Raptors: do they live up to the hype?

[Cross]

Going back to gregarious behavior, I can't see why it would strike someone as implausible that dromaeosaurids were gregarious seeing as how gregarious behavior in theropod dinosaurs has already been described and supported both in advanced coeulurosaurs (Erickson et al 2006), and in allosauroids (Coria and Currie 2006). I haven't read the paper that describes gregarious dromaeosaurid ichnotaxa yet, but those three papers kind of put the debate to rest.
Matthew Martyniuk and Emily Willoughby, as well as Fowler et al (2011) have noted the relatively un-cursorial nature of dromaeosaurid anatomy and how their morphology seems more consistent with ambush and powerful gripping force.
As I suggested earlier, I think they were arboreal "drop predators" like Leopards given that their claws and wing-assisted incline-running could allow for scansoriality, and launching from trees and ledges would allow them to attack larger prey. The last 3 authors I cited (Emily Willoughby, Matt Martyniuk, and Fowler et al.) are all convinced that dromaeosaurids were big-game hunters and that the large ungual D-II claw was a predatory tool as opposed to a climbing device.

[theropod]

I too think that they were macropredaceous and (many of them) would have utilized the kind of arboreal attack method you describe, but it’s misleading to make it look as if they exclusively hunted like that. Like in extant analogues, they likely relied on a diverse array of hunting methods depending on the species of dromaeosaur, the habitat and the prey type, of which arboreal ambush would simply be one option.

[Cross]

While we're on the subject, Utahraptor apparently has manual claws that are more cutting blade-like in morphology than those of other dromaeosaurids (Kirkland, Gaston, and Burge 1993). Given the mass of the animal (~500-600 kilograms assuming geometric similarity to a 60-75kg Deinonychus and accounting for positive allometry) it probably was not capable of employing the hunting method that I suggested earlier. Do you think maybe it didn't have feathered-wings along its forelimbs? I say this because the blade-like manual claws indicate predatory function, and the presence of large feathers along the forelimb would have inhibited effective use of the said hand claws.

[Infinity Blade]

^Are there things like cross sections of the claws? Because I'm really interested in that statement.

[theropod]

Oct 1, 2015 15:53:47 GMT 5 Infinity Blade said:

^Are there things like cross sections of the claws? Because I'm really interested in that statement.

Yes, in Kirkland et al. 1993:
www.academia.edu/225747/A_large_dromaeosaurid_Theropoda_from_the_Lower_Cretaceous_of_Eastern_Utah

[creature386]

^Yes, the manual unguals are less circular in cross section and thinner than those of other dromaeosaurids (like Deinonychus):
www.academia.edu/225747/A_large_dromaeosaurid_Theropoda_from_the_Lower_Cretaceous_of_Eastern_Utah
Go to page 11.

EDIT: Too slow.

[Cross]

Here, I took screenshots of the figures from Kirkland et al. (1993) :   "Comparison of the pedal and manual ungual unguals of Utahraptor and Deinonychus ; first manual unguals : a) Deinonychus based on YPM 5206 b) Utahraptor based on CEU 184v294; second pedal unguals : c) Deinonychus based on YPM 5205; d) Utahraptor basedd on CEU 184v86. All drawn to same height of articular facet. Scale equals one centimeter."


I apologize if it's too small. 

[Cross]

Would dromaeosaurids have been able to perform jumping kicks like modern ratites? Like what Casuarius and Struthio camelus do?

[creature386]

It would be a bit more difficult due to the different body posture, but I could imagine at least the smaller ones being able to do so.

[Cross]

Actually, wait, one of my paleontology peers named Malek Ellouz, who focuses on maniraptorans, explained how Utahraptor would have been able to keep its balance even in mid air.


"It would slightly assist in the movement of mass by restricting the dexter-sinister plane, resulting in more stabilized anteroposterior movement. However, if the prey is struggling, the tail stiffness will allow for more stabilization to shift the body weight (with the caudal appendage) in order not to topple over. A Utahraptor, for example, could use the inertial momentum by powering it's tail to counterbalance gravity (when nearly falling). Utahraptor derivatively abbreviated their chevrons and prezygapophyses, resulting in a more ambulatory tail. This is likely due to its enlarged size."

So could a dromaeosaurid be able to jump into the air with its tail angled so as to counterbalance during kicking?

[Cross]

If you consider a 5.5-meter long, 300-400kg dromaeosaurid being capable of leaping a distance of 12 meters as "Living up to the hype", then yes. They do live up to the hype.
Michael Habib calculated that a dromaeosaurid the size of Dakotaraptor could easily leap a distance of 12 meters with a good running start.

So Muldoon's claim of raptors being "Astonishing jumpers" in Jurassic Park is probably true.

[spartan]

That sounds almost comically far. What's the leaping distance of big cats?

[theropod]

I am not opposed to this figure at all (there have been humans that were able to jump over 8m, and I’ve got no problem believing a large dromaeosaur could jump over 50% further than that), but Habib’s statement reads like an educated guess, not a calculation. Or did he present the math elsewhere?

As for cats, I’ve read claims that snow leopards can leap 15m in several places all over the internet, but no reliable source, or any source about leaping distances in large mammals for that matter. It’s probably rather difficult to gather reliable data, because it’s rather hard to motivate a given pantherine to jump as far as it can and let you record it.

[spartan]

Yeah, I also couldn't find any hard numbers, only things like this:

i.imgur.com/KvAyYYx.gifv

I'm bad at estimating distances, to me the 8.95m world record jump looks like 6-7m

[theropod]

^What do you mean by that?