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''JurassicPark''-styled ''Velociraptor'' (and other "raptors", or deinonychosaurs) - man-sized, intelligent, vicious, scaly - pops up often, usually as a ShoutOut to, well, ''JurassicPark''. In real life, ''Velociraptor'' were about the size of turkeys, though there is a predator ''Utahraptor'' that more closely matches ''JurassicPark'''s depiction in terms of size. Causes paleontologists an unending amount of sweet, tasty tears.
to:
''JurassicPark''-styled ''Velociraptor'' (and other "raptors", or deinonychosaurs) - man-sized, intelligent, vicious, scaly - pops up often, usually as a ShoutOut to, well, ''JurassicPark''. In real life, RealLife, ''Velociraptor'' were about the size of turkeys, though there is a predator ''Utahraptor'' was another "raptor", ''Utahraptor'', that more closely matches ''JurassicPark'''s depiction in terms of size. Causes paleontologists an unending amount of sweet, tasty tears.
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A list of common inaccuracies in pop culture portrayals of deinonychosaurs.
* '''One''': Being covered in scales instead of feathers. If present in older works this is a victim of ScienceMarchesOn, but we've known since 1999 that deinonychosaurs had feathers[[hottip:*:Indeed, some possible deinonychosaurs such as ''Archaeopteryx'' and ''Rahonavis'' already showed evidence of feathers before then, but had not been recognized as deinonychosaurs when first discovered.]].
* '''Two''': In the event that deinonychosaurs are portrayed with feathers, it is [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2010/03/youre-doing-it-wrong-1-archaeopteryx.html very, very unlikely]] that the feather distribution and structure will be portrayed accurately. One of the most common mistakes on this front is to have the wing feathers end at the wrist, even though we know that deinonychosaurs actually had wing feathers attached to the second finger as well. It is common for many depictions of feathered deinonychosaurs to portray them as a [[MixAndMatchCritter weird hybrid]] between a bird and a lizard, probably to highlight their "[[HollywoodEvolution missing link]]" iconism. However, we know that deinonychosaurs were almost entirely feathered other than the tip of the snout and sometimes the feet. (Though it is not unreasonable to suggest that the largest deinonychosaurs may have had some naked patches similar to ostriches today.)
* '''Three''': The hands will be twisted around so that the palms point backwards towards the body, kind of like a zombie. In reality, deinonychosaurs (in fact, most dinosaurs) have palms that naturally face one another, and [[YouFailBiologyForever twisting them around like that would break the wrists]].
* '''Four''': Deinonychosaurs will often be depicted as {{Lightning Bruiser}}s, among the speediest of all dinosaurs. While troodonts and basal dromaeosaurids were well built for running, the larger, more derived dromaeosaurids (including ''Velociraptor'' and ''Deinonychus'') were not. As early as the 1960s, scientific analyses have concluded that advanced dromaeosaurids were built for short-range acceleration and low-speed endurance running instead of high-speed sprinting. However, the leg structure does indicate that they do appear to have been very agile and had a good sense of balance, which sort of makes up for it. In sum, advanced dromaeosaurs were more akin to {{Jacks Of All Stats}} than what the movies say, in that they stressed more emphasis on claw-to-claw dogfighting than fleetness of foot.
* '''Five''': AnimalEyes, combined with RuleOfScary and, to some extent, ReptilesAreAbhorrent. Cat-like eyes [[HellishPupils with slits for pupils]] are the most common, which MIGHT be reasonable considering that the other closest relatives of dinosaurs, crocodilians, have slit pupils as well. However, given the fact that raptors are more closely related to birds, their eyes may well be more bird-like with round, fixed pupils. On the other claw, however, the typical raptor skull does not have a supraorbital ridge, so it would be rather unrealistic to give your raptor the same "eagle scowl" as that of the other type of raptor, the BigBadassBirdOfPrey.
* '''Six''': BiggerIsBetter combined with TaxonomicTermConfusion, where works depict "''Velociraptor''" as being more similar to ''Deinonychus'' and sometimes nearing the size of ''Utahraptor''. A trope popularized by ''JurassicPark'', this is typically a result of FollowTheLeader when present in other works.
* '''Seven''': Overly flexible or overly stiff tails. Due to their tails being surrounded by ossified tendons, deinonychosaur tails were probably not sinuous and whip-like as shown in ''JurassicPark''. At the same time, it is a common meme among paleo artists to draw deinonychosaur tails as being stiff rods almost incapable of bending except at the base. Though true to a degree, fossils of sleeping deinonychosaurs such as ''Mei'' show that their tails were flexible enough to curl around the body.
* '''Eight''': [[IntellectualAnimal Extreme intelligence.]] Prior to the discovery that modern birds are dinosaurs, deinonychosaurs were widely considered "the most intelligent dinosaurs". Based on brain-to-body ratio and brain structure, deinonychosaurs do appear to have been quite intelligent among Mesozoic dinosaurs, but they were almost certainly not as intelligent as the most intelligent birds alive today. A common paleo meme that arose in the 1980s was the idea that if dinosaurs never became extinct, the most intelligent species (i.e.: deinonychosaurs) would [[LizardFolk develop into]] [[TheReptilians humanoid forms]]. This, of course, overlooks the fact that the most intelligent dinosaurs (modern-type birds) ''were'' [[OvershadowedByAwesome the ones that survived]] to begin with, as well as demonstrates something of a HumansAreSpecial attitude. After all, there isn't any good reason why [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/03/dinosauroids_2008.php hypothetical highly intelligent dinosaurs]] would necessarily develop a human-like body plan.
* '''Nine''': [[RuleOfCool Being capable of taking on impossibly large prey.]] Due to their reputation as pack hunters (which is in itself debatable), deinonychosaurs are popularly shown killing prey much, much larger than themselves with ease. Although we know that some dromaeosaurids potentially preyed on larger prey, many of these depictions show coyote-sized dromaeosaurids killing prey not just ten times their size, but ''[[BeyondTheImpossible several hundred times]]'' their size, such as adult hadrosaurs or even sauropods. Furthermore, many deinonychosaurs (such as troodonts and basal dromaeosaurids) likely [[FragileSpeedster specialized in small prey]], not large ones.
* '''Ten''': [[FunnyAnimalAnatomy Overly useful hands.]] Many deinonychosaurs had long arms and big hands, and it is therefore tempting to think that they were actually ''used'' like human hands. It is not uncommon to see deinonychosaurs (again, especially ''Troodon'') shown with opposable thumbs, even though the only deinonychosaur that has so far been biomechanically demonstrated to have had opposable thumbs is ''Bambiraptor'', so most deinonychosaurs could only hold objects two-handed (or clutched them towards the chest). In reality, long as their arms were, deinonychosaurs couldn't reach further with their hands than they could with their mouths, and the large feathers known to have been present on the arms and hands of deinonychosaurs would have prevented their use in picking up food from the ground or digging (which could instead be accomplished using the mouth or feet). The hand claws were useful as grappling hooks and for holding food that couldn't be eaten in one gulp, but they likely weren't as dexterous as often portrayed.
* '''Eleven''': Arms lifting above the back. As we now know that deinonychosaurs were very closely related to birds, artists often use modern birds as references for deinonychosaurs (as well as other basal birds). This normally isn't a bad thing (most deinonychosaur portrayals aren't birdlike ''enough''), but it can still be misleading. Many small deinonychosaurs may have had some flying or gliding ability, so they are often shown with their arms lifted above the back in a flight stroke. However, biomechanical studies of deinonychosaurs and basal birds show that they could only lift their arms to the sides at most.
* '''Twelve''': Pseudobeaks. In the same vein as the previous, another common way artists attempt to make their deinonychosaurs more birdlike is to add a beak-like sheath on the snout of deinonychosaurs. In fact, we know that deinonychosaurs actually had feathers covering most of the snout, and as they had a full complement of teeth, they didn't really need a beak as well. (Even in prehistoric birds with both beaks and teeth, the beak [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2011/04/youre-doing-it-wrong-birds-with-teeth.html doesn't occupy the same space as the teeth]].) Deinonychosaurs that preserve facial integument show a featherless region at the very tip of the snout, but even then there's no evidence for a keratinous sheath there.
* '''Thirteen''': Inaccurate family life. Possibly due to extrapolation from modern predatory birds, it is popular to portray dromaeosaurids as living in mated pairs with the female brooding the eggs, feeding their young, and sometimes nesting in trees. Based on body to clutch size ratio, however, it was probably the males that brooded the eggs, and the sheer number of eggs in known deinonychosaur nests means that the males probably had multiple mates. Young deinonychosaurs were capable of running around after hatching, so it's not unlikely that they hunted at least some of their food on their own instead of being fed. Although deinonychosaurs (especially the smaller ones) may have climbed trees, ground nesting appears to be basal among birds, even flying ones[[hottip:*:Even basal birds that ''have'' evolved tree nesting, such as wood ducks, tend to nest in tree hollows instead of building a nest in the branches.]], so deinonychosaurs probably mostly nested on the ground as well (and, indeed, are known to have done so).
For good examples of ''accurate'' deinonychosaur portrayals, see [[http://www.henteeth.com/nh/paleoart.htm this website]].
* '''One''': Being covered in scales instead of feathers. If present in older works this is a victim of ScienceMarchesOn, but we've known since 1999 that deinonychosaurs had feathers[[hottip:*:Indeed, some possible deinonychosaurs such as ''Archaeopteryx'' and ''Rahonavis'' already showed evidence of feathers before then, but had not been recognized as deinonychosaurs when first discovered.]].
* '''Two''': In the event that deinonychosaurs are portrayed with feathers, it is [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2010/03/youre-doing-it-wrong-1-archaeopteryx.html very, very unlikely]] that the feather distribution and structure will be portrayed accurately. One of the most common mistakes on this front is to have the wing feathers end at the wrist, even though we know that deinonychosaurs actually had wing feathers attached to the second finger as well. It is common for many depictions of feathered deinonychosaurs to portray them as a [[MixAndMatchCritter weird hybrid]] between a bird and a lizard, probably to highlight their "[[HollywoodEvolution missing link]]" iconism. However, we know that deinonychosaurs were almost entirely feathered other than the tip of the snout and sometimes the feet. (Though it is not unreasonable to suggest that the largest deinonychosaurs may have had some naked patches similar to ostriches today.)
* '''Three''': The hands will be twisted around so that the palms point backwards towards the body, kind of like a zombie. In reality, deinonychosaurs (in fact, most dinosaurs) have palms that naturally face one another, and [[YouFailBiologyForever twisting them around like that would break the wrists]].
* '''Four''': Deinonychosaurs will often be depicted as {{Lightning Bruiser}}s, among the speediest of all dinosaurs. While troodonts and basal dromaeosaurids were well built for running, the larger, more derived dromaeosaurids (including ''Velociraptor'' and ''Deinonychus'') were not. As early as the 1960s, scientific analyses have concluded that advanced dromaeosaurids were built for short-range acceleration and low-speed endurance running instead of high-speed sprinting. However, the leg structure does indicate that they do appear to have been very agile and had a good sense of balance, which sort of makes up for it. In sum, advanced dromaeosaurs were more akin to {{Jacks Of All Stats}} than what the movies say, in that they stressed more emphasis on claw-to-claw dogfighting than fleetness of foot.
* '''Five''': AnimalEyes, combined with RuleOfScary and, to some extent, ReptilesAreAbhorrent. Cat-like eyes [[HellishPupils with slits for pupils]] are the most common, which MIGHT be reasonable considering that the other closest relatives of dinosaurs, crocodilians, have slit pupils as well. However, given the fact that raptors are more closely related to birds, their eyes may well be more bird-like with round, fixed pupils. On the other claw, however, the typical raptor skull does not have a supraorbital ridge, so it would be rather unrealistic to give your raptor the same "eagle scowl" as that of the other type of raptor, the BigBadassBirdOfPrey.
* '''Six''': BiggerIsBetter combined with TaxonomicTermConfusion, where works depict "''Velociraptor''" as being more similar to ''Deinonychus'' and sometimes nearing the size of ''Utahraptor''. A trope popularized by ''JurassicPark'', this is typically a result of FollowTheLeader when present in other works.
* '''Seven''': Overly flexible or overly stiff tails. Due to their tails being surrounded by ossified tendons, deinonychosaur tails were probably not sinuous and whip-like as shown in ''JurassicPark''. At the same time, it is a common meme among paleo artists to draw deinonychosaur tails as being stiff rods almost incapable of bending except at the base. Though true to a degree, fossils of sleeping deinonychosaurs such as ''Mei'' show that their tails were flexible enough to curl around the body.
* '''Eight''': [[IntellectualAnimal Extreme intelligence.]] Prior to the discovery that modern birds are dinosaurs, deinonychosaurs were widely considered "the most intelligent dinosaurs". Based on brain-to-body ratio and brain structure, deinonychosaurs do appear to have been quite intelligent among Mesozoic dinosaurs, but they were almost certainly not as intelligent as the most intelligent birds alive today. A common paleo meme that arose in the 1980s was the idea that if dinosaurs never became extinct, the most intelligent species (i.e.: deinonychosaurs) would [[LizardFolk develop into]] [[TheReptilians humanoid forms]]. This, of course, overlooks the fact that the most intelligent dinosaurs (modern-type birds) ''were'' [[OvershadowedByAwesome the ones that survived]] to begin with, as well as demonstrates something of a HumansAreSpecial attitude. After all, there isn't any good reason why [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/03/dinosauroids_2008.php hypothetical highly intelligent dinosaurs]] would necessarily develop a human-like body plan.
* '''Nine''': [[RuleOfCool Being capable of taking on impossibly large prey.]] Due to their reputation as pack hunters (which is in itself debatable), deinonychosaurs are popularly shown killing prey much, much larger than themselves with ease. Although we know that some dromaeosaurids potentially preyed on larger prey, many of these depictions show coyote-sized dromaeosaurids killing prey not just ten times their size, but ''[[BeyondTheImpossible several hundred times]]'' their size, such as adult hadrosaurs or even sauropods. Furthermore, many deinonychosaurs (such as troodonts and basal dromaeosaurids) likely [[FragileSpeedster specialized in small prey]], not large ones.
* '''Ten''': [[FunnyAnimalAnatomy Overly useful hands.]] Many deinonychosaurs had long arms and big hands, and it is therefore tempting to think that they were actually ''used'' like human hands. It is not uncommon to see deinonychosaurs (again, especially ''Troodon'') shown with opposable thumbs, even though the only deinonychosaur that has so far been biomechanically demonstrated to have had opposable thumbs is ''Bambiraptor'', so most deinonychosaurs could only hold objects two-handed (or clutched them towards the chest). In reality, long as their arms were, deinonychosaurs couldn't reach further with their hands than they could with their mouths, and the large feathers known to have been present on the arms and hands of deinonychosaurs would have prevented their use in picking up food from the ground or digging (which could instead be accomplished using the mouth or feet). The hand claws were useful as grappling hooks and for holding food that couldn't be eaten in one gulp, but they likely weren't as dexterous as often portrayed.
* '''Eleven''': Arms lifting above the back. As we now know that deinonychosaurs were very closely related to birds, artists often use modern birds as references for deinonychosaurs (as well as other basal birds). This normally isn't a bad thing (most deinonychosaur portrayals aren't birdlike ''enough''), but it can still be misleading. Many small deinonychosaurs may have had some flying or gliding ability, so they are often shown with their arms lifted above the back in a flight stroke. However, biomechanical studies of deinonychosaurs and basal birds show that they could only lift their arms to the sides at most.
* '''Twelve''': Pseudobeaks. In the same vein as the previous, another common way artists attempt to make their deinonychosaurs more birdlike is to add a beak-like sheath on the snout of deinonychosaurs. In fact, we know that deinonychosaurs actually had feathers covering most of the snout, and as they had a full complement of teeth, they didn't really need a beak as well. (Even in prehistoric birds with both beaks and teeth, the beak [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2011/04/youre-doing-it-wrong-birds-with-teeth.html doesn't occupy the same space as the teeth]].) Deinonychosaurs that preserve facial integument show a featherless region at the very tip of the snout, but even then there's no evidence for a keratinous sheath there.
* '''Thirteen''': Inaccurate family life. Possibly due to extrapolation from modern predatory birds, it is popular to portray dromaeosaurids as living in mated pairs with the female brooding the eggs, feeding their young, and sometimes nesting in trees. Based on body to clutch size ratio, however, it was probably the males that brooded the eggs, and the sheer number of eggs in known deinonychosaur nests means that the males probably had multiple mates. Young deinonychosaurs were capable of running around after hatching, so it's not unlikely that they hunted at least some of their food on their own instead of being fed. Although deinonychosaurs (especially the smaller ones) may have climbed trees, ground nesting appears to be basal among birds, even flying ones[[hottip:*:Even basal birds that ''have'' evolved tree nesting, such as wood ducks, tend to nest in tree hollows instead of building a nest in the branches.]], so deinonychosaurs probably mostly nested on the ground as well (and, indeed, are known to have done so).
For good examples of ''accurate'' deinonychosaur portrayals, see [[http://www.henteeth.com/nh/paleoart.htm this website]].
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''JurassicPark''-styled ''Velociraptor'' (and other "raptors", or deinonychosaurs) - man-sized, intelligent, vicious - pops up often, usually as a ShoutOut to, well, ''JurassicPark''. In real life, ''Velociraptor'' were about the size of turkeys, though there is a predator ''Utahraptor'' that more closely matches ''JurassicPark'''s depiction in terms of size. Causes paleontologists an unending amount of sweet, tasty tears.
to:
''JurassicPark''-styled ''Velociraptor'' (and other "raptors", or deinonychosaurs) - man-sized, intelligent, vicious vicious, scaly - pops up often, usually as a ShoutOut to, well, ''JurassicPark''. In real life, ''Velociraptor'' were about the size of turkeys, though there is a predator ''Utahraptor'' that more closely matches ''JurassicPark'''s depiction in terms of size. Causes paleontologists an unending amount of sweet, tasty tears.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 1,2 (click to see context) from:
''JurassicPark''-styled ''Velociraptor'' - man-sized, intelligent, vicious - pops up often, usually as a ShoutOut to, well, ''JurassicPark''. In real life, ''Velociraptor'' were about the size of turkeys, though there is a predator ''Utahraptor'' that more closely matches ''JurassicPark'''s depiction. Causes paleontologists an unending amount of sweet, tasty tears.
to:
''JurassicPark''-styled ''Velociraptor'' (and other "raptors", or deinonychosaurs) - man-sized, intelligent, vicious - pops up often, usually as a ShoutOut to, well, ''JurassicPark''. In real life, ''Velociraptor'' were about the size of turkeys, though there is a predator ''Utahraptor'' that more closely matches ''JurassicPark'''s depiction.depiction in terms of size. Causes paleontologists an unending amount of sweet, tasty tears.
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None
Changed line(s) 1,2 (click to see context) from:
JurassicPark-styled velociraptors - man-sized, intelligent, viscious - pops up often, usually as a ShoutOut to, well, JurassicPark. In real life, velociraptors were about the size of turkeys, though there is a predator (Utahraptor) that closely matches JurassicPark's depiction. Causes archeologists an unending amount of sweet, tasty tears.
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Ever since ''JurassicPark'' came out, deinonychosaurs (the group including dromaeosaurs and troodonts) have started to appear more and more in media. In particular, pay attention to the inaccuracies in said portrayals.
Media tends to portray ''Velociraptor'' as a deadly lovechild between a roadrunner and a shark; large, speedy, and made of violent ripping tools. It is also widely believed that for their time, raptors were very intelligent animals.
''Velociraptor'' were about the size of turkeys, and common sense is enough to tell one that raptors also are not pointlessly bloodthirsty killbots that would pursue and attack other creatures [[SuperPersistentPredator just because]].
