UTAHRAPTOR DINOSAUR CLAW
Utahraptor was a large carniviorous dromaeosaurid dinosaur lineage that lived in western North America during Early Cretaceous time (139 to 135 million years ago). This dinosaur was 6 feet tall, up to 20 feet long, and weighed about 1,000 pounds. It kept its retractable toe claws (up to 7 inches long) sharp by holding them off the ground when running/hunting. This post focuses on the replica a toe claw of Utahraptor. These plaster-of-Paris replicas are available online for purchase at reasonable cost.
Classification of Utahraptor:
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Reptilia
Clades: three of them
Family Dromaeosauiridae
Genus Utahraptor
Type Species: Utahraptor ostrommaysi
Figure 1. Utahraptor ostrommaysi. The red arrow points to where the illustrated toe claw (see Fig. 2) was located.
Figure 2. Life-size (5.5 inches long and 2.75 inches wide) plaster replica of a toe-claw from the foot of an Utahraptor. If you look closely, you can see the prominent “blood groove” that is present on the central part of the claw. These replicas are available online for relatively low prices.
Reference
Wikipedia 2026.
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