Dinosauria › Reptilia › Theropoda › Dromaeosauridae
Silhouette of Deinonychus

Deinonychus

Deinonychus antirrhopus (Ostrom 1969)

Early Cretaceous (Cenomanian) · 121.4–93.9 Mya
Key Statistics
Diet
carnivore
Locomotion
bipedal
inferred from clade
Overview

Deinonychus antirrhopus is a theropod dinosaur known from the Early Cretaceous, roughly 121.4–93.9 million years ago. It was a carnivore. It was named by (Ostrom 1969). The species is represented by 35 recorded occurrences in the Paleobiology Database.

Fossil Record Completeness

How much of this profile is grounded in the fossil record

~75%
confidence from occurrence count
Confirmed
Inferred
Based on 35 recorded occurrences in the Paleobiology Database.
Geologic Time

Where Deinonychus sits in deep time

TRIASSIC
JURASSIC
CRETACEOUS
Deinonychus
252 Mya201 Mya145 Mya66 Mya
Relationships

Part of a wider fossil web

These species share Deinonychus's place in deep time — computed from overlapping age ranges, shared clades, and inferred ecology.

predator–prey
Tenontosaurus
Tenontosaurus tilletti
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predator–prey
Sauropelta
Sauropelta edwardsorum
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predator–prey
Eolambia
Eolambia caroljonesa
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coexisted–with
Asiaceratops
Asiaceratops salsopaludalis
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coexisted–with
Sauroposeidon
Sauroposeidon proteles
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same–clade
Microvenator
Microvenator celer
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same–clade
Acrocanthosaurus
Acrocanthosaurus atokensis
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same–clade
Australovenator
Australovenator wintonensis
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