Media tends to portray ''Velociraptor'' as a deadly lovechild between a roadrunner and a shark; large, speedy, and made of violent ripping tools. It is also widely believed that for their time, raptors were very intelligent animals.
''Velociraptor'' were about the size of turkeys, and common sense is enough to tell one that raptors also are not pointlessly bloodthirsty killbots that would pursue and attack other creatures [[SuperPersistentPredator just because]].
to:
Media tends to portray ''Velociraptor''
''Velociraptor''
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If the description\'s longer than the examples given, there\'s something wrong. Take it to useful notes.
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The reason media ''Velociraptor'' are depicted as man-sized (or even larger) is because of [[FollowTheLeader following the example set by]] ''JurassicPark'', whose own portrayal was due to 1) a certain paleontologist *cough*Greg Paul*cough* publishing a book at the time that classified the wolf-sized ''Deinonychus antirrhopus'' as a ''Velociraptor'', 2) "''Velociraptor''" apparently was deemed easier on the tongue/more appealing than "''Deinonychus''", and 3) The turkey-sized ''Velociraptor'' was no major villain material, whereas the larger and menacing-looking ''Deinonychus'' was. Essentially, JP's "Raptors" are actually ''Deinonychus'' specimens, even though they are apparently referred to with the binomial name of the real ''Velociraptor'' (''V. mongoliensis'') instead of, say, "''V.''" ''antirrhopus''. [[hottip:*:Actually the main "raptors" ''are'' referred as ''V. antirrhopus''. ''V. mongoliensis'' applies only to some hatchlings. This means ''both Deinonychus and Velociraptor'' are portrayed, even though this is usually unnoticed.]] TheMovie compounded the problem, deeming the ''Deinonychus''-raptors not scary enough for the screen, so they scaled them up to about six feet tall.
The giant movie-raptors were only saved from being completely fictional by a few months, when a raptor genus called ''Utahraptor'' got discovered during the making of the film. It was not only a completely different species (''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utahraptor Utahraptor ostrommaysorum]]'') from ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velociraptor V. mongoliensis]]'', but a completely different '''subfamily''', and actually was about the same size as the movie raptors, if not larger (21 feet long, 6 feet tall). [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_issues_in_Jurassic_Park#Velociraptor See here for info on JP issues with Velociraptor depiction]].
''JurassicPark'''s [[ScienceMarchesOn "scaly-raptors" became outdated rather quickly]] after fossils of feathered non-avialian theropods (proving a hypothesis that did already exist for a long time), like ''Sinosauropteryx'' and ''Microraptor'', were discovered and described. But alas, it was too late, and JP's portrayal of raptors was already [[PopCulturalOsmosis deeply ingrained in the public consciousness]].
Interestingly, some recent analyses suggest that the so-called "first bird" ''Archaeopteryx'' may either be a deinonychosaur as well (in other words, closer to ''Velociraptor'' than to modern birds), or less close to modern birds than deinonychosaurs are. In any case, it's worthy to note that in spite of its iconic status, there is very little anatomical difference between ''Archaeopteryx'' and small deinonychosaurs, and, potential color patterns aside, you'd probably have no luck telling them apart in life.
A list of common inaccuracies in pop culture portrayals of deinonychosaurs.
* '''One''': Being covered in scales instead of feathers. If present in older works this is a victim of ScienceMarchesOn, but we've known since 1999 that deinonychosaurs had feathers[[hottip:*:Indeed, some possible deinonychosaurs such as ''Archaeopteryx'' and ''Rahonavis'' already showed evidence of feathers before then, but had not been recognized as deinonychosaurs when first discovered.]]. On real deinonychosaurs, scales were only present on the lower legs and feet, if at all (some had completely feathered feet).
* '''Two''': In the event that deinonychosaurs are portrayed with feathers, it is [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2010/03/youre-doing-it-wrong-1-archaeopteryx.html very, very unlikely]] that the feather distribution and structure will be portrayed accurately. One of the most common mistakes on this front is to have the wing feathers end at the wrist, even though we know that deinonychosaurs actually had wing feathers attached to the second finger as well. Only partially feathering deinonychosaurs is also generally incorrect. It is common for many depictions of feathered deinonychosaurs to portray them as a [[MixAndMatchCritter weird hybrid]] between a bird and a lizard, probably to highlight their "[[HollywoodEvolution missing link]]" iconism. However, we know that deinonychosaurs were almost entirely feathered other than the tip of the snout and sometimes the feet. (Though it is not unreasonable to suggest that the largest deinonychosaurs may have had some naked patches similar to ostriches today.) For a long time it was thought that deinonychosaurs only had pennaceous (modern-style) feathers on the wings and tail (and sometimes the legs), with the rest of the body being covered in protofeathers, but a new study has shown that these protofeathers are likely just misinterpreted pennaceous feathers. So, like modern birds, deinonychosaurs actually [[FeatheredFiend had pennaceous feathers all over the body]]. Incidentally, the pennaceous feathers of many modern flightless birds (such as [[LandDownUnder kiwis]]) are degraded and hair like, so it's possible that flightless deinonychosaurs were similar.
* '''Three''': The hands will be twisted around so that the palms point backwards towards the body, kind of like a zombie. In reality, deinonychosaurs (in fact, most dinosaurs) have palms that naturally face one another, and [[YouFailBiologyForever twisting them around like that would break the wrists]]. Biomechanical studies have shown that deinonychosaur palms would actually rotate ''upwards'' when the wrists were extended, which would have helped them clutch objects to the chest.
* '''Four''': Deinonychosaurs will often be depicted as {{Lightning Bruiser}}s, among the speediest of all dinosaurs. While troodonts and basal dromaeosaurids were well built for running, the larger, more derived dromaeosaurids (including ''Velociraptor'' and ''Deinonychus'') were not. In fact, going by leg proportions alone, derived dromaeosaurids were among the ''worst'' runners among ''all'' theropods (meat-eating dinosaurs). As early as the 1960s, scientific analyses have concluded that advanced dromaeosaurids were built for short-range acceleration and low-speed endurance running instead of high-speed sprinting, and even the bone walls of ''Utahraptor'' are around twice as proportionally thick as those of ''Allosaurus''. However, the leg structure does indicate that they do appear to have been very agile and had a good sense of balance, which sort of makes up for it. In sum, advanced dromaeosaurs were more akin to {{Jacks Of All Stats}} than what the movies say, in that they stressed more emphasis on claw-to-claw dogfighting than fleetness of foot.
* '''Five''': AnimalEyes, combined with RuleOfScary and, to some extent, ReptilesAreAbhorrent. Cat-like eyes [[HellishPupils with slits for pupils]] are the most common, which MIGHT be reasonable considering that the other closest relatives of dinosaurs, crocodilians, have slit pupils as well. However, given the fact that raptors are more closely related to birds, their eyes may well be more bird-like with round, fixed pupils. On the other claw, however, the typical raptor skull does not have a supraorbital ridge, so it would be rather unrealistic to give your raptor the same "eagle scowl" as that of the other type of raptor, the BigBadassBirdOfPrey.
* '''Six''': BiggerIsBetter combined with TaxonomicTermConfusion, where works depict "''Velociraptor''" as being more similar to ''Deinonychus'' and sometimes nearing the size of ''Utahraptor''. A trope popularized by ''JurassicPark'', this is typically a result of FollowTheLeader when present in other works.
* '''Seven''': Overly flexible or overly stiff tails. Due to their tails being surrounded by ossified tendons, deinonychosaur tails were probably not sinuous and whip-like as shown in ''JurassicPark''. At the same time, it is a common meme among paleo artists to draw deinonychosaur tails as being stiff rods almost incapable of bending except at the base. Though true to a degree, fossils of sleeping deinonychosaurs such as ''Mei'' show that their tails were flexible enough to curl around the body.
* '''Eight''': [[IntellectualAnimal Extreme intelligence.]] Prior to the discovery that modern birds are dinosaurs, deinonychosaurs were widely considered "the most intelligent dinosaurs". (Just look at the door-opening raptors from JurassicPark.) Based on brain-to-body ratio and brain structure, deinonychosaurs do appear to have been quite intelligent among Mesozoic dinosaurs. In fact, their encephalization quotient is actually much higher than that of modern-day crocodilians, (which may not sound like that much of a compliment, at first, until you remember that, according to a recent study, crocodilians are [[RealityIsUnrealistic actually as intelligent as dogs]]), and comparable to those of some modern birds. However, they were almost certainly not as intelligent as the most intelligent birds alive today. A common paleo meme that arose in the 1980s was the idea that if dinosaurs never became extinct, the most intelligent species (i.e.: deinonychosaurs) would [[LizardFolk develop into]] [[TheReptilians humanoid forms]]. This, of course, overlooks the fact that the most intelligent dinosaurs (modern-type birds) ''were'' [[OvershadowedByAwesome the ones that survived]] to begin with, as well as demonstrates something of a HumansAreSpecial attitude. After all, there isn't any good reason why [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/03/dinosauroids_2008.php hypothetical highly intelligent dinosaurs]] would necessarily develop a human-like body plan.
* '''Nine''': [[RuleOfCool Being capable of taking on impossibly large prey.]] Due to their reputation as pack hunters (which is in itself debatable), deinonychosaurs are popularly shown killing prey much, much larger than themselves with ease. Although we know that some dromaeosaurids potentially preyed on larger prey (for example, one famous fossil preserves a ''Velociraptor'' fighting a ''Protoceratops'', a herbivore that could have been up to twelve times its size in mass), many of these depictions show coyote-sized dromaeosaurids killing prey not just ten times their size, but ''[[BeyondTheImpossible several hundred times]]'' their size, such as adult hadrosaurs or even sauropods. Furthermore, many deinonychosaurs (such as troodonts and basal dromaeosaurids) likely [[FragileSpeedster specialized in small prey]], not large ones. (Check out how comparatively [[http://shartman.deviantart.com/art/Wounding-Tooth-200043202 small]] those teeth and claws are in ''Troodon''.)
* '''Ten''': [[FunnyAnimalAnatomy Overly useful hands.]] Many deinonychosaurs had long arms and big hands, and it is therefore tempting to think that they were actually ''used'' like human hands. It is not uncommon to see deinonychosaurs (again, especially ''Troodon'') shown with opposable thumbs, even though the only deinonychosaur that has so far been biomechanically demonstrated to have had opposable thumbs is ''Bambiraptor'', so most deinonychosaurs could only hold objects two-handed (or clutched them towards the chest). In reality, long as their arms were, deinonychosaurs couldn't reach further with their hands than they could with their mouths, and the large feathers known to have been present on the arms and hands of deinonychosaurs would have prevented their use in picking up food from the ground or digging (known traces of digging deinonychosaurs show they dug with their feet, as modern ground birds do). The hand claws were useful as grappling hooks and for holding food that couldn't be eaten in one gulp, but they likely weren't as dexterous as often portrayed.
* '''Eleven''': Arms lifting above the back. As we now know that deinonychosaurs were very closely related to birds, artists often use modern birds as references for deinonychosaurs (as well as other basal birds). This normally isn't a bad thing (most deinonychosaur portrayals aren't birdlike ''enough''), but it can still be misleading. Many small deinonychosaurs may have had some flying or gliding ability, so they are often shown with their arms lifted above the back in a flight stroke. However, biomechanical studies of deinonychosaurs and basal birds show that they could only lift their arms to the sides at most, and powered flight as in modern birds evolved in more derived birds.
* '''Twelve''': Pseudobeaks. In the same vein as the previous, another common way artists attempt to make their deinonychosaurs more birdlike is to add a beak-like sheath on the snout of deinonychosaurs. In fact, we know that deinonychosaurs actually had feathers covering most of the snout, and as they had a full complement of teeth, they didn't really need a beak as well. (Even in prehistoric birds with both beaks and teeth, the beak [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2011/04/youre-doing-it-wrong-birds-with-teeth.html doesn't occupy the same space as the teeth]].) Deinonychosaurs that preserve facial integument show a featherless region at the very tip of the snout, but even then there's no evidence for a keratinous sheath there.
* '''Thirteen''': Inaccurate family life. Possibly due to extrapolation from modern predatory birds, it is popular to portray dromaeosaurids as living in mated pairs with the female brooding the eggs, feeding their young, and sometimes nesting in trees. Based on body to clutch size ratio, however, it was probably the males that brooded the eggs, and the sheer number of eggs in known deinonychosaur nests means that the males probably had multiple mates (as, frankly, there are too many eggs per nest to fit in one female). Young deinonychosaurs were capable of running around after hatching, so it's not unlikely that they hunted at least some of their food on their own instead of being fed. Although deinonychosaurs (especially the smaller ones) may have climbed trees, ground nesting appears to be basal among birds, even flying ones[[hottip:*:Even basal birds that ''have'' evolved tree nesting, such as wood ducks, tend to nest in tree hollows instead of building a nest in the branches.]], so deinonychosaurs probably mostly nested on the ground as well (and, indeed, are known to have done so).
For good examples of ''accurate'' deinonychosaur portrayals, see [[http://www.henteeth.com/nh/paleoart.htm this website]].
The giant movie-raptors were only saved from being completely fictional by a few months, when a raptor genus called ''Utahraptor'' got discovered during the making of the film. It was not only a completely different species (''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utahraptor Utahraptor ostrommaysorum]]'') from ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velociraptor V. mongoliensis]]'', but a completely different '''subfamily''', and actually was about the same size as the movie raptors, if not larger (21 feet long, 6 feet tall). [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_issues_in_Jurassic_Park#Velociraptor See here for info on JP issues with Velociraptor depiction]].
''JurassicPark'''s [[ScienceMarchesOn "scaly-raptors" became outdated rather quickly]] after fossils of feathered non-avialian theropods (proving a hypothesis that did already exist for a long time), like ''Sinosauropteryx'' and ''Microraptor'', were discovered and described. But alas, it was too late, and JP's portrayal of raptors was already [[PopCulturalOsmosis deeply ingrained in the public consciousness]].
Interestingly, some recent analyses suggest that the so-called "first bird" ''Archaeopteryx'' may either be a deinonychosaur as well (in other words, closer to ''Velociraptor'' than to modern birds), or less close to modern birds than deinonychosaurs are. In any case, it's worthy to note that in spite of its iconic status, there is very little anatomical difference between ''Archaeopteryx'' and small deinonychosaurs, and, potential color patterns aside, you'd probably have no luck telling them apart in life.
A list of common inaccuracies in pop culture portrayals of deinonychosaurs.
* '''One''': Being covered in scales instead of feathers. If present in older works this is a victim of ScienceMarchesOn, but we've known since 1999 that deinonychosaurs had feathers[[hottip:*:Indeed, some possible deinonychosaurs such as ''Archaeopteryx'' and ''Rahonavis'' already showed evidence of feathers before then, but had not been recognized as deinonychosaurs when first discovered.]]. On real deinonychosaurs, scales were only present on the lower legs and feet, if at all (some had completely feathered feet).
* '''Two''': In the event that deinonychosaurs are portrayed with feathers, it is [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2010/03/youre-doing-it-wrong-1-archaeopteryx.html very, very unlikely]] that the feather distribution and structure will be portrayed accurately. One of the most common mistakes on this front is to have the wing feathers end at the wrist, even though we know that deinonychosaurs actually had wing feathers attached to the second finger as well. Only partially feathering deinonychosaurs is also generally incorrect. It is common for many depictions of feathered deinonychosaurs to portray them as a [[MixAndMatchCritter weird hybrid]] between a bird and a lizard, probably to highlight their "[[HollywoodEvolution missing link]]" iconism. However, we know that deinonychosaurs were almost entirely feathered other than the tip of the snout and sometimes the feet. (Though it is not unreasonable to suggest that the largest deinonychosaurs may have had some naked patches similar to ostriches today.) For a long time it was thought that deinonychosaurs only had pennaceous (modern-style) feathers on the wings and tail (and sometimes the legs), with the rest of the body being covered in protofeathers, but a new study has shown that these protofeathers are likely just misinterpreted pennaceous feathers. So, like modern birds, deinonychosaurs actually [[FeatheredFiend had pennaceous feathers all over the body]]. Incidentally, the pennaceous feathers of many modern flightless birds (such as [[LandDownUnder kiwis]]) are degraded and hair like, so it's possible that flightless deinonychosaurs were similar.
* '''Three''': The hands will be twisted around so that the palms point backwards towards the body, kind of like a zombie. In reality, deinonychosaurs (in fact, most dinosaurs) have palms that naturally face one another, and [[YouFailBiologyForever twisting them around like that would break the wrists]]. Biomechanical studies have shown that deinonychosaur palms would actually rotate ''upwards'' when the wrists were extended, which would have helped them clutch objects to the chest.
* '''Four''': Deinonychosaurs will often be depicted as {{Lightning Bruiser}}s, among the speediest of all dinosaurs. While troodonts and basal dromaeosaurids were well built for running, the larger, more derived dromaeosaurids (including ''Velociraptor'' and ''Deinonychus'') were not. In fact, going by leg proportions alone, derived dromaeosaurids were among the ''worst'' runners among ''all'' theropods (meat-eating dinosaurs). As early as the 1960s, scientific analyses have concluded that advanced dromaeosaurids were built for short-range acceleration and low-speed endurance running instead of high-speed sprinting, and even the bone walls of ''Utahraptor'' are around twice as proportionally thick as those of ''Allosaurus''. However, the leg structure does indicate that they do appear to have been very agile and had a good sense of balance, which sort of makes up for it. In sum, advanced dromaeosaurs were more akin to {{Jacks Of All Stats}} than what the movies say, in that they stressed more emphasis on claw-to-claw dogfighting than fleetness of foot.
* '''Five''': AnimalEyes, combined with RuleOfScary and, to some extent, ReptilesAreAbhorrent. Cat-like eyes [[HellishPupils with slits for pupils]] are the most common, which MIGHT be reasonable considering that the other closest relatives of dinosaurs, crocodilians, have slit pupils as well. However, given the fact that raptors are more closely related to birds, their eyes may well be more bird-like with round, fixed pupils. On the other claw, however, the typical raptor skull does not have a supraorbital ridge, so it would be rather unrealistic to give your raptor the same "eagle scowl" as that of the other type of raptor, the BigBadassBirdOfPrey.
* '''Six''': BiggerIsBetter combined with TaxonomicTermConfusion, where works depict "''Velociraptor''" as being more similar to ''Deinonychus'' and sometimes nearing the size of ''Utahraptor''. A trope popularized by ''JurassicPark'', this is typically a result of FollowTheLeader when present in other works.
* '''Seven''': Overly flexible or overly stiff tails. Due to their tails being surrounded by ossified tendons, deinonychosaur tails were probably not sinuous and whip-like as shown in ''JurassicPark''. At the same time, it is a common meme among paleo artists to draw deinonychosaur tails as being stiff rods almost incapable of bending except at the base. Though true to a degree, fossils of sleeping deinonychosaurs such as ''Mei'' show that their tails were flexible enough to curl around the body.
* '''Eight''': [[IntellectualAnimal Extreme intelligence.]] Prior to the discovery that modern birds are dinosaurs, deinonychosaurs were widely considered "the most intelligent dinosaurs". (Just look at the door-opening raptors from JurassicPark.) Based on brain-to-body ratio and brain structure, deinonychosaurs do appear to have been quite intelligent among Mesozoic dinosaurs. In fact, their encephalization quotient is actually much higher than that of modern-day crocodilians, (which may not sound like that much of a compliment, at first, until you remember that, according to a recent study, crocodilians are [[RealityIsUnrealistic actually as intelligent as dogs]]), and comparable to those of some modern birds. However, they were almost certainly not as intelligent as the most intelligent birds alive today. A common paleo meme that arose in the 1980s was the idea that if dinosaurs never became extinct, the most intelligent species (i.e.: deinonychosaurs) would [[LizardFolk develop into]] [[TheReptilians humanoid forms]]. This, of course, overlooks the fact that the most intelligent dinosaurs (modern-type birds) ''were'' [[OvershadowedByAwesome the ones that survived]] to begin with, as well as demonstrates something of a HumansAreSpecial attitude. After all, there isn't any good reason why [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/03/dinosauroids_2008.php hypothetical highly intelligent dinosaurs]] would necessarily develop a human-like body plan.
