Utahraptor
U-tah-rap-torName meaning: Utahs thief
Time Period: Barremian (Early Cretaceous) 139–134.6 Mya
Locations: Utah Cedar Mountain Formation
Taxonomy: Theropoda-Dromaeosauridae-Eudromaeosauria-Dromaeosaurinae
Subspecies: U. strommaysi
Characteristics ~ ~ ~ ~
Utahraptor is the largest Dromaeosaurid or “raptor” known. Being around 20-23 feet long and weighing around 1,100 pounds. Utahraptor was more heavily built than other dromaeosaurs using its size to overpower larger herbivores rather than rely on speed to chase after smaller ones. There is no direct evidence of Pack hunting in Utahraptor; they are large enough to easily hunt prey independently. Utahraptors Maxila curved downwards causing its foremost teeth to protrude forwards giving it gnarly looking teeth like Maiasiakasaurus. Utahraptors killing claw in life would have been 24 cm long, for reference a tigers claws are around 10 cm and the largest kodiak bears claws are 15 cm.
History & Fossils ~ ~ ~ ~
Utahraptor was found in 1975 by Jim Jensen in the Dalton Wells Quarry of Utah however no notable fossils were found. It wouldn't receive a major excavation until 1991 where a 9 ton block filled with Utahraptor fossils had been retrieved. It was officially named in 1993 with species name ostrommaysi being in honor of John Ostrom. Utahraptor was declared the state fossil of Utah in 2018. It replaced Allosaurus since being named ‘Utah”raptor made it a more fitting representative and Allosaurus can be found in multiple states while Utahraptor is a Utah exclusive.
Media Deptictions ~ ~ ~ ~
Jurassic World Evolution Featured in the Cretaceous Predator pack alongside Gigantoraptor Concavenator and Tarbosaurus. Utahraptor is one of, if not the most impressive species in this game, It’s a rather scientifically rigorous design and it’s accurate to what we would presume a Utahraptor would look like. Utahraptor is probably the most popular frontier design as it was deliberately revealed early to build hype for Jurassic World Evolution 3. In Jurassic World Evolution 3 male Utahraptors have a thicker coat of feathers making them appear larger. While the babies have white spots like a deer fawn allowing them to better camouflage under the canopy, it also makes them extra cute.
Walking with Dinosaurs A pack of Utahraptors are in Europe for some reason hunting Iguanodon. I don’t need to explain the problem with Utahraptors in Europe. I mean it’s in the name. The Utahraptors are featherless, have a pattern like a leopard, and act very feline. There also very snide, taking issues with their animators and how difficult they're to work with. In the 2025 reboot Utahraptor would get an entire episode focusing on the predator prey relationship between it and Gastonia.
