first known dromaeosaurid with definitive evidence of feathers was Sinornithosaurus, found in China by Xu et al. in 1999. Many other dromaeosaurid fossils have been found with feathers covering their bodies, some with fully developed wings. Microraptor even shows evidence of a second pair of wings on its hind legs. While direct feather impressions are only possible in fine-grained sediments, some fossils found in coarser rocks show evidence of feathers by the presence of feather cannons, the attachment points of the feathers present on the wings of birds. The dromaeosaurids Rahonavis and Velociraptor have been found with feather barrels, showing that these forms had feathers even though no impressions were found. In light of this, it is very likely that even terrestrial dromaeosaurids were feathered, as even extant flightless birds still retain most of their plumage, and relatively large dromaeosaurids such as Velociraptor, retained pennaceous feathers. Although some scientists had suggested that larger dromaeosaurids lost some or all of their insulating covering, the discovery of feathers in Velociraptor specimens has been cited as evidence that all family members retained feathers.
More recently, the discovery of Zhenyuanlong established the presence of a complete feather coat in relatively large dromaeosaurids. In addition, the animal exhibits proportionally large streamlined wing feathers, as well as a fan of feathers around the tail, both of which are unexpected features that may offer insight into the integument of large dromaeosaurids. Dakotaraptor is the largest species of dromaeosaurid with evidence of feathers, even indirectly in the form of feather cannons.
Senses
Comparisons between the scleral rings of various dromaeosaurids (Microraptor, Sinornithosaurus, and Velociraptor) and modern birds and reptiles indicate that some dromaeosaurids (including Microraptor and Velociraptor) may have been nocturnal predators, while Sinornithosaurus is inferred to have been active throughout the day at short intervals. However, the discovery of iridescent plumage in Microraptor has cast doubt on the inference of nocturnality in this genus, as no modern birds are known to have iridescent plumage and are nocturnal.
Studies of dromaeosaurid olfactory bulbs reveal that they had olfactory proportions similar for their size to other non-avian theropods and modern birds with a keen sense of smell, such as tyrannosaurids and the American red-headed vulture, probably reflecting the importance of olfactory sense in daily activities of dromaeosaurids, such as finding food.
Air displacement
The ability to fly or glide has been suggested for at least five species of dromaeosaurids. The first, Rahonavis ostromi (originally classified as an avian bird, but found to be a dromaeosaurid in later studies) may have been capable of powered flight, as indicated by its forelimbs with evidence of cannonballs. feathers to insert long, strong flight feathers. The forelimbs of Rahonavis were more powerfully built than in Archaeopteryx, and show evidence that they had strong ligaments necessary for flight of fluttering Luis Chiappe concluded that, given these adaptations, Rahonavis could probably fly, but would have been clumsier in the air than modern birds.
Another species of dromaeosaurid, Microraptor gui, may have been able to glide using its well-developed wings on both the forelimbs and hindlimbs. A 2005 study by Sankar Chatterjee suggested that the wings of Microraptor functioned like a "biplane" Divided into two levels, and probably employing an escape glide by launching from a branch, the animal would dive down into a deep U-bend and then rise again to land in another tree, its tail and hind wings assisting. to control its position and speed. Chatterjee also discovered that Microraptor had the basic requirements to sustain powered flight in addition to gliding.
Changyuraptor yangi is a close relative of Microraptor gui, which is speculated to have used a similar gliding method to its relative based on the presence of four wings and proportions of similar members. However, it is a considerably larger animal, about the size of a wild turkey, and is among the largest known flying Mesozoic paravians.
Another species of dromaeosaurid, Deinonychus antirrhopus, may have exhibited partial flight capabilities. Juveniles of this species possessed longer arms and a larger shoulder girdle than adults, and which were similar to those seen in other flapping theropods, implying that they may have been capable of flight when young and then lost this ability as they grew. that grew.
The possibility that Sinornithosaurus millenii was capable of gliding or even powered flight has also been raised several times, though no further study has been done.
Zhenyuanlong preserves wing feathers that have a streamlined shape, with particularly bird-like coverts as opposed to the longer, more range-forming coverts such as Archeopteryx and Anchiornis, as well as fused sternal plates. Due to its size and short arms, it is unlikely that Zhenyuanlong was capable of flight (although the importance of biomechanical modeling is highlighted in this regard), but may suggest relatively close descent from flying ancestors., or even some ability for wing-assisted gliding or pitch during racing.