* '''Nine''': [[RuleOfCool Being capable of taking on impossibly large prey.]] Due to their reputation as pack hunters (which is in itself debatable), deinonychosaurs are popularly shown killing prey much, much larger than themselves with ease. Although we know that some dromaeosaurids potentially preyed on larger prey (for example, one famous fossil preserves a ''Velociraptor'' fighting a ''Protoceratops'', a herbivore that could have been up to twelve times its size in mass), many of these depictions show coyote-sized dromaeosaurids killing prey not just ten times their size, but ''[[BeyondTheImpossible several hundred times]]'' their size, such as adult hadrosaurs or even sauropods. Furthermore, many deinonychosaurs (such as troodonts and basal dromaeosaurids) likely [[FragileSpeedster specialized in small prey]], not large ones. (Check out how comparatively [[http://shartman.deviantart.com/art/Wounding-Tooth-200043202 small]] those teeth and claws are in ''Troodon''.)
* '''Ten''': [[FunnyAnimalAnatomy Overly useful hands.]] Many deinonychosaurs had long arms and big hands, and it is therefore tempting to think that they were actually ''used'' like human hands. It is not uncommon to see deinonychosaurs (again, especially ''Troodon'') shown with opposable thumbs, even though the only deinonychosaur that has so far been biomechanically demonstrated to have had opposable thumbs is ''Bambiraptor'', so most deinonychosaurs could only hold objects two-handed (or clutched them towards the chest). In reality, long as their arms were, deinonychosaurs couldn't reach further with their hands than they could with their mouths, and the large feathers known to have been present on the arms and hands of deinonychosaurs would have prevented their use in picking up food from the ground or digging (known traces of digging deinonychosaurs show they dug with their feet, as modern ground birds do). The hand claws were useful as grappling hooks and for holding food that couldn't be eaten in one gulp, but they likely weren't as dexterous as often portrayed.
* '''Eleven''': Arms lifting above the back. As we now know that deinonychosaurs were very closely related to birds, artists often use modern birds as references for deinonychosaurs (as well as other basal birds). This normally isn't a bad thing (most deinonychosaur portrayals aren't birdlike ''enough''), but it can still be misleading. Many small deinonychosaurs may have had some flying or gliding ability, so they are often shown with their arms lifted above the back in a flight stroke. However, biomechanical studies of deinonychosaurs and basal birds show that they could only lift their arms to the sides at most, and powered flight as in modern birds evolved in more derived birds.
* '''Twelve''': Pseudobeaks. In the same vein as the previous, another common way artists attempt to make their deinonychosaurs more birdlike is to add a beak-like sheath on the snout of deinonychosaurs. In fact, we know that deinonychosaurs actually had feathers covering most of the snout, and as they had a full complement of teeth, they didn't really need a beak as well. (Even in prehistoric birds with both beaks and teeth, the beak [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2011/04/youre-doing-it-wrong-birds-with-teeth.html doesn't occupy the same space as the teeth]].) Deinonychosaurs that preserve facial integument show a featherless region at the very tip of the snout, but even then there's no evidence for a keratinous sheath there.
* '''Thirteen''': Inaccurate family life. Possibly due to extrapolation from modern predatory birds, it is popular to portray dromaeosaurids as living in mated pairs with the female brooding the eggs, feeding their young, and sometimes nesting in trees. Based on body to clutch size ratio, however, it was probably the males that brooded the eggs, and the sheer number of eggs in known deinonychosaur nests means that the males probably had multiple mates (as, frankly, there are too many eggs per nest to fit in one female). Young deinonychosaurs were capable of running around after hatching, so it's not unlikely that they hunted at least some of their food on their own instead of being fed. Although deinonychosaurs (especially the smaller ones) may have climbed trees, ground nesting appears to be basal among birds, even flying ones[[hottip:*:Even basal birds that ''have'' evolved tree nesting, such as wood ducks, tend to nest in tree hollows instead of building a nest in the branches.]], so deinonychosaurs probably mostly nested on the ground as well (and, indeed, are known to have done so).
For good examples of ''accurate'' deinonychosaur portrayals, see [[http://www.henteeth.com/nh/paleoart.htm this website]].
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The reason media ''Velociraptor'' are depicted as man-sized (or even larger) is because of [[FollowTheLeader following the example set by]] ''JurassicPark'', whose own portrayal was due to 1) a certain paleontologist *cough*Greg Paul*cough* publishing a book at the time that classified the wolf-sized ''Deinonychus antirrhopus'' as a ''Velociraptor'', 2) "''Velociraptor''" apparently was deemed easier on the tongue/more appealing than "''Deinonychus''", and 3) The turkey-sized ''Velociraptor'' was no major villain material, whereas the larger and menacing-looking ''Deinonychus'' was. Essentially, JP's "Raptors" are actually ''Deinonychus'' specimens, even though they are apparently referred to with the binomial name of the real ''Velociraptor'' (''V. mongoliensis'') instead of, say, "''V.''" ''antirrhopus''. [[hottip:*:Actually the main "raptors" ''are'' referred as ''V. antirrhopus''. ''V. mongoliensis'' applies only to some hatchlings. This means ''both Deinonychus and Velociraptor'' are portrayed, even though this is usually unnoticed.]] TheMovie compounded the problem, deeming the ''Deinonychus''-raptors not scary enough for the screen, so they scaled them up to about six feet tall.
The giant movie-raptors were only saved from being completely fictional by a few months, when a raptor genus called ''Utahraptor'' got discovered during the making of the film. It was not only a completely different species (''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utahraptor Utahraptor ostrommaysorum]]'') from ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velociraptor V. mongoliensis]]'', but a completely different '''subfamily''', and actually was about the same size as the movie raptors, if not larger (21 feet long, 6 feet tall). [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_issues_in_Jurassic_Park#Velociraptor See here for info on JP issues with Velociraptor depiction]].
''JurassicPark'''s [[ScienceMarchesOn "scaly-raptors" became outdated rather quickly]] after fossils of feathered non-avialian theropods (proving a hypothesis that did already exist for a long time), like ''Sinosauropteryx'' and ''Microraptor'', were discovered and described. But alas, it was too late, and JP's portrayal of raptors was already [[PopCulturalOsmosis deeply ingrained in the public consciousness]].
Interestingly, some recent analyses suggest that the so-called "first bird" ''Archaeopteryx'' may either be a deinonychosaur as well (in other words, closer to ''Velociraptor'' than to modern birds), or less close to modern birds than deinonychosaurs are. In any case, it's worthy to note that in spite of its iconic status, there is very little anatomical difference between ''Archaeopteryx'' and small deinonychosaurs, and, potential color patterns aside, you'd probably have no luck telling them apart in life.
A list of common inaccuracies in pop culture portrayals of deinonychosaurs.
* '''One''': Being covered in scales instead of feathers. If present in older works this is a victim of ScienceMarchesOn, but we've known since 1999 that deinonychosaurs had feathers[[hottip:*:Indeed, some possible deinonychosaurs such as ''Archaeopteryx'' and ''Rahonavis'' already showed evidence of feathers before then, but had not been recognized as deinonychosaurs when first discovered.]]. On real deinonychosaurs, scales were only present on the lower legs and feet, if at all (some had completely feathered feet).
* '''Two''': In the event that deinonychosaurs are portrayed with feathers, it is [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2010/03/youre-doing-it-wrong-1-archaeopteryx.html very, very unlikely]] that the feather distribution and structure will be portrayed accurately. One of the most common mistakes on this front is to have the wing feathers end at the wrist, even though we know that deinonychosaurs actually had wing feathers attached to the second finger as well. Only partially feathering deinonychosaurs is also generally incorrect. It is common for many depictions of feathered deinonychosaurs to portray them as a [[MixAndMatchCritter weird hybrid]] between a bird and a lizard, probably to highlight their "[[HollywoodEvolution missing link]]" iconism. However, we know that deinonychosaurs were almost entirely feathered other than the tip of the snout and sometimes the feet. (Though it is not unreasonable to suggest that the largest deinonychosaurs may have had some naked patches similar to ostriches today.) For a long time it was thought that deinonychosaurs only had pennaceous (modern-style) feathers on the wings and tail (and sometimes the legs), with the rest of the body being covered in protofeathers, but a new study has shown that these protofeathers are likely just misinterpreted pennaceous feathers. So, like modern birds, deinonychosaurs actually [[FeatheredFiend had pennaceous feathers all over the body]]. Incidentally, the pennaceous feathers of many modern flightless birds (such as [[LandDownUnder kiwis]]) are degraded and hair like, so it's possible that flightless deinonychosaurs were similar.
* '''Three''': The hands will be twisted around so that the palms point backwards towards the body, kind of like a zombie. In reality, deinonychosaurs (in fact, most dinosaurs) have palms that naturally face one another, and [[YouFailBiologyForever twisting them around like that would break the wrists]]. Biomechanical studies have shown that deinonychosaur palms would actually rotate ''upwards'' when the wrists were extended, which would have helped them clutch objects to the chest.
* '''Four''': Deinonychosaurs will often be depicted as {{Lightning Bruiser}}s, among the speediest of all dinosaurs. While troodonts and basal dromaeosaurids were well built for running, the larger, more derived dromaeosaurids (including ''Velociraptor'' and ''Deinonychus'') were not. In fact, going by leg proportions alone, derived dromaeosaurids were among the ''worst'' runners among ''all'' theropods (meat-eating dinosaurs). As early as the 1960s, scientific analyses have concluded that advanced dromaeosaurids were built for short-range acceleration and low-speed endurance running instead of high-speed sprinting, and even the bone walls of ''Utahraptor'' are around twice as proportionally thick as those of ''Allosaurus''. However, the leg structure does indicate that they do appear to have been very agile and had a good sense of balance, which sort of makes up for it. In sum, advanced dromaeosaurs were more akin to {{Jacks Of All Stats}} than what the movies say, in that they stressed more emphasis on claw-to-claw dogfighting than fleetness of foot.
* '''Five''': AnimalEyes, combined with RuleOfScary and, to some extent, ReptilesAreAbhorrent. Cat-like eyes [[HellishPupils with slits for pupils]] are the most common, which MIGHT be reasonable considering that the other closest relatives of dinosaurs, crocodilians, have slit pupils as well. However, given the fact that raptors are more closely related to birds, their eyes may well be more bird-like with round, fixed pupils. On the other claw, however, the typical raptor skull does not have a supraorbital ridge, so it would be rather unrealistic to give your raptor the same "eagle scowl" as that of the other type of raptor, the BigBadassBirdOfPrey.
* '''Six''': BiggerIsBetter combined with TaxonomicTermConfusion, where works depict "''Velociraptor''" as being more similar to ''Deinonychus'' and sometimes nearing the size of ''Utahraptor''. A trope popularized by ''JurassicPark'', this is typically a result of FollowTheLeader when present in other works.
* '''Seven''': Overly flexible or overly stiff tails. Due to their tails being surrounded by ossified tendons, deinonychosaur tails were probably not sinuous and whip-like as shown in ''JurassicPark''. At the same time, it is a common meme among paleo artists to draw deinonychosaur tails as being stiff rods almost incapable of bending except at the base. Though true to a degree, fossils of sleeping deinonychosaurs such as ''Mei'' show that their tails were flexible enough to curl around the body.
* '''Eight''': [[IntellectualAnimal Extreme intelligence.]] Prior to the discovery that modern birds are dinosaurs, deinonychosaurs were widely considered "the most intelligent dinosaurs". (Just look at the door-opening raptors from JurassicPark.) Based on brain-to-body ratio and brain structure, deinonychosaurs do appear to have been quite intelligent among Mesozoic dinosaurs. In fact, their encephalization quotient is actually much higher than that of modern-day crocodilians, (which may not sound like that much of a compliment, at first, until you remember that, according to a recent study, crocodilians are [[RealityIsUnrealistic actually as intelligent as dogs]]), and comparable to those of some modern birds. However, they were almost certainly not as intelligent as the most intelligent birds alive today. A common paleo meme that arose in the 1980s was the idea that if dinosaurs never became extinct, the most intelligent species (i.e.: deinonychosaurs) would [[LizardFolk develop into]] [[TheReptilians humanoid forms]]. This, of course, overlooks the fact that the most intelligent dinosaurs (modern-type birds) ''were'' [[OvershadowedByAwesome the ones that survived]] to begin with, as well as demonstrates something of a HumansAreSpecial attitude. After all, there isn't any good reason why [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/03/dinosauroids_2008.php hypothetical highly intelligent dinosaurs]] would necessarily develop a human-like body plan.
* '''Nine''': [[RuleOfCool Being capable of taking on impossibly large prey.]] Due to their reputation as pack hunters (which is in itself debatable), deinonychosaurs are popularly shown killing prey much, much larger than themselves with ease. Although we know that some dromaeosaurids potentially preyed on larger prey (for example, one famous fossil preserves a ''Velociraptor'' fighting a ''Protoceratops'', a herbivore that could have been up to twelve times its size in mass), many of these depictions show coyote-sized dromaeosaurids killing prey not just ten times their size, but ''[[BeyondTheImpossible several hundred times]]'' their size, such as adult hadrosaurs or even sauropods. Furthermore, many deinonychosaurs (such as troodonts and basal dromaeosaurids) likely [[FragileSpeedster specialized in small prey]], not large ones. (Check out how comparatively [[http://shartman.deviantart.com/art/Wounding-Tooth-200043202 small]] those teeth and claws are in ''Troodon''.)
* '''Ten''': [[FunnyAnimalAnatomy Overly useful hands.]] Many deinonychosaurs had long arms and big hands, and it is therefore tempting to think that they were actually ''used'' like human hands. It is not uncommon to see deinonychosaurs (again, especially ''Troodon'') shown with opposable thumbs, even though the only deinonychosaur that has so far been biomechanically demonstrated to have had opposable thumbs is ''Bambiraptor'', so most deinonychosaurs could only hold objects two-handed (or clutched them towards the chest). In reality, long as their arms were, deinonychosaurs couldn't reach further with their hands than they could with their mouths, and the large feathers known to have been present on the arms and hands of deinonychosaurs would have prevented their use in picking up food from the ground or digging (known traces of digging deinonychosaurs show they dug with their feet, as modern ground birds do). The hand claws were useful as grappling hooks and for holding food that couldn't be eaten in one gulp, but they likely weren't as dexterous as often portrayed.
* '''Eleven''': Arms lifting above the back. As we now know that deinonychosaurs were very closely related to birds, artists often use modern birds as references for deinonychosaurs (as well as other basal birds). This normally isn't a bad thing (most deinonychosaur portrayals aren't birdlike ''enough''), but it can still be misleading. Many small deinonychosaurs may have had some flying or gliding ability, so they are often shown with their arms lifted above the back in a flight stroke. However, biomechanical studies of deinonychosaurs and basal birds show that they could only lift their arms to the sides at most, and powered flight as in modern birds evolved in more derived birds.
* '''Twelve''': Pseudobeaks. In the same vein as the previous, another common way artists attempt to make their deinonychosaurs more birdlike is to add a beak-like sheath on the snout of deinonychosaurs. In fact, we know that deinonychosaurs actually had feathers covering most of the snout, and as they had a full complement of teeth, they didn't really need a beak as well. (Even in prehistoric birds with both beaks and teeth, the beak [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2011/04/youre-doing-it-wrong-birds-with-teeth.html doesn't occupy the same space as the teeth]].) Deinonychosaurs that preserve facial integument show a featherless region at the very tip of the snout, but even then there's no evidence for a keratinous sheath there.
* '''Thirteen''': Inaccurate family life. Possibly due to extrapolation from modern predatory birds, it is popular to portray dromaeosaurids as living in mated pairs with the female brooding the eggs, feeding their young, and sometimes nesting in trees. Based on body to clutch size ratio, however, it was probably the males that brooded the eggs, and the sheer number of eggs in known deinonychosaur nests means that the males probably had multiple mates (as, frankly, there are too many eggs per nest to fit in one female). Young deinonychosaurs were capable of running around after hatching, so it's not unlikely that they hunted at least some of their food on their own instead of being fed. Although deinonychosaurs (especially the smaller ones) may have climbed trees, ground nesting appears to be basal among birds, even flying ones[[hottip:*:Even basal birds that ''have'' evolved tree nesting, such as wood ducks, tend to nest in tree hollows instead of building a nest in the branches.]], so deinonychosaurs probably mostly nested on the ground as well (and, indeed, are known to have done so).
For good examples of ''accurate'' deinonychosaur portrayals, see [[http://www.henteeth.com/nh/paleoart.htm this website]].
The giant movie-raptors were only saved from being completely fictional by a few months, when a raptor genus called ''Utahraptor'' got discovered during the making of the film. It was not only a completely different species (''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utahraptor Utahraptor ostrommaysorum]]'') from ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velociraptor V. mongoliensis]]'', but a completely different '''subfamily''', and actually was about the same size as the movie raptors, if not larger (21 feet long, 6 feet tall). [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_issues_in_Jurassic_Park#Velociraptor See here for info on JP issues with Velociraptor depiction]].
''JurassicPark'''s [[ScienceMarchesOn "scaly-raptors" became outdated rather quickly]] after fossils of feathered non-avialian theropods (proving a hypothesis that did already exist for a long time), like ''Sinosauropteryx'' and ''Microraptor'', were discovered and described. But alas, it was too late, and JP's portrayal of raptors was already [[PopCulturalOsmosis deeply ingrained in the public consciousness]].
Interestingly, some recent analyses suggest that the so-called "first bird" ''Archaeopteryx'' may either be a deinonychosaur as well (in other words, closer to ''Velociraptor'' than to modern birds), or less close to modern birds than deinonychosaurs are. In any case, it's worthy to note that in spite of its iconic status, there is very little anatomical difference between ''Archaeopteryx'' and small deinonychosaurs, and, potential color patterns aside, you'd probably have no luck telling them apart in life.
A list of common inaccuracies in pop culture portrayals of deinonychosaurs.
* '''One''': Being covered in scales instead of feathers. If present in older works this is a victim of ScienceMarchesOn, but we've known since 1999 that deinonychosaurs had feathers[[hottip:*:Indeed, some possible deinonychosaurs such as ''Archaeopteryx'' and ''Rahonavis'' already showed evidence of feathers before then, but had not been recognized as deinonychosaurs when first discovered.]]. On real deinonychosaurs, scales were only present on the lower legs and feet, if at all (some had completely feathered feet).
* '''Two''': In the event that deinonychosaurs are portrayed with feathers, it is [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2010/03/youre-doing-it-wrong-1-archaeopteryx.html very, very unlikely]] that the feather distribution and structure will be portrayed accurately. One of the most common mistakes on this front is to have the wing feathers end at the wrist, even though we know that deinonychosaurs actually had wing feathers attached to the second finger as well. Only partially feathering deinonychosaurs is also generally incorrect. It is common for many depictions of feathered deinonychosaurs to portray them as a [[MixAndMatchCritter weird hybrid]] between a bird and a lizard, probably to highlight their "[[HollywoodEvolution missing link]]" iconism. However, we know that deinonychosaurs were almost entirely feathered other than the tip of the snout and sometimes the feet. (Though it is not unreasonable to suggest that the largest deinonychosaurs may have had some naked patches similar to ostriches today.) For a long time it was thought that deinonychosaurs only had pennaceous (modern-style) feathers on the wings and tail (and sometimes the legs), with the rest of the body being covered in protofeathers, but a new study has shown that these protofeathers are likely just misinterpreted pennaceous feathers. So, like modern birds, deinonychosaurs actually [[FeatheredFiend had pennaceous feathers all over the body]]. Incidentally, the pennaceous feathers of many modern flightless birds (such as [[LandDownUnder kiwis]]) are degraded and hair like, so it's possible that flightless deinonychosaurs were similar.
