Utahraptor

BINOMIAL NAME
Utahraptor ostrommaysi
NAME MEANING
Utah Thief
DIET
Carnivore Carnivore
ERA
Early Cretaceous
FAMILY
Dromaeosauridae
COHABITATION CATEGORY
Small Carnivore

FOSSIL ICON(S)
Theropod common fossil
Theropod uncommon fossil
Amber fossil
DIG SITES
Cedar Mountain Formation

HEIGHT
2 m
(6.6 feet)
LENGTH
6.1 m
(20 feet)
WEIGHT
500 kg
(1,102.3 lbs)

SECURITY RATING
4
MINIMUM POPULATION
2
FEEDER TYPE
Carnivore Live Bait
WATER
6%
FOREST
54%
OPEN SPACE
40%
PREY
0.50

LIKES
Scavenger
DISLIKES
Carnivores
Therizinosaurus

APPEAL
317
ATTACK
60
DEFENCE
25
DOMINANCE
85
LIFESPAN
72

BATCH SIZE
2-4
DURATION
0:09
COST
$360,000

DURATION
0:18
COST
$780,000

Utahraptor is a genus of dromaeosaurid dinosaur in the Jurassic World Evolution series. Originating from Early Cretaceous North America, it is the largest-known dromaeosaur and notable for its feathered body.

Utahraptor was added to Evolution 2 as a part of the Cretaceous Predator Pack, and its fossils can be excavated from the Cedar Mountain Formation.

Among the largest known members of the dromaeosaur family, Utahraptor (as its name suggests) lived in the Utah region of the western United States during the Early Cretaceous period. Measuring around 6 meters long, standing 2 meters tall, and weighing 250 to 500 kg (roughly the size of a large bear), Utahraptor is a ferocious, intelligent, ruthless, and incredibly lethal predator that shares many features with its fellow raptors, including an undeniably stunning feathered coat and the large, lethal scythe-like "killing claws" on each foot that could stop almost any victim dead in its tracks. Unable to outrun most smaller dinosaurs, this genus of theropod dinosaur relies on its sickle claws and a powerful bite to ambush its prey. This carnivore is the epitome of feathered ferocity.

Undoubtedly the largest, heaviest, and by far the oldest member of all dromaeosaurids (or raptor dinosaurs) measuring between 5 ad 7 m (16 and 23 ft) in length, standing around 1.5 to 2 m (4.9 to 6 ft) tall, and between 250 and 770 kg (500 and 1,700 lb) in weight – comparable in size to a large Kodiak or polar bear – the first specimens of Utahraptor were discovered in 1975 by respected American paleontologist Jim Jensen during an excavation in the Dalton Wells Quarry near the town of Moab, Utah. However, for more than 15 years, it did not receive much attention until the find of a large, sickle-shaped claw (measuring between 9 and 15 inches) by Carl Limone in October of 1991. Following that, further remains of Utahraptor uncovered in the Gaston Quarry in Grand County, Utah by James Kirkland, Robert Gaston, and Donald Burge.

The type species, Utahraptor ostrommaysi, was officially named by Kirkland, Gaston, and Burge in June of 1993. The genus name is reference to Utah, where the remains were found, but the Latin word raptor translates to "Thief". The specific name, ostrommaysi, is in honor to John Ostrom for his investigations on Deinonychus and its relationships to birds, as well as Chris Mays, who helped in the research of Utahraptor by founding Dinamation. As with all members of the dromaeosaur family, it has been theorized that even dromaeosaurs as large as Utahraptor hunted in packs.

Utahraptor lived in North America during the Early Cretaceous period, approximately between 140–120 million years ago. Among the apex predators of its time and ecosystem, it shared its environment with fellow dinosaurs, which includes sauropods (such as Cedarosaurus and Moabosaurus), iguanodont ornithopods (such as Hippodraco, Cedrorestes, and Iguanoacolossus), and the ankylosaurian nodosaurid Gastonia as well as other smaller theropod dinosaurs (which include Martharaptor and Nedcolbertia). It inhabited environments that consisted of semiarid areas with floodplain prairies, riverine forests, and open woodlands predominated by conifers, ferns, hornworts, and other vascular plants.