Use of sickle claw
There is currently disagreement about the function of the "sickle claw" enlarged on the second finger. When John Ostrom described it for Deinonychus in 1969, he interpreted the claw as a blade-like slicing weapon, similar to the canines of some saber-toothed cats, which were used in combination with powerful kicks to cut through animals. The prey. Adams (1987) suggested that the tip was used to disembowel large ceratopsid dinosaurs. The interpretation of the sickle claw as a deadly weapon has been applied to all dromaeosaurids. However, Manning et al. argued that the claw instead served as a hook, reconstructing the keratin sheath with an elliptical cross-section, rather than the previously inferred inverted teardrop shape. In Manning's interpretation, the second toe claw would be used as a climbing aid during the subjugation of large prey and also as a stabbing weapon.
Ostrom compared Deinonychus to the ostrich and cassowary. He noted that these bird species can inflict serious wounds with the large claw located on the second toe. The cassowary has claws up to 125 millimeters long. Ostrom quoted Gilliard (1958) as saying that they can cut off an arm or disembowel a person. a man. Kofron (1999 and 2003) studied 241 documented cassowary attacks and found that one human and two dogs had been killed, but there is no evidence that cassowaries can gut or dismember other animals. Cassowaries use their claws for defense, for attacking threatening animals, and in displays the arched threat display. Caryamids also have an enlarged second-finger claw and use it to tear their prey into small pieces that they can swallow.
Phillip Manning and colleagues (2009) attempted to test the function of the sickle claw and similarly shaped claws in the forelimbs. They analyzed the biomechanics of how stresses and strains would be distributed throughout the claws and limbs, using X-ray imaging to create a three-dimensional contour map of a Velociraptor forelimb nail. >. For comparison, they looked at the claw construction of a modern predatory bird, the owl. They found that, based on the way stress was conducted along the nail, they were ideal for climbing. The scientists found that the sharp tip of the claw was a stabbing and grasping instrument, while the expanded, curved base of the claw helped transfer stress loads evenly.
Manning's team also compared the curvature of the "sickle claw" of dromaeosaurids with the curvature present in modern birds and mammals. Previous studies had shown that the curvature in a claw corresponded to the animal's lifestyle: Animals with claws strongly curved in a certain way tend to be climbers, while straighter claws indicate ground-dwelling lifestyles. The sickle claws of the dromaeosaurid Deinonychus have a curvature of 160 degrees, within the range of climbing animals. The forelimb claws they studied also fell within the range of scaled curvature.
Paleontologist Peter Mackovicky commented on Manning's team's study, which claimed that small, primitive dromaeosaurids (such as Microraptor) would likely have been tree climbers, but that climbing didn't explain why, later, gigantic dromaeosaurids such as Achillobator retained highly curved claws when they were too large to climb trees. Mackovicky speculated that giant dromaeosaurids may have adapted the claw to be used exclusively for holding prey.
In 2009, Phil Senter published a study on dromaeosaurid fingers and showed that their range of motion was compatible with digging nests for hard insects. Senter suggested that small dromaeosaurids such as Rahonavis and Buitreraptor were small enough to be partial insectivores, while larger genera such as Deinonychus and Neuquenraptor could have used this ability to capture vertebrates residing in insect nests. However, Senter did not test whether the strong curvature of dromaeosaurid claws was also conducive to such activities.
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In 2011, Denver Fowler and colleagues suggested a new method by which dromaeosaurids may have taken smaller prey. This model, known as the "raptor prey hold" ("raptor prey restraint" in English), is a model of predation which proposes that dromaeosaurids killed their prey in a very similar way to current extant accipitrids: jumping on their prey, holding it under their body weight and holding tightly the great sickle-shaped claws. Like accipitrids, dromaeosaurids would begin feeding on the animal while it was still alive, until it eventually died from blood loss and organ failure. This proposal is based primarily on comparisons between the morphology and proportions of the feet and legs of dromaeosaurids and various extant groups of birds of prey with known predatory behaviours. Fowler found that dromaeosaurid feet and legs are much more like those of eagles and hawks, especially having an enlarged second claw and a similar range of grasping motion. The short metatarsal and foot strength, however, would have been more similar to that of owls. The RPR method of predation would be consistent with other aspects of dromaeosaurid anatomy, such as their unusual dentition and arm morphology. The arms, which could exert a lot of force but were likely covered in long feathers, may have been used as the animal's stabilizers as it balanced on prey, struggling to keep it under control, along with the help of a tail used as a rigid counterweight. Dromaeosaurid jaws, thought by Fowler and his colleagues to be comparatively weak, would have been useful for feeding on prey while alive, but not for the swift and forceful dispatch of prey. These predatory adaptations working together may also have implications for the origin of wing flapping in paravians.