* '''Three''': The hands will be twisted around so that the palms point backwards towards the body, kind of like a zombie. In reality, deinonychosaurs (in fact, most dinosaurs) have palms that naturally face one another, and [[YouFailBiologyForever twisting them around like that would break the wrists]]. Biomechanical studies have shown that deinonychosaur palms would actually rotate ''upwards'' when the wrists were extended, which would have helped them clutch objects to the chest.
* '''Four''': Deinonychosaurs will often be depicted as {{Lightning Bruiser}}s, among the speediest of all dinosaurs. While troodonts and basal dromaeosaurids were well built for running, the larger, more derived dromaeosaurids (including ''Velociraptor'' and ''Deinonychus'') were not. In fact, going by leg proportions alone, derived dromaeosaurids were among the ''worst'' runners among ''all'' theropods (meat-eating dinosaurs). As early as the 1960s, scientific analyses have concluded that advanced dromaeosaurids were built for short-range acceleration and low-speed endurance running instead of high-speed sprinting, and even the bone walls of ''Utahraptor'' are around twice as proportionally thick as those of ''Allosaurus''. However, the leg structure does indicate that they do appear to have been very agile and had a good sense of balance, which sort of makes up for it. In sum, advanced dromaeosaurs were more akin to {{Jacks Of All Stats}} than what the movies say, in that they stressed more emphasis on claw-to-claw dogfighting than fleetness of foot.
* '''Five''': AnimalEyes, combined with RuleOfScary and, to some extent, ReptilesAreAbhorrent. Cat-like eyes [[HellishPupils with slits for pupils]] are the most common, which MIGHT be reasonable considering that the other closest relatives of dinosaurs, crocodilians, have slit pupils as well. However, given the fact that raptors are more closely related to birds, their eyes may well be more bird-like with round, fixed pupils. On the other claw, however, the typical raptor skull does not have a supraorbital ridge, so it would be rather unrealistic to give your raptor the same "eagle scowl" as that of the other type of raptor, the BigBadassBirdOfPrey.
* '''Six''': BiggerIsBetter combined with TaxonomicTermConfusion, where works depict "''Velociraptor''" as being more similar to ''Deinonychus'' and sometimes nearing the size of ''Utahraptor''. A trope popularized by ''JurassicPark'', this is typically a result of FollowTheLeader when present in other works.
* '''Seven''': Overly flexible or overly stiff tails. Due to their tails being surrounded by ossified tendons, deinonychosaur tails were probably not sinuous and whip-like as shown in ''JurassicPark''. At the same time, it is a common meme among paleo artists to draw deinonychosaur tails as being stiff rods almost incapable of bending except at the base. Though true to a degree, fossils of sleeping deinonychosaurs such as ''Mei'' show that their tails were flexible enough to curl around the body.
* '''Eight''': [[IntellectualAnimal Extreme intelligence.]] Prior to the discovery that modern birds are dinosaurs, deinonychosaurs were widely considered "the most intelligent dinosaurs". (Just look at the door-opening raptors from JurassicPark.) Based on brain-to-body ratio and brain structure, deinonychosaurs do appear to have been quite intelligent among Mesozoic dinosaurs. In fact, their encephalization quotient is actually much higher than that of modern-day crocodilians, (which may not sound like that much of a compliment, at first, until you remember that, according to a recent study, crocodilians are [[RealityIsUnrealistic actually as intelligent as dogs]]), and comparable to those of some modern birds. However, they were almost certainly not as intelligent as the most intelligent birds alive today. A common paleo meme that arose in the 1980s was the idea that if dinosaurs never became extinct, the most intelligent species (i.e.: deinonychosaurs) would [[LizardFolk develop into]] [[TheReptilians humanoid forms]]. This, of course, overlooks the fact that the most intelligent dinosaurs (modern-type birds) ''were'' [[OvershadowedByAwesome the ones that survived]] to begin with, as well as demonstrates something of a HumansAreSpecial attitude. After all, there isn't any good reason why [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/03/dinosauroids_2008.php hypothetical highly intelligent dinosaurs]] would necessarily develop a human-like body plan.
* '''Nine''': [[RuleOfCool Being capable of taking on impossibly large prey.]] Due to their reputation as pack hunters (which is in itself debatable), deinonychosaurs are popularly shown killing prey much, much larger than themselves with ease. Although we know that some dromaeosaurids potentially preyed on larger prey (for example, one famous fossil preserves a ''Velociraptor'' fighting a ''Protoceratops'', a herbivore that could have been up to twelve times its size in mass), many of these depictions show coyote-sized dromaeosaurids killing prey not just ten times their size, but ''[[BeyondTheImpossible several hundred times]]'' their size, such as adult hadrosaurs or even sauropods. Furthermore, many deinonychosaurs (such as troodonts and basal dromaeosaurids) likely [[FragileSpeedster specialized in small prey]], not large ones. (Check out how comparatively [[http://shartman.deviantart.com/art/Wounding-Tooth-200043202 small]] those teeth and claws are in ''Troodon''.)
* '''Ten''': [[FunnyAnimalAnatomy Overly useful hands.]] Many deinonychosaurs had long arms and big hands, and it is therefore tempting to think that they were actually ''used'' like human hands. It is not uncommon to see deinonychosaurs (again, especially ''Troodon'') shown with opposable thumbs, even though the only deinonychosaur that has so far been biomechanically demonstrated to have had opposable thumbs is ''Bambiraptor'', so most deinonychosaurs could only hold objects two-handed (or clutched them towards the chest). In reality, long as their arms were, deinonychosaurs couldn't reach further with their hands than they could with their mouths, and the large feathers known to have been present on the arms and hands of deinonychosaurs would have prevented their use in picking up food from the ground or digging (known traces of digging deinonychosaurs show they dug with their feet, as modern ground birds do). The hand claws were useful as grappling hooks and for holding food that couldn't be eaten in one gulp, but they likely weren't as dexterous as often portrayed.
* '''Eleven''': Arms lifting above the back. As we now know that deinonychosaurs were very closely related to birds, artists often use modern birds as references for deinonychosaurs (as well as other basal birds). This normally isn't a bad thing (most deinonychosaur portrayals aren't birdlike ''enough''), but it can still be misleading. Many small deinonychosaurs may have had some flying or gliding ability, so they are often shown with their arms lifted above the back in a flight stroke. However, biomechanical studies of deinonychosaurs and basal birds show that they could only lift their arms to the sides at most, and powered flight as in modern birds evolved in more derived birds.
* '''Twelve''': Pseudobeaks. In the same vein as the previous, another common way artists attempt to make their deinonychosaurs more birdlike is to add a beak-like sheath on the snout of deinonychosaurs. In fact, we know that deinonychosaurs actually had feathers covering most of the snout, and as they had a full complement of teeth, they didn't really need a beak as well. (Even in prehistoric birds with both beaks and teeth, the beak [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2011/04/youre-doing-it-wrong-birds-with-teeth.html doesn't occupy the same space as the teeth]].) Deinonychosaurs that preserve facial integument show a featherless region at the very tip of the snout, but even then there's no evidence for a keratinous sheath there.
* '''Thirteen''': Inaccurate family life. Possibly due to extrapolation from modern predatory birds, it is popular to portray dromaeosaurids as living in mated pairs with the female brooding the eggs, feeding their young, and sometimes nesting in trees. Based on body to clutch size ratio, however, it was probably the males that brooded the eggs, and the sheer number of eggs in known deinonychosaur nests means that the males probably had multiple mates (as, frankly, there are too many eggs per nest to fit in one female). Young deinonychosaurs were capable of running around after hatching, so it's not unlikely that they hunted at least some of their food on their own instead of being fed. Although deinonychosaurs (especially the smaller ones) may have climbed trees, ground nesting appears to be basal among birds, even flying ones[[hottip:*:Even basal birds that ''have'' evolved tree nesting, such as wood ducks, tend to nest in tree hollows instead of building a nest in the branches.]], so deinonychosaurs probably mostly nested on the ground as well (and, indeed, are known to have done so).
For good examples of ''accurate'' deinonychosaur portrayals, see [[http://www.henteeth.com/nh/paleoart.htm this website]].
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The reason media ''Velociraptor'' are depicted as man-sized (or even larger) is because of [[FollowTheLeader following the example set by]] ''JurassicPark'', whose own portrayal was due to 1) a certain paleontologist *cough*Greg Paul*cough* publishing a book at the time that classified the wolf-sized ''Deinonychus antirrhopus'' as a ''Velociraptor'', 2) "''Velociraptor''" apparently was deemed easier on the tongue/more appealing than "''Deinonychus''", and 3) The turkey-sized ''Velociraptor'' was no major villain material, whereas the larger and menacing-looking ''Deinonychus'' was. Essentially, JP's "Raptors" are actually ''Deinonychus'' specimens, even though they are apparently referred to with the binomial name of the real ''Velociraptor'' (''V. mongoliensis'') instead of, say, "''V.''" ''antirrhopus''. [[hottip:*:Actually the main "raptors" ''are'' referred as ''V. antirrhopus''. ''V. mongoliensis'' applies only to some hatchlings. This means ''both Deinonychus and Velociraptor'' are portrayed, even though this is usually unnoticed.]] TheMovie compounded the problem, deeming the ''Deinonychus''-raptors not scary enough for the screen, so they scaled them up to about six feet tall.
The giant movie-raptors were only saved from being completely fictional by a few months, when a raptor genus called ''Utahraptor'' got discovered during the making of the film. It was not only a completely different species (''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utahraptor Utahraptor ostrommaysorum]]'') from ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velociraptor V. mongoliensis]]'', but a completely different '''subfamily''', and actually was about the same size as the movie raptors, if not larger (21 feet long, 6 feet tall). [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_issues_in_Jurassic_Park#Velociraptor See here for info on JP issues with Velociraptor depiction]].
''JurassicPark'''s [[ScienceMarchesOn "scaly-raptors" became outdated rather quickly]] after fossils of feathered non-avialian theropods (proving a hypothesis that did already exist for a long time), like ''Sinosauropteryx'' and ''Microraptor'', were discovered and described. But alas, it was too late, and JP's portrayal of raptors was already [[PopCulturalOsmosis deeply ingrained in the public consciousness]].
Interestingly, some recent analyses suggest that the so-called "first bird" ''Archaeopteryx'' may either be a deinonychosaur as well (in other words, closer to ''Velociraptor'' than to modern birds), or less close to modern birds than deinonychosaurs are. In any case, it's worthy to note that in spite of its iconic status, there is very little anatomical difference between ''Archaeopteryx'' and small deinonychosaurs, and, potential color patterns aside, you'd probably have no luck telling them apart in life.
A list of common inaccuracies in pop culture portrayals of deinonychosaurs.
* '''One''': Being covered in scales instead of feathers. If present in older works this is a victim of ScienceMarchesOn, but we've known since 1999 that deinonychosaurs had feathers[[hottip:*:Indeed, some possible deinonychosaurs such as ''Archaeopteryx'' and ''Rahonavis'' already showed evidence of feathers before then, but had not been recognized as deinonychosaurs when first discovered.]]. On real deinonychosaurs, scales were only present on the lower legs and feet, if at all (some had completely feathered feet).
* '''Two''': In the event that deinonychosaurs are portrayed with feathers, it is [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2010/03/youre-doing-it-wrong-1-archaeopteryx.html very, very unlikely]] that the feather distribution and structure will be portrayed accurately. One of the most common mistakes on this front is to have the wing feathers end at the wrist, even though we know that deinonychosaurs actually had wing feathers attached to the second finger as well. Only partially feathering deinonychosaurs is also generally incorrect. It is common for many depictions of feathered deinonychosaurs to portray them as a [[MixAndMatchCritter weird hybrid]] between a bird and a lizard, probably to highlight their "[[HollywoodEvolution missing link]]" iconism. However, we know that deinonychosaurs were almost entirely feathered other than the tip of the snout and sometimes the feet. (Though it is not unreasonable to suggest that the largest deinonychosaurs may have had some naked patches similar to ostriches today.) For a long time it was thought that deinonychosaurs only had pennaceous (modern-style) feathers on the wings and tail (and sometimes the legs), with the rest of the body being covered in protofeathers, but a new study has shown that these protofeathers are likely just misinterpreted pennaceous feathers. So, like modern birds, deinonychosaurs actually [[FeatheredFiend had pennaceous feathers all over the body]]. Incidentally, the pennaceous feathers of many modern flightless birds (such as [[LandDownUnder kiwis]]) are degraded and hair like, so it's possible that flightless deinonychosaurs were similar.
* '''Three''': The hands will be twisted around so that the palms point backwards towards the body, kind of like a zombie. In reality, deinonychosaurs (in fact, most dinosaurs) have palms that naturally face one another, and [[YouFailBiologyForever twisting them around like that would break the wrists]]. Biomechanical studies have shown that deinonychosaur palms would actually rotate ''upwards'' when the wrists were extended, which would have helped them clutch objects to the chest.
* '''Four''': Deinonychosaurs will often be depicted as {{Lightning Bruiser}}s, among the speediest of all dinosaurs. While troodonts and basal dromaeosaurids were well built for running, the larger, more derived dromaeosaurids (including ''Velociraptor'' and ''Deinonychus'') were not. In fact, going by leg proportions alone, derived dromaeosaurids were among the ''worst'' runners among ''all'' theropods (meat-eating dinosaurs). As early as the 1960s, scientific analyses have concluded that advanced dromaeosaurids were built for short-range acceleration and low-speed endurance running instead of high-speed sprinting, and even the bone walls of ''Utahraptor'' are around twice as proportionally thick as those of ''Allosaurus''. However, the leg structure does indicate that they do appear to have been very agile and had a good sense of balance, which sort of makes up for it. In sum, advanced dromaeosaurs were more akin to {{Jacks Of All Stats}} than what the movies say, in that they stressed more emphasis on claw-to-claw dogfighting than fleetness of foot.
* '''Five''': AnimalEyes, combined with RuleOfScary and, to some extent, ReptilesAreAbhorrent. Cat-like eyes [[HellishPupils with slits for pupils]] are the most common, which MIGHT be reasonable considering that the other closest relatives of dinosaurs, crocodilians, have slit pupils as well. However, given the fact that raptors are more closely related to birds, their eyes may well be more bird-like with round, fixed pupils. On the other claw, however, the typical raptor skull does not have a supraorbital ridge, so it would be rather unrealistic to give your raptor the same "eagle scowl" as that of the other type of raptor, the BigBadassBirdOfPrey.
* '''Six''': BiggerIsBetter combined with TaxonomicTermConfusion, where works depict "''Velociraptor''" as being more similar to ''Deinonychus'' and sometimes nearing the size of ''Utahraptor''. A trope popularized by ''JurassicPark'', this is typically a result of FollowTheLeader when present in other works.
* '''Seven''': Overly flexible or overly stiff tails. Due to their tails being surrounded by ossified tendons, deinonychosaur tails were probably not sinuous and whip-like as shown in ''JurassicPark''. At the same time, it is a common meme among paleo artists to draw deinonychosaur tails as being stiff rods almost incapable of bending except at the base. Though true to a degree, fossils of sleeping deinonychosaurs such as ''Mei'' show that their tails were flexible enough to curl around the body.
* '''Eight''': [[IntellectualAnimal Extreme intelligence.]] Prior to the discovery that modern birds are dinosaurs, deinonychosaurs were widely considered "the most intelligent dinosaurs". (Just look at the door-opening raptors from JurassicPark.) Based on brain-to-body ratio and brain structure, deinonychosaurs do appear to have been quite intelligent among Mesozoic dinosaurs. In fact, their encephalization quotient is actually much higher than that of modern-day crocodilians, (which may not sound like that much of a compliment, at first, until you remember that, according to a recent study, crocodilians are [[RealityIsUnrealistic actually as intelligent as dogs]]), and comparable to those of some modern birds. However, they were almost certainly not as intelligent as the most intelligent birds alive today. A common paleo meme that arose in the 1980s was the idea that if dinosaurs never became extinct, the most intelligent species (i.e.: deinonychosaurs) would [[LizardFolk develop into]] [[TheReptilians humanoid forms]]. This, of course, overlooks the fact that the most intelligent dinosaurs (modern-type birds) ''were'' [[OvershadowedByAwesome the ones that survived]] to begin with, as well as demonstrates something of a HumansAreSpecial attitude. After all, there isn't any good reason why [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/03/dinosauroids_2008.php hypothetical highly intelligent dinosaurs]] would necessarily develop a human-like body plan.
* '''Nine''': [[RuleOfCool Being capable of taking on impossibly large prey.]] Due to their reputation as pack hunters (which is in itself debatable), deinonychosaurs are popularly shown killing prey much, much larger than themselves with ease. Although we know that some dromaeosaurids potentially preyed on larger prey (for example, one famous fossil preserves a ''Velociraptor'' fighting a ''Protoceratops'', a herbivore that could have been up to twelve times its size in mass), many of these depictions show coyote-sized dromaeosaurids killing prey not just ten times their size, but ''[[BeyondTheImpossible several hundred times]]'' their size, such as adult hadrosaurs or even sauropods. Furthermore, many deinonychosaurs (such as troodonts and basal dromaeosaurids) likely [[FragileSpeedster specialized in small prey]], not large ones. (Check out how comparatively [[http://shartman.deviantart.com/art/Wounding-Tooth-200043202 small]] those teeth and claws are in ''Troodon''.)
* '''Ten''': [[FunnyAnimalAnatomy Overly useful hands.]] Many deinonychosaurs had long arms and big hands, and it is therefore tempting to think that they were actually ''used'' like human hands. It is not uncommon to see deinonychosaurs (again, especially ''Troodon'') shown with opposable thumbs, even though the only deinonychosaur that has so far been biomechanically demonstrated to have had opposable thumbs is ''Bambiraptor'', so most deinonychosaurs could only hold objects two-handed (or clutched them towards the chest). In reality, long as their arms were, deinonychosaurs couldn't reach further with their hands than they could with their mouths, and the large feathers known to have been present on the arms and hands of deinonychosaurs would have prevented their use in picking up food from the ground or digging (known traces of digging deinonychosaurs show they dug with their feet, as modern ground birds do). The hand claws were useful as grappling hooks and for holding food that couldn't be eaten in one gulp, but they likely weren't as dexterous as often portrayed.
* '''Eleven''': Arms lifting above the back. As we now know that deinonychosaurs were very closely related to birds, artists often use modern birds as references for deinonychosaurs (as well as other basal birds). This normally isn't a bad thing (most deinonychosaur portrayals aren't birdlike ''enough''), but it can still be misleading. Many small deinonychosaurs may have had some flying or gliding ability, so they are often shown with their arms lifted above the back in a flight stroke. However, biomechanical studies of deinonychosaurs and basal birds show that they could only lift their arms to the sides at most, and powered flight as in modern birds evolved in more derived birds.
