Utahraptor is one of the oldest and largest known dromaeosaurids or dinosaurs related to Velociraptor. This group of carnivorous dinosaurs had a large knife like claw on its foot, specialized for tearing, cutting and ripping. Utahraptor meaning “Utah’s predator,” was a ferocious hunter that used its Knife like claws to attack and rip apart its prey. And it’s main prey were Iguanodons, a large group of hadrosaurs and are closely related to dinosaurs such as Ajnabia. The claw itself was 9.5 inches (24 cm) long! Utahraptor was the inspiration for the Velociraptors in the film Jurassic Park! Utahraptor, however, was quite a bit bigger than Velociraptor; adults were around 20 feet (6.1 meters) long and around 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall at the hip itself, imagine! They were first found in Utah, USA, in 1991 by the American paleontologist J. Ostrom from Yale University. Even the name suggests it’s founder, Utahraptor ostrommaysorum. By the way, don’t think that the Velociraptor is bigger, the Utahraptor is the biggest dromeosaurid, bigger than even a lion, whereas, the Velociraptor is smaller than a German shepherd!
