Utahraptor ostrommaysorum

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Life-size bronze statue by Gary Prazen

What do you get when you combine a mega-blockbuster science fiction movie and the scientific proof to back it up?

You find out that reality is more shocking than fiction.

That is just what happened when CEU Museum quarry crews began work in a remote quarry near Moab, Utah. The film Jurassic Park was just beginning production when members of the museum uncovered a new Cretaceous dinosaur. After working at the quarry for several days, museum employee Carl Limone unearthed the find of the century - the bony core of a Cretaceous killing machine that would rival the fictitious giant Velociraptor in Jurassic Park for size. Dubbed the Utahraptor or "Utah's Predator", this killer gained worldwide attention. 

It is thought that with the super-slashing claw on each hind foot, the Utahraptor could deliver a death sentence to a dinosaur with one kick. Based on its size, by rotating its limbs and extending its claw, it could make a cut 5 to 6 feet long with one slice. It is thought that Utahraptors moved in packs, where they were able to choose dinosaurs much larger than themselves as prey.

Read more on our Utahraptor Page