* '''Twelve''': Pseudobeaks. In the same vein as the previous, another common way artists attempt to make their deinonychosaurs more birdlike is to add a beak-like sheath on the snout of deinonychosaurs. In fact, we know that deinonychosaurs actually had feathers covering most of the snout, and as they had a full complement of teeth, they didn't really need a beak as well. (Even in prehistoric birds with both beaks and teeth, the beak [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2011/04/youre-doing-it-wrong-birds-with-teeth.html doesn't occupy the same space as the teeth]].) Deinonychosaurs that preserve facial integument show a featherless region at the very tip of the snout, but even then there's no evidence for a keratinous sheath there.
* '''Thirteen''': Inaccurate family life. Possibly due to extrapolation from modern predatory birds, it is popular to portray dromaeosaurids as living in mated pairs with the female brooding the eggs, feeding their young, and sometimes nesting in trees. Based on body to clutch size ratio, however, it was probably the males that brooded the eggs, and the sheer number of eggs in known deinonychosaur nests means that the males probably had multiple mates (as, frankly, there are too many eggs per nest to fit in one female). Young deinonychosaurs were capable of running around after hatching, so it's not unlikely that they hunted at least some of their food on their own instead of being fed. Although deinonychosaurs (especially the smaller ones) may have climbed trees, ground nesting appears to be basal among birds, even flying ones[[hottip:*:Even basal birds that ''have'' evolved tree nesting, such as wood ducks, tend to nest in tree hollows instead of building a nest in the branches.]], so deinonychosaurs probably mostly nested on the ground as well (and, indeed, are known to have done so).
For good examples of ''accurate'' deinonychosaur portrayals, see [[http://www.henteeth.com/nh/paleoart.htm this website]].
The giant movie-raptors were only saved from being completely fictional by a few months, when a raptor genus called ''Utahraptor'' got discovered during the making of the film. It was not only a completely different species (''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utahraptor Utahraptor ostrommaysorum]]'') from ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velociraptor V. mongoliensis]]'', but a completely different '''subfamily''', and actually was about the same size as the movie raptors, if not larger (21 feet long, 6 feet tall). [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_issues_in_Jurassic_Park#Velociraptor See here for info on JP issues with Velociraptor depiction]].
''JurassicPark'''s [[ScienceMarchesOn "scaly-raptors" became outdated rather quickly]] after fossils of feathered non-avialian theropods (proving a hypothesis that did already exist for a long time), like ''Sinosauropteryx'' and ''Microraptor'', were discovered and described. But alas, it was too late, and JP's portrayal of raptors was already [[PopCulturalOsmosis deeply ingrained in the public consciousness]].
Interestingly, some recent analyses suggest that the so-called "first bird" ''Archaeopteryx'' may either be a deinonychosaur as well (in other words, closer to ''Velociraptor'' than to modern birds), or less close to modern birds than deinonychosaurs are. In any case, it's worthy to note that in spite of its iconic status, there is very little anatomical difference between ''Archaeopteryx'' and small deinonychosaurs, and, potential color patterns aside, you'd probably have no luck telling them apart in life.
A list of common inaccuracies in pop culture portrayals of deinonychosaurs.
* '''One''': Being covered in scales instead of feathers. If present in older works this is a victim of ScienceMarchesOn, but we've known since 1999 that deinonychosaurs had feathers[[hottip:*:Indeed, some possible deinonychosaurs such as ''Archaeopteryx'' and ''Rahonavis'' already showed evidence of feathers before then, but had not been recognized as deinonychosaurs when first discovered.]]. On real deinonychosaurs, scales were only present on the lower legs and feet, if at all (some had completely feathered feet).
* '''Two''': In the event that deinonychosaurs are portrayed with feathers, it is [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2010/03/youre-doing-it-wrong-1-archaeopteryx.html very, very unlikely]] that the feather distribution and structure will be portrayed accurately. One of the most common mistakes on this front is to have the wing feathers end at the wrist, even though we know that deinonychosaurs actually had wing feathers attached to the second finger as well. Only partially feathering deinonychosaurs is also generally incorrect. It is common for many depictions of feathered deinonychosaurs to portray them as a [[MixAndMatchCritter weird hybrid]] between a bird and a lizard, probably to highlight their "[[HollywoodEvolution missing link]]" iconism. However, we know that deinonychosaurs were almost entirely feathered other than the tip of the snout and sometimes the feet. (Though it is not unreasonable to suggest that the largest deinonychosaurs may have had some naked patches similar to ostriches today.) For a long time it was thought that deinonychosaurs only had pennaceous (modern-style) feathers on the wings and tail (and sometimes the legs), with the rest of the body being covered in protofeathers, but a new study has shown that these protofeathers are likely just misinterpreted pennaceous feathers. So, like modern birds, deinonychosaurs actually [[FeatheredFiend had pennaceous feathers all over the body]]. Incidentally, the pennaceous feathers of many modern flightless birds (such as [[LandDownUnder kiwis]]) are degraded and hair like, so it's possible that flightless deinonychosaurs were similar.
* '''Three''': The hands will be twisted around so that the palms point backwards towards the body, kind of like a zombie. In reality, deinonychosaurs (in fact, most dinosaurs) have palms that naturally face one another, and [[YouFailBiologyForever twisting them around like that would break the wrists]]. Biomechanical studies have shown that deinonychosaur palms would actually rotate ''upwards'' when the wrists were extended, which would have helped them clutch objects to the chest.
* '''Four''': Deinonychosaurs will often be depicted as {{Lightning Bruiser}}s, among the speediest of all dinosaurs. While troodonts and basal dromaeosaurids were well built for running, the larger, more derived dromaeosaurids (including ''Velociraptor'' and ''Deinonychus'') were not. In fact, going by leg proportions alone, derived dromaeosaurids were among the ''worst'' runners among ''all'' theropods (meat-eating dinosaurs). As early as the 1960s, scientific analyses have concluded that advanced dromaeosaurids were built for short-range acceleration and low-speed endurance running instead of high-speed sprinting, and even the bone walls of ''Utahraptor'' are around twice as proportionally thick as those of ''Allosaurus''. However, the leg structure does indicate that they do appear to have been very agile and had a good sense of balance, which sort of makes up for it. In sum, advanced dromaeosaurs were more akin to {{Jacks Of All Stats}} than what the movies say, in that they stressed more emphasis on claw-to-claw dogfighting than fleetness of foot.
* '''Five''': AnimalEyes, combined with RuleOfScary and, to some extent, ReptilesAreAbhorrent. Cat-like eyes [[HellishPupils with slits for pupils]] are the most common, which MIGHT be reasonable considering that the other closest relatives of dinosaurs, crocodilians, have slit pupils as well. However, given the fact that raptors are more closely related to birds, their eyes may well be more bird-like with round, fixed pupils. On the other claw, however, the typical raptor skull does not have a supraorbital ridge, so it would be rather unrealistic to give your raptor the same "eagle scowl" as that of the other type of raptor, the BigBadassBirdOfPrey.
* '''Six''': BiggerIsBetter combined with TaxonomicTermConfusion, where works depict "''Velociraptor''" as being more similar to ''Deinonychus'' and sometimes nearing the size of ''Utahraptor''. A trope popularized by ''JurassicPark'', this is typically a result of FollowTheLeader when present in other works.
* '''Seven''': Overly flexible or overly stiff tails. Due to their tails being surrounded by ossified tendons, deinonychosaur tails were probably not sinuous and whip-like as shown in ''JurassicPark''. At the same time, it is a common meme among paleo artists to draw deinonychosaur tails as being stiff rods almost incapable of bending except at the base. Though true to a degree, fossils of sleeping deinonychosaurs such as ''Mei'' show that their tails were flexible enough to curl around the body.
* '''Eight''': [[IntellectualAnimal Extreme intelligence.]] Prior to the discovery that modern birds are dinosaurs, deinonychosaurs were widely considered "the most intelligent dinosaurs". (Just look at the door-opening raptors from JurassicPark.) Based on brain-to-body ratio and brain structure, deinonychosaurs do appear to have been quite intelligent among Mesozoic dinosaurs. In fact, their encephalization quotient is actually much higher than that of modern-day crocodilians, (which may not sound like that much of a compliment, at first, until you remember that, according to a recent study, crocodilians are [[RealityIsUnrealistic actually as intelligent as dogs]]), and comparable to those of some modern birds. However, they were almost certainly not as intelligent as the most intelligent birds alive today. A common paleo meme that arose in the 1980s was the idea that if dinosaurs never became extinct, the most intelligent species (i.e.: deinonychosaurs) would [[LizardFolk develop into]] [[TheReptilians humanoid forms]]. This, of course, overlooks the fact that the most intelligent dinosaurs (modern-type birds) ''were'' [[OvershadowedByAwesome the ones that survived]] to begin with, as well as demonstrates something of a HumansAreSpecial attitude. After all, there isn't any good reason why [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/03/dinosauroids_2008.php hypothetical highly intelligent dinosaurs]] would necessarily develop a human-like body plan.
* '''Nine''': [[RuleOfCool Being capable of taking on impossibly large prey.]] Due to their reputation as pack hunters (which is in itself debatable), deinonychosaurs are popularly shown killing prey much, much larger than themselves with ease. Although we know that some dromaeosaurids potentially preyed on larger prey (for example, one famous fossil preserves a ''Velociraptor'' fighting a ''Protoceratops'', a herbivore that could have been up to twelve times its size in mass), many of these depictions show coyote-sized dromaeosaurids killing prey not just ten times their size, but ''[[BeyondTheImpossible several hundred times]]'' their size, such as adult hadrosaurs or even sauropods. Furthermore, many deinonychosaurs (such as troodonts and basal dromaeosaurids) likely [[FragileSpeedster specialized in small prey]], not large ones. (Check out how comparatively [[http://shartman.deviantart.com/art/Wounding-Tooth-200043202 small]] those teeth and claws are in ''Troodon''.)
* '''Ten''': [[FunnyAnimalAnatomy Overly useful hands.]] Many deinonychosaurs had long arms and big hands, and it is therefore tempting to think that they were actually ''used'' like human hands. It is not uncommon to see deinonychosaurs (again, especially ''Troodon'') shown with opposable thumbs, even though the only deinonychosaur that has so far been biomechanically demonstrated to have had opposable thumbs is ''Bambiraptor'', so most deinonychosaurs could only hold objects two-handed (or clutched them towards the chest). In reality, long as their arms were, deinonychosaurs couldn't reach further with their hands than they could with their mouths, and the large feathers known to have been present on the arms and hands of deinonychosaurs would have prevented their use in picking up food from the ground or digging (known traces of digging deinonychosaurs show they dug with their feet, as modern ground birds do). The hand claws were useful as grappling hooks and for holding food that couldn't be eaten in one gulp, but they likely weren't as dexterous as often portrayed.
* '''Eleven''': Arms lifting above the back. As we now know that deinonychosaurs were very closely related to birds, artists often use modern birds as references for deinonychosaurs (as well as other basal birds). This normally isn't a bad thing (most deinonychosaur portrayals aren't birdlike ''enough''), but it can still be misleading. Many small deinonychosaurs may have had some flying or gliding ability, so they are often shown with their arms lifted above the back in a flight stroke. However, biomechanical studies of deinonychosaurs and basal birds show that they could only lift their arms to the sides at most, and powered flight as in modern birds evolved in more derived birds.
* '''Twelve''': Pseudobeaks. In the same vein as the previous, another common way artists attempt to make their deinonychosaurs more birdlike is to add a beak-like sheath on the snout of deinonychosaurs. In fact, we know that deinonychosaurs actually had feathers covering most of the snout, and as they had a full complement of teeth, they didn't really need a beak as well. (Even in prehistoric birds with both beaks and teeth, the beak [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2011/04/youre-doing-it-wrong-birds-with-teeth.html doesn't occupy the same space as the teeth]].) Deinonychosaurs that preserve facial integument show a featherless region at the very tip of the snout, but even then there's no evidence for a keratinous sheath there.
* '''Thirteen''': Inaccurate family life. Possibly due to extrapolation from modern predatory birds, it is popular to portray dromaeosaurids as living in mated pairs with the female brooding the eggs, feeding their young, and sometimes nesting in trees. Based on body to clutch size ratio, however, it was probably the males that brooded the eggs, and the sheer number of eggs in known deinonychosaur nests means that the males probably had multiple mates (as, frankly, there are too many eggs per nest to fit in one female). Young deinonychosaurs were capable of running around after hatching, so it's not unlikely that they hunted at least some of their food on their own instead of being fed. Although deinonychosaurs (especially the smaller ones) may have climbed trees, ground nesting appears to be basal among birds, even flying ones[[hottip:*:Even basal birds that ''have'' evolved tree nesting, such as wood ducks, tend to nest in tree hollows instead of building a nest in the branches.]], so deinonychosaurs probably mostly nested on the ground as well (and, indeed, are known to have done so).
For good examples of ''accurate'' deinonychosaur portrayals, see [[http://www.henteeth.com/nh/paleoart.htm this website]].
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* The villain of ''DinoSquad'' is a humanoid ''Velociraptor'' named Victor Veloci. Curiously, the mentor figure of the titular Squad is also a velociraptor-person. And of course the show has many, many other problems.
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* The villain of ''DinoSquad'' is a humanoid ''Velociraptor'' named Victor Veloci. Curiously, the mentor figure of the titular Squad is also a velociraptor-person. And of course the show has many, many other problems.
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* The small carnivorous dinosaurs that attack our heroes in ''[[IceAge Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs]]'' are vaguely reminiscent of raptors, including the killing claws. [[ViewersAreMorons But don't be fooled.]] WordOfGod has stated that those are ''[[TaxonomicTermConfusion Guanlong]]'', ''NOT'' Velociraptors - the real Guanlong wasn't as big, lacked the killing claws, and most important of all, it was, in fact, a '''''[[SomewhereAPalaeontologistIsCrying PRIMITIVE TYRANNOSAUR.]]'''''
** The movie (and the game as well) also features true deinonychosaurs, taxonomically speaking, in the form of [[SomewhereAPalaeontologistIsCrying naked]] ''Troodons.'' They are depicted as [[YouFailBiologyForever stupid vegetarians,]] while in fact, they were actually among the smartest of the dinosaurs. To be fair, [[CarnivoreConfusion some scientists have suggested that they may have been omnivores IRL]].
** The movie (and the game as well) also features true deinonychosaurs, taxonomically speaking, in the form of [[SomewhereAPalaeontologistIsCrying naked]] ''Troodons.'' They are depicted as [[YouFailBiologyForever stupid vegetarians,]] while in fact, they were actually among the smartest of the dinosaurs. To be fair, [[CarnivoreConfusion some scientists have suggested that they may have been omnivores IRL]].
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* The small carnivorous dinosaurs that attack our heroes in ''[[IceAge Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs]]'' are vaguely reminiscent of raptors, including the killing claws. [[ViewersAreMorons But don't be fooled.]] WordOfGod has stated that those are ''[[TaxonomicTermConfusion Guanlong]]'', ''NOT'' Velociraptors - the real Guanlong wasn't as big, lacked the killing claws, and most important of all, it was, in fact, a '''''[[SomewhereAPalaeontologistIsCrying PRIMITIVE TYRANNOSAUR.]]'''''\n** The movie (and the game as well) also features true deinonychosaurs, taxonomically speaking, in the form of [[SomewhereAPalaeontologistIsCrying naked]] ''Troodons.'' They are depicted as [[YouFailBiologyForever stupid vegetarians,]] while in fact, they were actually among the smartest of the dinosaurs. To be fair, [[CarnivoreConfusion some scientists have suggested that they may have been omnivores IRL]].
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* The ''Velociraptors'' that attack Aladar and the lemurs in Disney's ''{{Dinosaur}}'' just right before they are all rescued by the Herd.
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* The ''Velociraptors'' that attack Aladar and the lemurs in Disney's ''{{Dinosaur}}'' just right before they are all rescued by the Herd. Those raptors are the first of their kind to be drawn anatomically correct in film history, but unfortunately they still don't have feathers.
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* Averted in "The Rite of Spring" segment of ''{{Disney/Fantasia}}'' where no raptors are to be seen anywhere, as they all weren't even discovered at the time of that film's release (''Fantasia'' was released in 1940, the first raptor skeleton wasn't discovered until the 1950s). However, there was an Archaeopteryx that flapped its wings like a bird, real Archaeopteryx cannot flap their wings, and most likely glided.
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* One of the upcoming {{LEGO}} ''Dino'' sets has a giant, ''JP''-styled, striped raptor.
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* One Two of the upcoming {{LEGO}} ''Dino'' sets has have a giant, ''JP''-styled, striped raptor.
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* '''Nine''': [[RuleOfCool Being capable of taking on impossibly large prey.]] Due to their reputation as pack hunters (which is in itself debatable), deinonychosaurs are popularly shown killing prey much, much larger than themselves with ease. Although we know that some dromaeosaurids potentially preyed on larger prey (for example, one famous fossil preserves a ''Velociraptor'' fighting a ''Protoceratops'', a herbivore that could have been up to twelve times its size in mass), many of these depictions show coyote-sized dromaeosaurids killing prey not just ten times their size, but ''[[BeyondTheImpossible several hundred times]]'' their size, such as adult hadrosaurs. Furthermore, many deinonychosaurs (such as troodonts and basal dromaeosaurids) likely [[FragileSpeedster specialized in small prey]], not large ones. (Check out how comparatively [[http://shartman.deviantart.com/art/Wounding-Tooth-200043202 small]] those teeth and claws are in ''Troodon''.)
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* '''Nine''': [[RuleOfCool Being capable of taking on impossibly large prey.]] Due to their reputation as pack hunters (which is in itself debatable), deinonychosaurs are popularly shown killing prey much, much larger than themselves with ease. Although we know that some dromaeosaurids potentially preyed on larger prey (for example, one famous fossil preserves a ''Velociraptor'' fighting a ''Protoceratops'', a herbivore that could have been up to twelve times its size in mass), many of these depictions show coyote-sized dromaeosaurids killing prey not just ten times their size, but ''[[BeyondTheImpossible several hundred times]]'' their size, such as adult hadrosaurs.hadrosaurs or even sauropods. Furthermore, many deinonychosaurs (such as troodonts and basal dromaeosaurids) likely [[FragileSpeedster specialized in small prey]], not large ones. (Check out how comparatively [[http://shartman.deviantart.com/art/Wounding-Tooth-200043202 small]] those teeth and claws are in ''Troodon''.)
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* '''Eight''': [[IntellectualAnimal Extreme intelligence.]] Prior to the discovery that modern birds are dinosaurs, deinonychosaurs were widely considered "the most intelligent dinosaurs". (Just look at the door-opening raptors from JurassicPark.) Based on brain-to-body ratio and brain structure, deinonychosaurs do appear to have been quite intelligent among Mesozoic dinosaurs. In fact, their encephalization quotient is actually much higher than that of modern-day crocodilians, (which may not sound like that much of a compliment, at first, until you remember that, according to a recent study, crocodilians are [[RealityIsUnrealistic actually as intelligent as dogs]]), and comparable to those of some modern birds. However, they were almost certainly not as intelligent as the most intelligent birds alive today. A common paleo meme that arose in the 1980s was the idea that if dinosaurs never became extinct, the most intelligent species (i.e.: deinonychosaurs) would [[LizardFolk develop into humanoid forms]]. This, of course, overlooks the fact that the most intelligent dinosaurs (modern-type birds) ''were'' [[OvershadowedByAwesome the ones that survived]] to begin with, as well as demonstrates something of a HumansAreSpecial attitude. After all, there isn't any good reason why [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/03/dinosauroids_2008.php hypothetical highly intelligent dinosaurs]] would necessarily develop a human-like body plan.
