Utahraptor
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[Photo] Utahraptor reconstruction, in Oxford University Museum of Natural History. Photographer: User:Ballista http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Ballista

Utahraptor (meaning "Utah thief") is the largest known member of the theropod dinosaur family Dromaeosauridae, and dates from the upper Barremian stage of the Lower Cretaceous period (126 million years ago).

Discovery and species
James Kirkland, Rob Gaston, and Don Burge discovered Utahraptor in 1993 in Grand County, Utah, within the Cedar Mountain Formation[1]. The type specimen is currently housed at the College of Eastern Utah, although Brigham Young University currently houses the largest collection of Utahraptor fossils.

The type species (and only known species of Utahraptor), Utahraptor ostrommaysorum, was named for the American paleontologist John Ostrom, from Yale University's Peabody Museum, and Chris Mays, of Dinamation International.

Characteristics
Like other dromaeosaurids, Utahraptor had a huge curved claw on the second toe that could grow to 23 cm (almost 9 inches) long. The animal may have grasped its prey with its forelimbs while kicking with its hindlimbs. Recent tests on reconstructions of the smaller species Velociraptor suggest that claws of this type were used for stabbing, not slashing. Up to 7 meters (23.3 feet) long, 2.4 meters (8 feet) tall and 700 kg (1500lbs) in weight, Utahraptor would have been a formidable predator[1].

Classification
It is thought that Utahraptor may be closely related to the much smaller Dromaeosaurus[1] and the giant Mongolian dromaeosaurid Achillobator.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utahraptor

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