Deinonychus (/daɪˈnɒnɪkəs/ dy-NON-i-kəs; from Greek: δεινός deinós, 'terrible' and ὄνυξ ónux, genitive ὄνυχος ónuchos 'claw') is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur with was study species, Deinonychus antirrhopus. Fossils have been Found from the U.S. states of Montana, Utah, Wyoming, and Oklahoma, in rocks of the Cloverly Formation, Cedar Mountain Formation and Antlers Formation, though teeth that could be Deinonychus have been found much farther east in Maryland.
Paleontologist John Ostrom's study of Deinonychus in the late 1960s revolutionized the way scientists thought about dinosaurs, leading to the "dinosaur renaissance" and igniting the debate on whether dinosaurs were warm-blooded or cold-blooded. Before this, the popular conception of dinosaurs had been one of plodding, reptilian giants. Ostrom noted the small body, sleek, horizontal posture, ratite-like spine, and especially the enlarged raptorial claws on the feet, which suggested an active, agile predator.
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Habitat Deinonychus lived in a tropical climate. There Prey was dinosaur that lived near forests and green areas and where ever the plant eating dinosaurs lived. Deinonychus was a meat eating dinosaur; because of this it hunted in packs in order to take down larger prey.
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Size This species, which could grow up to 3.4 metres (11 ft) long, lived during the early Cretaceous Period, about 115–108 million years ago (from the mid-Aptian to early Albian stages).