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* '''Eight''': [[IntellectualAnimal Extreme intelligence.]] Prior to the discovery that modern birds are dinosaurs, deinonychosaurs were widely considered "the most intelligent dinosaurs". (Just look at the door-opening raptors from JurassicPark.) Based on brain-to-body ratio and brain structure, deinonychosaurs do appear to have been quite intelligent among Mesozoic dinosaurs. In fact, their encephalization quotient is actually much higher than that of modern-day crocodilians, (which may not sound like that much of a compliment, at first, until you remember that, according to a recent study, crocodilians are [[RealityIsUnrealistic actually as intelligent as dogs]]), and comparable to those of some modern birds. However, they were almost certainly not as intelligent as the most intelligent birds alive today. A common paleo meme that arose in the 1980s was the idea that if dinosaurs never became extinct, the most intelligent species (i.e.: deinonychosaurs) would [[LizardFolk develop into into]] [[TheReptilians humanoid forms]]. This, of course, overlooks the fact that the most intelligent dinosaurs (modern-type birds) ''were'' [[OvershadowedByAwesome the ones that survived]] to begin with, as well as demonstrates something of a HumansAreSpecial attitude. After all, there isn't any good reason why [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/03/dinosauroids_2008.php hypothetical highly intelligent dinosaurs]] would necessarily develop a human-like body plan.
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* '''Two''': In the event that deinonychosaurs are portrayed with feathers, it is [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2010/03/youre-doing-it-wrong-1-archaeopteryx.html very, very unlikely]] that the feather distribution and structure will be portrayed accurately. One of the most common mistakes on this front is to have the wing feathers end at the wrist, even though we know that deinonychosaurs actually had wing feathers attached to the second finger as well. Only partially feathering deinonychosaurs is also generally incorrect. It is common for many depictions of feathered deinonychosaurs to portray them as a [[MixAndMatchCritter weird hybrid]] between a bird and a lizard, probably to highlight their "[[HollywoodEvolution missing link]]" iconism. However, we know that deinonychosaurs were almost entirely feathered other than the tip of the snout and sometimes the feet. (Though it is not unreasonable to suggest that the largest deinonychosaurs may have had some naked patches similar to ostriches today.) For a long time it was thought that deinonychosaurs only had pennaceous (modern-style) feathers on the wings and tail (and sometimes the legs), with the rest of the body being covered in protofeathers, but a new study has shown that these protofeathers are likely just misinterpreted pennaceous feathers. So, like modern birds, deinonychosaurs actually [[FeatheredFiend had pennaceous feathers all over the body]]. Incidentally, the pennaceous feathers of many modern—day flightless birds (such as [[LandDownUnder kiwis]]) are degraded and hair like, so it's possible that flightless deinonychosaurs were similar.
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* '''Two''': In the event that deinonychosaurs are portrayed with feathers, it is [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2010/03/youre-doing-it-wrong-1-archaeopteryx.html very, very unlikely]] that the feather distribution and structure will be portrayed accurately. One of the most common mistakes on this front is to have the wing feathers end at the wrist, even though we know that deinonychosaurs actually had wing feathers attached to the second finger as well. Only partially feathering deinonychosaurs is also generally incorrect. It is common for many depictions of feathered deinonychosaurs to portray them as a [[MixAndMatchCritter weird hybrid]] between a bird and a lizard, probably to highlight their "[[HollywoodEvolution missing link]]" iconism. However, we know that deinonychosaurs were almost entirely feathered other than the tip of the snout and sometimes the feet. (Though it is not unreasonable to suggest that the largest deinonychosaurs may have had some naked patches similar to ostriches today.) For a long time it was thought that deinonychosaurs only had pennaceous (modern-style) feathers on the wings and tail (and sometimes the legs), with the rest of the body being covered in protofeathers, but a new study has shown that these protofeathers are likely just misinterpreted pennaceous feathers. So, like modern birds, deinonychosaurs actually [[FeatheredFiend had pennaceous feathers all over the body]]. Incidentally, the pennaceous feathers of many modern—day modern flightless birds (such as [[LandDownUnder kiwis]]) are degraded and hair like, so it's possible that flightless deinonychosaurs were similar.
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* The ''MonsterHunter'' series started with the Velociprey type enemies, which were actually more Velociraptor sized, but it turns out they were just immature versions. The larger Velocidrome Alphas were the first "large" monster most players fought. ''Tri'' replaced these with the Jaggi family, which lacked the "beak" of the Prey/Drome family.
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* '''Eight''': [[IntellectualAnimal Extreme intelligence.]] Prior to the discovery that modern birds are dinosaurs, deinonychosaurs were widely considered "the most intelligent dinosaurs". (Just look at the door-opening raptors from JurassicPark.) Based on brain-to-body ratio and brain structure, deinonychosaurs do appear to have been quite intelligent among Mesozoic dinosaurs. In fact, their encephalization quotient is actually much higher than that of modern-day crocodilians, (which may not sound like that much of a compliment, at first, until you remember that, according to a recent study, crocodilians are [[RealityIsUnrealistic actually as intelligent as dogs]]), and comparable to those of many modern birds. However, they were almost certainly not as intelligent as the most intelligent birds alive today. A common paleo meme that arose in the 1980s was the idea that if dinosaurs never became extinct, the most intelligent species (i.e.: deinonychosaurs) would [[LizardFolk develop into humanoid forms]]. This, of course, overlooks the fact that the most intelligent dinosaurs (modern-type birds) ''were'' [[OvershadowedByAwesome the ones that survived]] to begin with, as well as demonstrates something of a HumansAreSpecial attitude. After all, there isn't any good reason why [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/03/dinosauroids_2008.php hypothetical highly intelligent dinosaurs]] would necessarily develop a human-like body plan.
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* '''Eight''': [[IntellectualAnimal Extreme intelligence.]] Prior to the discovery that modern birds are dinosaurs, deinonychosaurs were widely considered "the most intelligent dinosaurs". (Just look at the door-opening raptors from JurassicPark.) Based on brain-to-body ratio and brain structure, deinonychosaurs do appear to have been quite intelligent among Mesozoic dinosaurs. In fact, their encephalization quotient is actually much higher than that of modern-day crocodilians, (which may not sound like that much of a compliment, at first, until you remember that, according to a recent study, crocodilians are [[RealityIsUnrealistic actually as intelligent as dogs]]), and comparable to those of many some modern birds. However, they were almost certainly not as intelligent as the most intelligent birds alive today. A common paleo meme that arose in the 1980s was the idea that if dinosaurs never became extinct, the most intelligent species (i.e.: deinonychosaurs) would [[LizardFolk develop into humanoid forms]]. This, of course, overlooks the fact that the most intelligent dinosaurs (modern-type birds) ''were'' [[OvershadowedByAwesome the ones that survived]] to begin with, as well as demonstrates something of a HumansAreSpecial attitude. After all, there isn't any good reason why [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/03/dinosauroids_2008.php hypothetical highly intelligent dinosaurs]] would necessarily develop a human-like body plan.
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* '''Eight''': [[IntellectualAnimal Extreme intelligence.]] Prior to the discovery that modern birds are dinosaurs, deinonychosaurs were widely considered "the most intelligent dinosaurs". (Just look at the door-opening raptors from JurassicPark.) Based on brain-to-body ratio and brain structure, deinonychosaurs do appear to have been quite intelligent among Mesozoic dinosaurs. In fact, their encephalization quotient is actually much higher than that of modern-day crocodilians, (which may not sound like that much of a compliment, at first, until you remember that, according to a recent study, crocodilians are [[RealityIsUnrealistic actually as intelligent as dogs), and comparable to those of many modern birds. However, they were almost certainly not as intelligent as the most intelligent birds alive today. A common paleo meme that arose in the 1980s was the idea that if dinosaurs never became extinct, the most intelligent species (i.e.: deinonychosaurs) would [[LizardFolk develop into humanoid forms]]. This, of course, overlooks the fact that the most intelligent dinosaurs (modern-type birds) ''were'' [[OvershadowedByAwesome the ones that survived]] to begin with, as well as demonstrates something of a HumansAreSpecial attitude. After all, there isn't any good reason why [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/03/dinosauroids_2008.php hypothetical highly intelligent dinosaurs]] would necessarily develop a human-like body plan.
to:
* '''Eight''': [[IntellectualAnimal Extreme intelligence.]] Prior to the discovery that modern birds are dinosaurs, deinonychosaurs were widely considered "the most intelligent dinosaurs". (Just look at the door-opening raptors from JurassicPark.) Based on brain-to-body ratio and brain structure, deinonychosaurs do appear to have been quite intelligent among Mesozoic dinosaurs. In fact, their encephalization quotient is actually much higher than that of modern-day crocodilians, (which may not sound like that much of a compliment, at first, until you remember that, according to a recent study, crocodilians are [[RealityIsUnrealistic actually as intelligent as dogs), dogs]]), and comparable to those of many modern birds. However, they were almost certainly not as intelligent as the most intelligent birds alive today. A common paleo meme that arose in the 1980s was the idea that if dinosaurs never became extinct, the most intelligent species (i.e.: deinonychosaurs) would [[LizardFolk develop into humanoid forms]]. This, of course, overlooks the fact that the most intelligent dinosaurs (modern-type birds) ''were'' [[OvershadowedByAwesome the ones that survived]] to begin with, as well as demonstrates something of a HumansAreSpecial attitude. After all, there isn't any good reason why [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/03/dinosauroids_2008.php hypothetical highly intelligent dinosaurs]] would necessarily develop a human-like body plan.
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This is not Wikipedia, which must maintain a neutral point of view. Furthermore, there\'s nothing wrong with the example iteslf. If you feel offended or that it\'s too opinionated, please change the wording instead of removing the entire thing.
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* '''Nine''': [[RuleOfCool Being capable of taking on impossibly large prey.]] Due to their reputation as pack hunters (which is in itself debatable), deinonychosaurs are popularly shown killing prey much, much larger than themselves with ease. Although we know that some dromaeosaurids potentially preyed on larger prey (for example, one famous fossil preserves a ''Velociraptor'' fighting a ''Protoceratops'', a herbivore that could have been up to twelve times its size in mass), many of these depictions show coyote-sized dromaeosaurids killing prey not just ten times their size, but ''[[BeyondTheImpossible several hundred times]]'' their size, such as adult hadrosaurs.
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* '''Nine''': [[RuleOfCool Being capable of taking on impossibly large prey.]] Due to their reputation as pack hunters (which is in itself debatable), deinonychosaurs are popularly shown killing prey much, much larger than themselves with ease. Although we know that some dromaeosaurids potentially preyed on larger prey (for example, one famous fossil preserves a ''Velociraptor'' fighting a ''Protoceratops'', a herbivore that could have been up to twelve times its size in mass), many of these depictions show coyote-sized dromaeosaurids killing prey not just ten times their size, but ''[[BeyondTheImpossible several hundred times]]'' their size, such as adult hadrosaurs. Furthermore, many deinonychosaurs (such as troodonts and basal dromaeosaurids) likely [[FragileSpeedster specialized in small prey]], not large ones. (Check out how comparatively [[http://shartman.deviantart.com/art/Wounding-Tooth-200043202 small]] those teeth and claws are in ''Troodon''.)
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Uh, what? I have not implied that the tip of the snout is scaly at all. The tip of the snout could be scaly, naked, or \"cornified\". There\'s no evidence to favor any one alternative, so might as well leave it all out.
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* '''Four''': Deinonychosaurs will often be depicted as {{Lightning Bruiser}}s, among the speediest of all dinosaurs. While troodonts and basal dromaeosaurids were well built for running, (and even ''them'' being well-built for running is still debatable), the larger, more derived dromaeosaurids (including ''Velociraptor'' and ''Deinonychus'') were not. In fact, going by leg proportions alone, derived dromaeosaurids were among the ''worst'' runners among ''all'' theropods (meat-eating dinosaurs). As early as the 1960s, scientific analyses have concluded that advanced dromaeosaurids were built for short-range acceleration and low-speed endurance running instead of high-speed sprinting, and even the bone walls of ''Utahraptor'' are around twice as proportionally thick as those of ''Allosaurus''. However, the leg structure does indicate that they do appear to have been very agile and had a good sense of balance, which sort of makes up for it. In sum, advanced dromaeosaurs were more akin to {{Jacks Of All Stats}} than what the movies say, in that they stressed more emphasis on claw-to-claw dogfighting than fleetness of foot.
to:
* '''Four''': Deinonychosaurs will often be depicted as {{Lightning Bruiser}}s, among the speediest of all dinosaurs. While troodonts and basal dromaeosaurids were well built for running, (and even ''them'' being well-built for running is still debatable), the larger, more derived dromaeosaurids (including ''Velociraptor'' and ''Deinonychus'') were not. In fact, going by leg proportions alone, derived dromaeosaurids were among the ''worst'' runners among ''all'' theropods (meat-eating dinosaurs). As early as the 1960s, scientific analyses have concluded that advanced dromaeosaurids were built for short-range acceleration and low-speed endurance running instead of high-speed sprinting, and even the bone walls of ''Utahraptor'' are around twice as proportionally thick as those of ''Allosaurus''. However, the leg structure does indicate that they do appear to have been very agile and had a good sense of balance, which sort of makes up for it. In sum, advanced dromaeosaurs were more akin to {{Jacks Of All Stats}} than what the movies say, in that they stressed more emphasis on claw-to-claw dogfighting than fleetness of foot.
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* '''Twelve''': Pseudobeaks. In the same vein as the previous, another common way artists attempt to make their deinonychosaurs more birdlike is to add a beak-like sheath on the snout of deinonychosaurs. In fact, we know that deinonychosaurs actually had feathers covering most of the snout, and as they had a full complement of teeth, they didn't really need a beak as well. (Even in prehistoric birds with both beaks and teeth, the beak [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2011/04/youre-doing-it-wrong-birds-with-teeth.html doesn't occupy the same space as the teeth]].) Deinonychosaurs that preserve facial integument show a featherless region at the very tip of the snout, but even then there's no evidence for a keratinous sheath there. However, although a fully-fledged, ''bona fide'' beak is unlikely, it is still possible that the snouts of deinonychosaurs could have been covered by cornified tissue.
to:
* '''Twelve''': Pseudobeaks. In the same vein as the previous, another common way artists attempt to make their deinonychosaurs more birdlike is to add a beak-like sheath on the snout of deinonychosaurs. In fact, we know that deinonychosaurs actually had feathers covering most of the snout, and as they had a full complement of teeth, they didn't really need a beak as well. (Even in prehistoric birds with both beaks and teeth, the beak [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2011/04/youre-doing-it-wrong-birds-with-teeth.html doesn't occupy the same space as the teeth]].) Deinonychosaurs that preserve facial integument show a featherless region at the very tip of the snout, but even then there's no evidence for a keratinous sheath there. However, although a fully-fledged, ''bona fide'' beak is unlikely, it is still possible that the snouts of deinonychosaurs could have been covered by cornified tissue.
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Calling Troodon \"wimpy\" is a YMMV statement, meaning that it is an opinion, and therefore should not belong in this article.
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* '''Nine''': [[RuleOfCool Being capable of taking on impossibly large prey.]] Due to their reputation as pack hunters (which is in itself debatable), deinonychosaurs are popularly shown killing prey much, much larger than themselves with ease. Although we know that some dromaeosaurids potentially preyed on larger prey (for example, one famous fossil preserves a ''Velociraptor'' fighting a ''Protoceratops'', a herbivore that could have been up to twelve times its size in mass), many of these depictions show coyote-sized dromaeosaurids killing prey not just ten times their size, but ''[[BeyondTheImpossible several hundred times]]'' their size, such as adult hadrosaurs. Furthermore, many deinonychosaurs (such as troodonts and basal dromaeosaurids) likely [[FragileSpeedster specialized in small prey]], not large ones. (Check out how comparatively [[http://shartman.deviantart.com/art/Wounding-Tooth-200043202 wimpy]] those teeth and claws are in ''Troodon''!)
to:
* '''Nine''': [[RuleOfCool Being capable of taking on impossibly large prey.]] Due to their reputation as pack hunters (which is in itself debatable), deinonychosaurs are popularly shown killing prey much, much larger than themselves with ease. Although we know that some dromaeosaurids potentially preyed on larger prey (for example, one famous fossil preserves a ''Velociraptor'' fighting a ''Protoceratops'', a herbivore that could have been up to twelve times its size in mass), many of these depictions show coyote-sized dromaeosaurids killing prey not just ten times their size, but ''[[BeyondTheImpossible several hundred times]]'' their size, such as adult hadrosaurs. Furthermore, many deinonychosaurs (such as troodonts and basal dromaeosaurids) likely [[FragileSpeedster specialized in small prey]], not large ones. (Check out how comparatively [[http://shartman.deviantart.com/art/Wounding-Tooth-200043202 wimpy]] those teeth and claws are in ''Troodon''!)
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Well, I have seen your deviantART account, Albertonykus, and I have seen you ridiculing people who believe that scales are the \"default\" setting, for dinosaurs, even though there is still no evidence, for them. However, in this case, this is the exact same thing: Sure, There is no evidence for protobeaks, but, then again, there is also no evidence for scales covering that tip of the snout, either. So, no offense, at all, but you just contradicted yourself.
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* '''Four''': Deinonychosaurs will often be depicted as {{Lightning Bruiser}}s, among the speediest of all dinosaurs. While troodonts and basal dromaeosaurids were well built for running, the larger, more derived dromaeosaurids (including ''Velociraptor'' and ''Deinonychus'') were not. In fact, going by leg proportions alone, derived dromaeosaurids were among the ''worst'' runners among ''all'' theropods (meat-eating dinosaurs). As early as the 1960s, scientific analyses have concluded that advanced dromaeosaurids were built for short-range acceleration and low-speed endurance running instead of high-speed sprinting, and even the bone walls of ''Utahraptor'' are around twice as proportionally thick as those of ''Allosaurus''. However, the leg structure does indicate that they do appear to have been very agile and had a good sense of balance, which sort of makes up for it. In sum, advanced dromaeosaurs were more akin to {{Jacks Of All Stats}} than what the movies say, in that they stressed more emphasis on claw-to-claw dogfighting than fleetness of foot.
to:
* '''Four''': Deinonychosaurs will often be depicted as {{Lightning Bruiser}}s, among the speediest of all dinosaurs. While troodonts and basal dromaeosaurids were well built for running, (and even ''them'' being well-built for running is still debatable), the larger, more derived dromaeosaurids (including ''Velociraptor'' and ''Deinonychus'') were not. In fact, going by leg proportions alone, derived dromaeosaurids were among the ''worst'' runners among ''all'' theropods (meat-eating dinosaurs). As early as the 1960s, scientific analyses have concluded that advanced dromaeosaurids were built for short-range acceleration and low-speed endurance running instead of high-speed sprinting, and even the bone walls of ''Utahraptor'' are around twice as proportionally thick as those of ''Allosaurus''. However, the leg structure does indicate that they do appear to have been very agile and had a good sense of balance, which sort of makes up for it. In sum, advanced dromaeosaurs were more akin to {{Jacks Of All Stats}} than what the movies say, in that they stressed more emphasis on claw-to-claw dogfighting than fleetness of foot.
