Deinonychosauria drawing
This drawing by my superbly talented friend Heather Martens is just so cool.
I met Heather at my first Rumble in the Midlands – a meeting of freethinkers and believers, with a debate format geared towards mutual respect and understanding between such diametrically opposed viewpoints as atheists and christians, or the monogamous and the polyamorous. I asked Heather to draw me a Dinosaur (another Dinosaur of course, I was not quite ready for a portrait at the time *blush*) and this is the final drawing.
I love the turgidity and expressiveness of the sickle claw…
In Dinosaurs, the species with this sickle claw are grouped into a clade of Theropods called the Deinonychosauria.
Deinonychosaurus
In the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods (165 to 65 Million years ago) while most other Theropod Dinosaurs walked with all their toes making contact with the ground, the Deinonychosauria held their second toe off the ground, hyperextended into this formidable and beautifully evolved weapon, used for slashing at victims and climbing trees.
The hyperextension of the toe when walking is confirmed by fossilized Dino tracks and is termed functional didactyly.
Super well done Heather, and thanks for sharing your bright, shining talent with the world.