Herd behavior
Fossils of Deinonychus have been discovered in small groups near the remains of the herbivorous Tenontosaurus, a larger ornithischian dinosaur. This had been interpreted as evidence that these dromaeosaurids hunted in coordinated packs like some modern mammals. However, not all paleontologists found the evidence conclusive, and a subsequent study published in 2007 by Roach and Brinkman suggests that Deinonychus may have displayed disorganized bullying behavior. Modern diapsids, which include birds and crocodiles, show minimal long-term cooperative hunting (except for Finned Hawk and Harris's Buzzard); instead, they are often solitary hunters, occasionally joining forces to increase hunting success, or simply attracted to carcasses they find, where conflict between individuals of the same species often occurs. For example, in situations where groups of Komodo dragons are feeding together, the largest individuals eat first and may attack younger individuals attempting to feed; If the smaller animal dies, it is usually cannibalized. When this information is applied to sites containing putative group-hunting behavior in dromaeosaurids, it appears consistent with a Komodo dragon-like foraging strategy. Skeletal remains of Deinonychus found at these sites are those of subadults, with missing parts that may have been ingested by other Deinonychus, which a study by Roach et al. presented as evidence against the idea that the animals cooperated in the hunt.
In 2001, a quicksand trap was discovered containing several Utahraptor remains ranging in age from the fully grown adult to the tiny 3-foot-long baby. Some scientists have hypothesized that this is evidence of familial hunting behavior, however the entire sandstone block has not yet been broken open, so researchers are unsure if the animals died at the same time or no.
In 2007, scientists described the first known set of dromaeosaurid tracks, from Shandong, China. In addition to confirming the hypothesis that the sickle claw retracted from the ground during the march, the footprints (made by a large species, the size of Achillobator) showed evidence of six individuals of approximately the same size. moving together along a coastline. Individuals were spaced approximately one meter apart, and retained the same direction of travel, walking at a fairly slow pace. The authors of the article describing these tracks interpreted the tracks as evidence that some species of dromaeosaurids lived in groups. While the tracks do not clearly represent hunting behavior, the idea that groups of dromaeosaurids have hunted together cannot be ruled out, according to the authors.
Paleopathologies
In 2001, Bruce Rothschild and others published a study examining evidence of stress fractures and pullout fractures in theropod dinosaurs and the implications of this for studying their behavior. Since stress fractures are caused by repeated trauma rather than singular events, they are more likely to be caused by regular behavior than other types of injuries. The researchers found lesions similar to those caused by stress fractures in a claw on the hand of a dromaeosaurid, one of only two claw injuries discovered during the study. Stress fractures in the hands have special behavioral significance compared to those found in the feet, since stress fractures can be obtained while the animal is running or during migration. Hand injuries, by contrast, are more likely to be obtained when in contact with struggling prey.
In popular culture
Dromeosaurids are currently one of the families of dinosaurs most represented in current books, films and documentaries that talk about these animals, both within fiction and those with a more informative and scientific intention. One of the biggest causes of the fame of these animals is mainly due to the prominent appearance of the Velociraptor in the 1990 novel Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, and its subsequent film adaptation in 1993, directed by Steven Spielberg., in which a cruel and cunning murderer is represented, however, the "raptors" that appeared in Jurassic Park were designed to represent their larger relative, the Deinonychus, which at that time was erroneously called by some scientists as Velociraptor antirrhopus.
A character in Crichton's novel clarifies this: "Deinonychus is now considered to be one of the Velociraptors", indicating that Crichton used the taxonomy proposed by Gregory Paul in 1988. However, the "raptors" that appeared in the novel referred to Velociraptor mongoliensis.
Since the success of Jurassic Park, Velociraptor has become one of the most represented dinosaurs in popular culture, appearing in numerous movies and television shows (The Raiders of Valley Haunted , Walking with Dinosaurs, The Truth About Killer Dinosaurs...) in addition to video games, toys, even in the fields of music and sports (Toronto Raptors).
Other dromaeosaurids have also made an appearance in various fields of contemporary culture, such as Utahraptor, which is represented with several anatomical inaccuracies in the television series Walking with Dinosaurs and Jurassic Fight Club, and more scientifically precise in the documentary Dinosaur Revolution. Utahraptor also appears as the protagonist in the novel Raptor El Rojo, written by paleontologist Robert T. Bakker, in which he narrates the experiences of a female named "Rojo" throughout a year.
Some of the other species that are currently represented are Troodon, Dromaeosaurus, Microraptor, Sinornithosaurus or Pyroraptor, which have appeared in documentaries such as Walking with Dinosaurs, Planet Dinosaur and Dinosaur Planet.
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