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* '''Eight''': [[IntellectualAnimal Extreme intelligence.]] Prior to the discovery that modern birds are dinosaurs, deinonychosaurs (particularly ''Troodon'') were widely considered "the most intelligent dinosaurs". (Just look at the door-opening raptors from JurassicPark.) Based on brain-to-body ratio and brain structure, deinonychosaurs do appear to have been quite intelligent among Mesozoic dinosaurs. However, they were most certainly not as intelligent as the most intelligent birds alive today. A common paleo meme that arose in the 1980s was the idea that if dinosaurs never became extinct, the most intelligent species (i.e.: deinonychosaurs) would [[LizardFolk develop into humanoid forms]]. This, of course, overlooks the fact that the most intelligent dinosaurs (modern-type birds) ''were'' [[OvershadowedByAwesome the ones that survived]] to begin with, as well as demonstrates something of a HumansAreSpecial attitude. After all, there isn't any good reason why [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/03/dinosauroids_2008.php hypothetical highly intelligent dinosaurs]] would necessarily develop a human-like body plan.
to:
* '''Eight''': [[IntellectualAnimal Extreme intelligence.]] Prior to the discovery that modern birds are dinosaurs, deinonychosaurs (particularly ''Troodon'') were widely considered "the most intelligent dinosaurs". (Just look at the door-opening raptors from JurassicPark.) Based on brain-to-body ratio and brain structure, deinonychosaurs do appear to have been quite intelligent among Mesozoic dinosaurs. In fact, their encephalization quotient is actually much higher than that of modern-day crocodilians, (which may not sound like that much of a compliment, at first, until you remember that, according to a recent study, crocodilians are [[RealityIsUnrealistic actually as intelligent as dogs), and comparable to those of many modern birds. However, they were most almost certainly not as intelligent as the most intelligent birds alive today. A common paleo meme that arose in the 1980s was the idea that if dinosaurs never became extinct, the most intelligent species (i.e.: deinonychosaurs) would [[LizardFolk develop into humanoid forms]]. This, of course, overlooks the fact that the most intelligent dinosaurs (modern-type birds) ''were'' [[OvershadowedByAwesome the ones that survived]] to begin with, as well as demonstrates something of a HumansAreSpecial attitude. After all, there isn't any good reason why [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/03/dinosauroids_2008.php hypothetical highly intelligent dinosaurs]] would necessarily develop a human-like body plan.
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* '''Twelve''': Pseudobeaks. In the same vein as the previous, another common way artists attempt to make their deinonychosaurs more birdlike is to add a beak-like sheath on the snout of deinonychosaurs. In fact, we know that deinonychosaurs actually had feathers covering most of the snout, and as they had a full complement of teeth, they didn't really need a beak as well. (Even in prehistoric birds with both beaks and teeth, the beak [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2011/04/youre-doing-it-wrong-birds-with-teeth.html doesn't occupy the same space as the teeth]].) Deinonychosaurs that preserve facial integument show a featherless region at the very tip of the snout, but even then there's no evidence for a keratinous sheath there.
to:
* '''Twelve''': Pseudobeaks. In the same vein as the previous, another common way artists attempt to make their deinonychosaurs more birdlike is to add a beak-like sheath on the snout of deinonychosaurs. In fact, we know that deinonychosaurs actually had feathers covering most of the snout, and as they had a full complement of teeth, they didn't really need a beak as well. (Even in prehistoric birds with both beaks and teeth, the beak [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2011/04/youre-doing-it-wrong-birds-with-teeth.html doesn't occupy the same space as the teeth]].) Deinonychosaurs that preserve facial integument show a featherless region at the very tip of the snout, but even then there's no evidence for a keratinous sheath there. However, although a fully-fledged, ''bona fide'' beak is unlikely, it is still possible that the snouts of deinonychosaurs could have been covered by cornified tissue.
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Orodromeus hardly counts as being large. The fact that troodonts and basal dromaeosaurids were specialized for smaller prey than derived dromaeosaurids still stands. No evidence at all for the snout being \"partially cornified\" either, so no reason for it to be there. As intelligent as deinonychosaurs might have been, no one would argue that they\'re as intelligent as parrots or corvids, so that still stands as well.
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* '''Two''': In the event that deinonychosaurs are portrayed with feathers, it is [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2010/03/youre-doing-it-wrong-1-archaeopteryx.html very, very unlikely]] that the feather distribution and structure will be portrayed accurately. One of the most common mistakes on this front is to have the wing feathers end at the wrist, even though we know that deinonychosaurs actually had wing feathers attached to the second finger as well. Only partially feathering deinonychosaurs is also generally incorrect. It is common for many depictions of feathered deinonychosaurs to portray them as a [[MixAndMatchCritter weird hybrid]] between a bird and a lizard, probably to highlight their "[[HollywoodEvolution missing link]]" iconism. However, we know that deinonychosaurs were almost entirely feathered other than the tip of the snout and sometimes the feet. (Though it is not unreasonable to suggest that the largest deinonychosaurs may have had some naked patches similar to ostriches today.) For a long time it was thought that deinonychosaurs only had pennaceous (modern-style) feathers on the wings and tail (and sometimes the legs), with the rest of the body being covered in protofeathers, but a new study has shown that these protofeathers are likely just misinterpreted pennaceous feathers. So, like modern birds, deinonychosaurs actually [[FeatheredFiend had pennaceous feathers all over the body]]. However, even some modern—day flightless birds have fully-developed pennaceous feathers, but that still resemble mammalian hair. A key example of this is the [[LandDownUnder Kiwi]]. And, so, although they were completely covered in pennaceous feathers, deinonychosaurs could still have had feathers that resembled the fur of mammals.
to:
* '''Two''': In the event that deinonychosaurs are portrayed with feathers, it is [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2010/03/youre-doing-it-wrong-1-archaeopteryx.html very, very unlikely]] that the feather distribution and structure will be portrayed accurately. One of the most common mistakes on this front is to have the wing feathers end at the wrist, even though we know that deinonychosaurs actually had wing feathers attached to the second finger as well. Only partially feathering deinonychosaurs is also generally incorrect. It is common for many depictions of feathered deinonychosaurs to portray them as a [[MixAndMatchCritter weird hybrid]] between a bird and a lizard, probably to highlight their "[[HollywoodEvolution missing link]]" iconism. However, we know that deinonychosaurs were almost entirely feathered other than the tip of the snout and sometimes the feet. (Though it is not unreasonable to suggest that the largest deinonychosaurs may have had some naked patches similar to ostriches today.) For a long time it was thought that deinonychosaurs only had pennaceous (modern-style) feathers on the wings and tail (and sometimes the legs), with the rest of the body being covered in protofeathers, but a new study has shown that these protofeathers are likely just misinterpreted pennaceous feathers. So, like modern birds, deinonychosaurs actually [[FeatheredFiend had pennaceous feathers all over the body]]. However, even some Incidentally, the pennaceous feathers of many modern—day flightless birds have fully-developed pennaceous feathers, but that still resemble mammalian hair. A key example of this is the (such as [[LandDownUnder Kiwi]]. And, so, although they were completely covered in pennaceous feathers, kiwis]]) are degraded and hair like, so it's possible that flightless deinonychosaurs could still have had feathers that resembled the fur of mammals. were similar.
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* '''Eight''': [[IntellectualAnimal Extreme intelligence.]] Deinonychosaurs were some of the most intelligent dinosaurs, being comparable in intellect to modern birds; However, many depictions in the popular media have taken this way too far. In 1982, it was discovered that ''Troodon'' had the largest brain of any dinosaur related to its body size. Some people then theorized that it was super-intelligent, and that, if it had become extinct, it could then have evolved sapience; A common paleo meme that arose in the 1980s was the idea that if dinosaurs never became extinct, the most intelligent species (i.e.: deinonychosaurs) would [[LizardFolk develop into humanoid forms]]. This, of course, overlooks the fact that the most intelligent dinosaurs (modern-type birds) ''were'' [[OvershadowedByAwesome the ones that survived]] to begin with, as well as demonstrates something of a HumansAreSpecial attitude. After all, there isn't any good reason why [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/03/dinosauroids_2008.php hypothetical highly intelligent dinosaurs]] would necessarily develop a human-like body plan.
* '''Nine''': [[RuleOfCool Being capable of taking on impossibly large prey.]] Due to their reputation as pack hunters, deinonychosaurs are popularly shown killing prey much, much larger than themselves with ease. Although we know that some deinonychosaurs potentially preyed on larger prey (for example, one famous fossil preserves a ''Velociraptor'' fighting a ''Protoceratops'', a herbivore that could have been up to twelve times its size in mass, and there is fossil evidence that ''Troodon'' hunted ''Orodromeus'', a small herbivore that was about the same size as it), many of these depictions show ''coyote-sized'' dromaeosaurids killing prey not just ten times their size, but ''[[BeyondTheImpossible several hundred times]]'' their size, such as adult hadrosaurs.
* '''Nine''': [[RuleOfCool Being capable of taking on impossibly large prey.]] Due to their reputation as pack hunters, deinonychosaurs are popularly shown killing prey much, much larger than themselves with ease. Although we know that some deinonychosaurs potentially preyed on larger prey (for example, one famous fossil preserves a ''Velociraptor'' fighting a ''Protoceratops'', a herbivore that could have been up to twelve times its size in mass, and there is fossil evidence that ''Troodon'' hunted ''Orodromeus'', a small herbivore that was about the same size as it), many of these depictions show ''coyote-sized'' dromaeosaurids killing prey not just ten times their size, but ''[[BeyondTheImpossible several hundred times]]'' their size, such as adult hadrosaurs.
to:
* '''Eight''': [[IntellectualAnimal Extreme intelligence.]] Deinonychosaurs Prior to the discovery that modern birds are dinosaurs, deinonychosaurs (particularly ''Troodon'') were some of widely considered "the most intelligent dinosaurs". (Just look at the door-opening raptors from JurassicPark.) Based on brain-to-body ratio and brain structure, deinonychosaurs do appear to have been quite intelligent among Mesozoic dinosaurs. However, they were most certainly not as intelligent as the most intelligent dinosaurs, being comparable in intellect to modern birds; However, many depictions in the popular media have taken this way too far. In 1982, it was discovered that ''Troodon'' had the largest brain of any dinosaur related to its body size. Some people then theorized that it was super-intelligent, and that, if it had become extinct, it could then have evolved sapience; birds alive today. A common paleo meme that arose in the 1980s was the idea that if dinosaurs never became extinct, the most intelligent species (i.e.: deinonychosaurs) would [[LizardFolk develop into humanoid forms]]. This, of course, overlooks the fact that the most intelligent dinosaurs (modern-type birds) ''were'' [[OvershadowedByAwesome the ones that survived]] to begin with, as well as demonstrates something of a HumansAreSpecial attitude. After all, there isn't any good reason why [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/03/dinosauroids_2008.php hypothetical highly intelligent dinosaurs]] would necessarily develop a human-like body plan.
* '''Nine''': [[RuleOfCool Being capable of taking on impossibly large prey.]] Due to their reputation as packhunters, hunters (which is in itself debatable), deinonychosaurs are popularly shown killing prey much, much larger than themselves with ease. Although we know that some deinonychosaurs dromaeosaurids potentially preyed on larger prey (for example, one famous fossil preserves a ''Velociraptor'' fighting a ''Protoceratops'', a herbivore that could have been up to twelve times its size in mass, and there is fossil evidence that ''Troodon'' hunted ''Orodromeus'', a small herbivore that was about the same size as it), mass), many of these depictions show ''coyote-sized'' coyote-sized dromaeosaurids killing prey not just ten times their size, but ''[[BeyondTheImpossible several hundred times]]'' their size, such as adult hadrosaurs.hadrosaurs. Furthermore, many deinonychosaurs (such as troodonts and basal dromaeosaurids) likely [[FragileSpeedster specialized in small prey]], not large ones. (Check out how comparatively [[http://shartman.deviantart.com/art/Wounding-Tooth-200043202 wimpy]] those teeth and claws are in ''Troodon''!)
* '''Nine''': [[RuleOfCool Being capable of taking on impossibly large prey.]] Due to their reputation as pack
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* '''Twelve''': Pseudobeaks. In the same vein as the previous, another common way artists attempt to make their deinonychosaurs more birdlike is to add a beak-like sheath on the snout of deinonychosaurs. In fact, we know that deinonychosaurs actually had feathers covering most of the snout, and as they had a full complement of teeth, they didn't really need a beak as well. (Even in prehistoric birds with both beaks and teeth, the beak [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2011/04/youre-doing-it-wrong-birds-with-teeth.html doesn't occupy the same space as the teeth]].) Deinonychosaurs that preserve facial integument show a featherless region at the very tip of the snout, but even then there's no evidence for a keratinous sheath there. However, although a fully-developed protobeak probably did not exist in deinonychosaurs, it is still possible that the skin on the snout might have been partially cornified.
to:
* '''Twelve''': Pseudobeaks. In the same vein as the previous, another common way artists attempt to make their deinonychosaurs more birdlike is to add a beak-like sheath on the snout of deinonychosaurs. In fact, we know that deinonychosaurs actually had feathers covering most of the snout, and as they had a full complement of teeth, they didn't really need a beak as well. (Even in prehistoric birds with both beaks and teeth, the beak [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2011/04/youre-doing-it-wrong-birds-with-teeth.html doesn't occupy the same space as the teeth]].) Deinonychosaurs that preserve facial integument show a featherless region at the very tip of the snout, but even then there's no evidence for a keratinous sheath there. However, although a fully-developed protobeak probably did not exist in deinonychosaurs, it is still possible that the skin on the snout might have been partially cornified.
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Just modified a few key points. I mean, nobody is asserting that deinonychosaurs had fully-developed beaks, like modern birds, and there is still no evidence against the very tip of the snout being covered with slightly keratinous tissue, as there is against that area being covered with scales. And, also, deinonychosaurs really were extremely intelligent, because they were much smarter than crocodilians, and crocodilians, themselves, are as smart as dogs. However, the point about Dinosauroids is still definitely correct, so I left it there. Now, for taking on impossible large prey: Yes, it is extremely unlikely that a pack of, say, Dromaeosaurus or Velociraptor, for instance, could hunt gigantic adult hadrosaurs, in packs. However, we do have fossil evidence that Troodon fed on Orodromeus. Now, as for the pennaceous feathers: \"Pennaceous\" =/= \"Flight Feathers\". For example, have you ever taken a look at a modern—day Kiwi Bird? They have pennaceous feathers, just like all other modern birds, alive today, yet their feathers RESEMBLE primitive protofeathers, looking sort of like mammalian hair, kind of. And, so, my opinions fully comply with this page\'s opinions. Well, Cheers! :D!
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* '''Two''': In the event that deinonychosaurs are portrayed with feathers, it is [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2010/03/youre-doing-it-wrong-1-archaeopteryx.html very, very unlikely]] that the feather distribution and structure will be portrayed accurately. One of the most common mistakes on this front is to have the wing feathers end at the wrist, even though we know that deinonychosaurs actually had wing feathers attached to the second finger as well. Only partially feathering deinonychosaurs is also generally incorrect. It is common for many depictions of feathered deinonychosaurs to portray them as a [[MixAndMatchCritter weird hybrid]] between a bird and a lizard, probably to highlight their "[[HollywoodEvolution missing link]]" iconism. However, we know that deinonychosaurs were almost entirely feathered other than the tip of the snout and sometimes the feet. (Though it is not unreasonable to suggest that the largest deinonychosaurs may have had some naked patches similar to ostriches today.) For a long time it was thought that deinonychosaurs only had pennaceous (modern-style) feathers on the wings and tail (and sometimes the legs), with the rest of the body being covered in protofeathers, but a new study has shown that these protofeathers are likely just misinterpreted pennaceous feathers. So, like modern birds, deinonychosaurs actually [[FeatheredFiend had pennaceous feathers all over the body]].
to:
* '''Two''': In the event that deinonychosaurs are portrayed with feathers, it is [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2010/03/youre-doing-it-wrong-1-archaeopteryx.html very, very unlikely]] that the feather distribution and structure will be portrayed accurately. One of the most common mistakes on this front is to have the wing feathers end at the wrist, even though we know that deinonychosaurs actually had wing feathers attached to the second finger as well. Only partially feathering deinonychosaurs is also generally incorrect. It is common for many depictions of feathered deinonychosaurs to portray them as a [[MixAndMatchCritter weird hybrid]] between a bird and a lizard, probably to highlight their "[[HollywoodEvolution missing link]]" iconism. However, we know that deinonychosaurs were almost entirely feathered other than the tip of the snout and sometimes the feet. (Though it is not unreasonable to suggest that the largest deinonychosaurs may have had some naked patches similar to ostriches today.) For a long time it was thought that deinonychosaurs only had pennaceous (modern-style) feathers on the wings and tail (and sometimes the legs), with the rest of the body being covered in protofeathers, but a new study has shown that these protofeathers are likely just misinterpreted pennaceous feathers. So, like modern birds, deinonychosaurs actually [[FeatheredFiend had pennaceous feathers all over the body]]. However, even some modern—day flightless birds have fully-developed pennaceous feathers, but that still resemble mammalian hair. A key example of this is the [[LandDownUnder Kiwi]]. And, so, although they were completely covered in pennaceous feathers, deinonychosaurs could still have had feathers that resembled the fur of mammals.
Changed line(s) 23,24 (click to see context) from:
* '''Eight''': [[IntellectualAnimal Extreme intelligence.]] Prior to the discovery that modern birds are dinosaurs, deinonychosaurs (particularly ''Troodon'') were widely considered "the most intelligent dinosaurs". (Just look at the door-opening raptors from JurassicPark.) Based on brain-to-body ratio and brain structure, deinonychosaurs do appear to have been quite intelligent among Mesozoic dinosaurs. However, they were most certainly not as intelligent as the most intelligent birds alive today. A common paleo meme that arose in the 1980s was the idea that if dinosaurs never became extinct, the most intelligent species (i.e.: deinonychosaurs) would [[LizardFolk develop into humanoid forms]]. This, of course, overlooks the fact that the most intelligent dinosaurs (modern-type birds) ''were'' [[OvershadowedByAwesome the ones that survived]] to begin with, as well as demonstrates something of a HumansAreSpecial attitude. After all, there isn't any good reason why [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/03/dinosauroids_2008.php hypothetical highly intelligent dinosaurs]] would necessarily develop a human-like body plan.
* '''Nine''': [[RuleOfCool Being capable of taking on impossibly large prey.]] Due to their reputation as pack hunters (which is in itself debatable), deinonychosaurs are popularly shown killing prey much, much larger than themselves with ease. Although we know that some dromaeosaurids potentially preyed on larger prey (for example, one famous fossil preserves a ''Velociraptor'' fighting a ''Protoceratops'', a herbivore that could have been up to twelve times its size in mass), many of these depictions show coyote-sized dromaeosaurids killing prey not just ten times their size, but ''[[BeyondTheImpossible several hundred times]]'' their size, such as adult hadrosaurs. Furthermore, many deinonychosaurs (such as troodonts and basal dromaeosaurids) likely [[FragileSpeedster specialized in small prey]], not large ones. (Check out how comparatively [[http://shartman.deviantart.com/art/Wounding-Tooth-200043202 wimpy]] those teeth and claws are in ''Troodon''!)
* '''Nine''': [[RuleOfCool Being capable of taking on impossibly large prey.]] Due to their reputation as pack hunters (which is in itself debatable), deinonychosaurs are popularly shown killing prey much, much larger than themselves with ease. Although we know that some dromaeosaurids potentially preyed on larger prey (for example, one famous fossil preserves a ''Velociraptor'' fighting a ''Protoceratops'', a herbivore that could have been up to twelve times its size in mass), many of these depictions show coyote-sized dromaeosaurids killing prey not just ten times their size, but ''[[BeyondTheImpossible several hundred times]]'' their size, such as adult hadrosaurs. Furthermore, many deinonychosaurs (such as troodonts and basal dromaeosaurids) likely [[FragileSpeedster specialized in small prey]], not large ones. (Check out how comparatively [[http://shartman.deviantart.com/art/Wounding-Tooth-200043202 wimpy]] those teeth and claws are in ''Troodon''!)
