Page 34 - DINOSOUR ATLAS

deinonychus
The sharp teeth of Deinonychus, a
pack-hunting carnivore, have been found
among the bones of Tenontosaurus. This
is evidence for both predator and prey.

teeth to Puncture and Pull
The jaws of Deinonychus were packed with
backward-slanting teeth. They were sharp,
but were not designed to cut through meat.
Instead, Deinonychus bit into its prey, then
jerked its head to tear the flesh away.

teeth-packed
jaws were long
and narrow, and
utahraPtor . were controlled by
did you know? The top predator of the Cedar strong muscles
Mountain Formation was probably
. A bone bed has produced more Utahraptor. This dromaeosaur
than 3,000 bones belonging to (running lizard), which was the part of a backbone,
perhaps 20 Gastonia dinosaurs. largest member of its group, was possibly of Brachiosaurus,
This suggests the animals lived armed with a curved claw on each excavated in the Cedar
in a herd that died in a single, Mountain Formation
sudden catastrophe. foot that grew to 15 in (38 cm). An
intelligent animal, Utahraptor may
. Dinosaur tracks and eggshells have hunted in packs, stalking prey
are also found in the rocks. before attacking it with a combination
of flesh-piercing kicks and bites.

, cedar mountain today
Over a period of perhaps 20 million
years, the sediments dropped by the
rivers and pools of the Early Cretaceous
built up and hardened into deep
deposits of rock. Today, these ancient
rocks form high cliffs of rust-colored
pebbly sandstone, mudstone, and
siltstone, which have been eroded by
weathering into deep canyons,
pinnacles, and arches.
33