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* '''Eight''': [[IntellectualAnimal Extreme intelligence.]] Prior to the discovery that modern birds are dinosaurs, deinonychosaurs (particularly ''Troodon'') Deinonychosaurs were widely considered "the most intelligent dinosaurs". (Just look at the door-opening raptors from JurassicPark.) Based on brain-to-body ratio and brain structure, deinonychosaurs do appear to have been quite intelligent among Mesozoic dinosaurs. However, they were most certainly not as intelligent as some of the most intelligent birds alive today. dinosaurs, being comparable in intellect to modern birds; However, many depictions in the popular media have taken this way too far. In 1982, it was discovered that ''Troodon'' had the largest brain of any dinosaur related to its body size. Some people then theorized that it was super-intelligent, and that, if it had become extinct, it could then have evolved sapience; A common paleo meme that arose in the 1980s was the idea that if dinosaurs never became extinct, the most intelligent species (i.e.: deinonychosaurs) would [[LizardFolk develop into humanoid forms]]. This, of course, overlooks the fact that the most intelligent dinosaurs (modern-type birds) ''were'' [[OvershadowedByAwesome the ones that survived]] to begin with, as well as demonstrates something of a HumansAreSpecial attitude. After all, there isn't any good reason why [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/03/dinosauroids_2008.php hypothetical highly intelligent dinosaurs]] would necessarily develop a human-like body plan.
* '''Nine''': [[RuleOfCool Being capable of taking on impossibly large prey.]] Due to their reputation as packhunters (which is in itself debatable), hunters, deinonychosaurs are popularly shown killing prey much, much larger than themselves with ease. Although we know that some dromaeosaurids deinonychosaurs potentially preyed on larger prey (for example, one famous fossil preserves a ''Velociraptor'' fighting a ''Protoceratops'', a herbivore that could have been up to twelve times its size in mass), mass, and there is fossil evidence that ''Troodon'' hunted ''Orodromeus'', a small herbivore that was about the same size as it), many of these depictions show coyote-sized ''coyote-sized'' dromaeosaurids killing prey not just ten times their size, but ''[[BeyondTheImpossible several hundred times]]'' their size, such as adult hadrosaurs. Furthermore, many deinonychosaurs (such as troodonts and basal dromaeosaurids) likely [[FragileSpeedster specialized in small prey]], not large ones. (Check out how comparatively [[http://shartman.deviantart.com/art/Wounding-Tooth-200043202 wimpy]] those teeth and claws are in ''Troodon''!)hadrosaurs.
* '''Nine''': [[RuleOfCool Being capable of taking on impossibly large prey.]] Due to their reputation as pack
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* '''Twelve''': Pseudobeaks. In the same vein as the previous, another common way artists attempt to make their deinonychosaurs more birdlike is to add a beak-like sheath on the snout of deinonychosaurs. In fact, we know that deinonychosaurs actually had feathers covering most of the snout, and as they had a full complement of teeth, they didn't really need a beak as well. (Even in prehistoric birds with both beaks and teeth, the beak [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2011/04/youre-doing-it-wrong-birds-with-teeth.html doesn't occupy the same space as the teeth]].) Deinonychosaurs that preserve facial integument show a featherless region at the very tip of the snout, but even then there's no evidence for a keratinous sheath there.
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* '''Twelve''': Pseudobeaks. In the same vein as the previous, another common way artists attempt to make their deinonychosaurs more birdlike is to add a beak-like sheath on the snout of deinonychosaurs. In fact, we know that deinonychosaurs actually had feathers covering most of the snout, and as they had a full complement of teeth, they didn't really need a beak as well. (Even in prehistoric birds with both beaks and teeth, the beak [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2011/04/youre-doing-it-wrong-birds-with-teeth.html doesn't occupy the same space as the teeth]].) Deinonychosaurs that preserve facial integument show a featherless region at the very tip of the snout, but even then there's no evidence for a keratinous sheath there. However, although a fully-developed protobeak probably did not exist in deinonychosaurs, it is still possible that the skin on the snout might have been partially cornified.
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* '''Eight''': [[IntellectualAnimal Extreme intelligence.]] Prior to the discovery that modern birds are dinosaurs, deinonychosaurs (particularly ''Troodon'') were widely considered "the most intelligent dinosaurs". (Just look at the door-opening raptors from JurassicPark.) Based on brain-to-body ratio and brain structure, deinonychosaurs do appear to have been quite intelligent among Mesozoic dinosaurs. However, they were most certainly not as intelligent as the most intelligent birds alive today. A common paleo meme that arose in the 1980s was the idea that if dinosaurs never became extinct, the most intelligent species (i.e.: deinonychosaurs) would [[LizardFolk develop into humanoid forms]]. This, of course, overlooks the fact that the most intelligent dinosaurs (birds) ''were'' [[OvershadowedByAwesome the ones that survived]] to begin with, as well as demonstrates something of a HumansAreSpecial attitude. After all, there isn't any good reason why [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/03/dinosauroids_2008.php hypothetical highly intelligent dinosaurs]] would necessarily develop a human-like body plan.
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* '''Eight''': [[IntellectualAnimal Extreme intelligence.]] Prior to the discovery that modern birds are dinosaurs, deinonychosaurs (particularly ''Troodon'') were widely considered "the most intelligent dinosaurs". (Just look at the door-opening raptors from JurassicPark.) Based on brain-to-body ratio and brain structure, deinonychosaurs do appear to have been quite intelligent among Mesozoic dinosaurs. However, they were most certainly not as intelligent as the most intelligent birds alive today. A common paleo meme that arose in the 1980s was the idea that if dinosaurs never became extinct, the most intelligent species (i.e.: deinonychosaurs) would [[LizardFolk develop into humanoid forms]]. This, of course, overlooks the fact that the most intelligent dinosaurs (birds) (modern-type birds) ''were'' [[OvershadowedByAwesome the ones that survived]] to begin with, as well as demonstrates something of a HumansAreSpecial attitude. After all, there isn't any good reason why [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/03/dinosauroids_2008.php hypothetical highly intelligent dinosaurs]] would necessarily develop a human-like body plan.
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* '''Eight''': [[IntellectualAnimal Extreme intelligence.]] Prior to the discovery that modern birds are dinosaurs, deinonychosaurs (particularly ''Troodon'') were widely considered "the most intelligent dinosaurs". (Just look at the door-opening raptors from JurassicPark.) Based on brain-to-body ratio and brain structure, deinonychosaurs do appear to have been quite intelligent among Mesozoic dinosaurs. However, they were most certainly not as intelligent as the most intelligent birds alive today. A common paleo meme that arose in the 1980s was the idea that if dinosaurs never became extinct, the most intelligent species (i.e.: deinonychosaurs) would [[LizardFolk develop into humanoid forms]]. This, of course, overlooks the fact that the most intelligent dinosaurs ''were'' [[OvershadowedByAwesome the ones that survived]] to begin with, as well as demonstrates something of a HumansAreSpecial attitude. After all, there isn't any good reason why [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/03/dinosauroids_2008.php hypothetical highly intelligent dinosaurs]] would necessarily develop a human-like body plan.
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* '''Eight''': [[IntellectualAnimal Extreme intelligence.]] Prior to the discovery that modern birds are dinosaurs, deinonychosaurs (particularly ''Troodon'') were widely considered "the most intelligent dinosaurs". (Just look at the door-opening raptors from JurassicPark.) Based on brain-to-body ratio and brain structure, deinonychosaurs do appear to have been quite intelligent among Mesozoic dinosaurs. However, they were most certainly not as intelligent as the most intelligent birds alive today. A common paleo meme that arose in the 1980s was the idea that if dinosaurs never became extinct, the most intelligent species (i.e.: deinonychosaurs) would [[LizardFolk develop into humanoid forms]]. This, of course, overlooks the fact that the most intelligent dinosaurs (birds) ''were'' [[OvershadowedByAwesome the ones that survived]] to begin with, as well as demonstrates something of a HumansAreSpecial attitude. After all, there isn't any good reason why [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/03/dinosauroids_2008.php hypothetical highly intelligent dinosaurs]] would necessarily develop a human-like body plan.
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* Three episodes of the DiscoveryChannel miniseries ''DinosaurPlanet'' featured "raptors". The first one was about a female ''Velociraptor'' named "White Tip" (due to her white feathers) trying to find a new pack. The second was about a male ''Pyroraptor'' named "Pod" who ends up on an island inhabited by dinosaurs much smaller than he is including a pack of mini troodonts. In a third episode, ''Troodon'' proper shows up. They were commendably portrayed with feathers, but not quite extensively enough (for example, they lacked pennaceous feathers, which deinonychosaurs are known to have had).
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* Three episodes of the DiscoveryChannel miniseries ''DinosaurPlanet'' featured "raptors". The first one was about a female ''Velociraptor'' named "White Tip" (due to her white feathers) trying to find a new pack. The second was about a male ''Pyroraptor'' named "Pod" who ends up on an island inhabited by dinosaurs much smaller than he is including a pack of mini troodonts. In a third episode, ''Troodon'' proper shows up. They were commendably portrayed with feathers, but not quite extensively enough (for example, they lacked pennaceous feathers, which deinonychosaurs are known to have had).feathers).
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* DinosaurRevolution [[{{Understatement}} heavily]] averts this trope and the maniraptor portrays are the most accurate in any media so far, with [[ShownTheirWork raptors with clawed wings, male deinonychosaur sitting on the nests and omnivorous Troodons.]]
* ''PlanetDinosaur'' went both ways by producing some of the most well-feathered television reconstructions to date, but the modelers still attached the wing feathers to the wrong finger, and their troodontids are no more than old-fashioned, lizard-like critters outfitted with a ''very'' thin feather coating, and have no wings, nor a tail fan.
* ''PlanetDinosaur'' went both ways by producing some of the most well-feathered television reconstructions to date, but the modelers still attached the wing feathers to the wrong finger, and their troodontids are no more than old-fashioned, lizard-like critters outfitted with a ''very'' thin feather coating, and have no wings, nor a tail fan.
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* DinosaurRevolution [[{{Understatement}} heavily]] heavily averts this trope and the maniraptor portrays deinonychosaur portrayals are the most accurate in any media so far, with [[ShownTheirWork raptors with clawed wings, male deinonychosaur deinonychosaurs sitting on the nests and omnivorous Troodons.]]
* ''PlanetDinosaur'' went both ways by producing some of the most well-feathered dromaeosaurid television reconstructions to date, but the modelers still attached the wing feathers to the wrong finger, and their troodontids are no more than old-fashioned, lizard-like critters outfitted with a ''very'' thin feather coating, and have no wings, nor a tail fan.
* ''PlanetDinosaur'' went both ways by producing some of the most well-feathered dromaeosaurid television reconstructions to date, but the modelers still attached the wing feathers to the wrong finger, and their troodontids are no more than old-fashioned, lizard-like critters outfitted with a ''very'' thin feather coating, and have no wings, nor a tail fan.
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* ''RaptorRed'', a novel by paleontologist Bob Bakker, is told from the POV of a female ''Utahraptor''. ''Deinonychus'' and troodonts also show up in the story. Speculation aside, the deinonychosaurs are portrayed accurately for their time, but [[ScienceMarchesOn are illustrated without feathers]].
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* ''RaptorRed'', a novel by paleontologist Bob Bakker, is told from the POV of a female ''Utahraptor''. ''Deinonychus'' and troodonts also show up in the story. Speculation aside, the deinonychosaurs are portrayed accurately for their time, but [[ScienceMarchesOn are illustrated without feathers]]. Also, ''Deinonychus'' and ''Utahraptor'' weren't actually contemporaneous, though both lived in North America in the Early Cretaceous.
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* Some of the earlier pages in ''DawnOfTime'' (intentionally) depict ''JurassicPark'' style dromaeosaurids. However, a feathered ''Velociraptor'' ''does'' show up, later on, in a flashback, and the dinosauroids that also feature later on refreshingly avert the "LizardFolk dinosauroid" trope.
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* Some of the earlier pages in ''DawnOfTime'' (intentionally) depict ''JurassicPark'' style dromaeosaurids. However, a feathered ''Velociraptor'' ''does'' show up, up in a flashback later on, in a flashback, and the dinosauroids that also feature later on in one of the story arcs refreshingly avert the "LizardFolk dinosauroid" trope.
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** The movie (and the game as well) also features true deinonychosaurs, taxonomically speaking, in the form of [[SomewhereAPalaeontologistIsCrying naked]] ''Troodons.'' They are depicted as [[YouFailBiologyForever stupid vegetarians,]] while in fact, they were actually among the smartest of the dinosaurs. [[CarnivoreConfusion Strangely, some scientists believe that they may have been omnivores IRL, but this is debatable.]]
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** The movie (and the game as well) also features true deinonychosaurs, taxonomically speaking, in the form of [[SomewhereAPalaeontologistIsCrying naked]] ''Troodons.'' They are depicted as [[YouFailBiologyForever stupid vegetarians,]] while in fact, they were actually among the smartest of the dinosaurs. To be fair, [[CarnivoreConfusion Strangely, some scientists believe have suggested that they may have been omnivores IRL, but this is debatable.]]IRL]].
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* '''Eight''': [[IntellectualAnimal Extreme intelligence.]] Prior to the discovery that modern birds are dinosaurs, deinonychosaurs (particularly ''Troodon'') (and the door-opening raptors from JurassicPark) were widely considered "the most intelligent dinosaurs". Based on brain-to-body ratio and brain structure, deinonychosaurs do appear to have been quite intelligent among Mesozoic dinosaurs. However, they were most certainly not as intelligent as the most intelligent birds alive today. A common paleo meme that arose in the 1980s was the idea that if dinosaurs never became extinct, the most intelligent species (i.e.: deinonychosaurs) would [[LizardFolk develop into humanoid forms]]. This, of course, overlooks the fact that the most intelligent dinosaurs ''were'' [[OvershadowedByAwesome the ones that survived]] to begin with, as well as demonstrates something of a HumansAreSpecial attitude. After all, there isn't any good reason why [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/03/dinosauroids_2008.php hypothetical highly intelligent dinosaurs]] would necessarily develop a human-like body plan.
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* '''Eight''': [[IntellectualAnimal Extreme intelligence.]] Prior to the discovery that modern birds are dinosaurs, deinonychosaurs (particularly ''Troodon'') (and the door-opening raptors from JurassicPark) were widely considered "the most intelligent dinosaurs". (Just look at the door-opening raptors from JurassicPark.) Based on brain-to-body ratio and brain structure, deinonychosaurs do appear to have been quite intelligent among Mesozoic dinosaurs. However, they were most certainly not as intelligent as the most intelligent birds alive today. A common paleo meme that arose in the 1980s was the idea that if dinosaurs never became extinct, the most intelligent species (i.e.: deinonychosaurs) would [[LizardFolk develop into humanoid forms]]. This, of course, overlooks the fact that the most intelligent dinosaurs ''were'' [[OvershadowedByAwesome the ones that survived]] to begin with, as well as demonstrates something of a HumansAreSpecial attitude. After all, there isn't any good reason why [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/03/dinosauroids_2008.php hypothetical highly intelligent dinosaurs]] would necessarily develop a human-like body plan.
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* '''Eight''': [[IntellectualAnimal Extreme intelligence.]] Prior to the discovery that modern birds are dinosaurs, deinonychosaurs (particularly ''Troodon'') were widely considered "the most intelligent dinosaurs". Based on brain-to-body ratio and brain structure, deinonychosaurs do appear to have been quite intelligent among Mesozoic dinosaurs. However, they were most certainly not as intelligent as the most intelligent birds alive today. A common paleo meme that arose in the 1980s was the idea that if dinosaurs never became extinct, the most intelligent species (i.e.: deinonychosaurs) would [[LizardFolk develop into humanoid forms]]. This, of course, overlooks the fact that the most intelligent dinosaurs ''were'' [[OvershadowedByAwesome the ones that survived]] to begin with, as well as demonstrates something of a HumansAreSpecial attitude. After all, there isn't any good reason why [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/03/dinosauroids_2008.php hypothetical highly intelligent dinosaurs]] would necessarily develop a human-like body plan.
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* '''Eight''': [[IntellectualAnimal Extreme intelligence.]] Prior to the discovery that modern birds are dinosaurs, deinonychosaurs (particularly ''Troodon'') (and the door-opening raptors from JurassicPark) were widely considered "the most intelligent dinosaurs". Based on brain-to-body ratio and brain structure, deinonychosaurs do appear to have been quite intelligent among Mesozoic dinosaurs. However, they were most certainly not as intelligent as the most intelligent birds alive today. A common paleo meme that arose in the 1980s was the idea that if dinosaurs never became extinct, the most intelligent species (i.e.: deinonychosaurs) would [[LizardFolk develop into humanoid forms]]. This, of course, overlooks the fact that the most intelligent dinosaurs ''were'' [[OvershadowedByAwesome the ones that survived]] to begin with, as well as demonstrates something of a HumansAreSpecial attitude. After all, there isn't any good reason why [[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/03/dinosauroids_2008.php hypothetical highly intelligent dinosaurs]] would necessarily develop a human-like body plan.
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* '''Twelve''': Pseudobeaks. In the same vein as the previous, another common way artists attempt to make their deinonychosaurs more birdlike is to add a beak-like sheath on the snout of deinonychosaurs. In fact, we know that deinonychosaurs actually had feathers covering most of the snout, and as they had a full complement of teeth, they didn't really need a beak as well. (Even in prehistoric birds with both beaks and teeth, the beak [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2011/04/youre-doing-it-wrong-birds-with-teeth.html doesn't occupy the same space as the teeth]].) Deinonychosaurs that preserve facial integument show a featherless region at the very tip of the snout, but even then there's no evidence for a keratinous sheath there.sheath there.
to:
* '''Twelve''': Pseudobeaks. In the same vein as the previous, another common way artists attempt to make their deinonychosaurs more birdlike is to add a beak-like sheath on the snout of deinonychosaurs. In fact, we know that deinonychosaurs actually had feathers covering most of the snout, and as they had a full complement of teeth, they didn't really need a beak as well. (Even in prehistoric birds with both beaks and teeth, the beak [[http://dinogoss.blogspot.com/2011/04/youre-doing-it-wrong-birds-with-teeth.html doesn't occupy the same space as the teeth]].) Deinonychosaurs that preserve facial integument show a featherless region at the very tip of the snout, but even then there's no evidence for a keratinous sheath there.sheath there.
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Related tropes: EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs, StockDinosaurs, TyrannosaurusRex, SomewhereAPalaeontologistIsCrying.
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* DinosaurRevolution [[{{Understatement}} heavily]] averts this trope and the maniraptor portrays are the most accurate in any media so far, with [[ShownTheirWork raptors with clawed wings, male deinonychosaur sitting on the nests and omnivorius Troodons.]]
to:
* DinosaurRevolution [[{{Understatement}} heavily]] averts this trope and the maniraptor portrays are the most accurate in any media so far, with [[ShownTheirWork raptors with clawed wings, male deinonychosaur sitting on the nests and omnivorius omnivorous Troodons.]]
* ''PlanetDinosaur'' went both ways by producing some of the most well-feathered television reconstructions to date, but the modelers still attached the wing feathers to the wrong finger, and their troodontids are no more than old-fashioned, lizard-like critters outfitted with a ''very'' thin feather coating, and have no wings, nor a tail fan.
* ''PlanetDinosaur'' went both ways by producing some of the most well-feathered television reconstructions to date, but the modelers still attached the wing feathers to the wrong finger, and their troodontids are no more than old-fashioned, lizard-like critters outfitted with a ''very'' thin feather coating, and have no wings, nor a tail fan.
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* DinosaurRevolution [[{{Understatement}} heavily]] averts this trope and the maniraptor portrays are the most accurate in any media so far, with [[ShownTheirWork raptors with clawed wings, male deinonychosaur sitting on the nests and omnivorius Troodons.]]
