Why Did Raptors Have ‘Terrible Claws’?

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Raptors have Giant Claws on there feet and the conventional wisdom is that they were used for slashing at prey or other people. However, a lot of research has been done into their foot weapons that has not only proved this wrong but shown that their claws may have been used in different ways among different animals. In this video I will discuss several of the studies that have looked into the purpose of the raptor claw that have been done over the past 15 years.
Sources:
journals.plos.org/plosone/art...
journals.plos.org/plosone/art...
www.gmnh.pref.gunma.jp/wp-cont...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...
www.researchgate.net/publicat...
www.nationalgeographic.com/sc...

[@madama3844]

I knew utahraptors were big but knowing that theyre bigger than polar bears suddenly put them into perspective

[@athos9293]

Imagine hugging it on the belly

[@kevinavila7551]

I’m saying! They were massive.

[@batspidey7611]

Getting eaten alive by a dinosaurified bird of prey is much more scary than a giant bipedal lizard trying to slash you with its claws.

[@mothlightmedia1936]

I thought so too

[@williamjordan5554]

Bears do it too.

[@IRex-wm9pd]

I'll pass on both thanks.

[@aboomination897]

i'd hate to be in any of those situations

[@567secret]

All birds of prey are dinosaurs.

[@joakos1122]

I think Komodo dragons are a good analogy for how some species have juveniles that are mostly arboreal but become terrestrial as they age

[@mothlightmedia1936]

Yes that's good point I didn't think of that

[@TheDcraft]

There's bears.

[@raptor5034]

@@mothlightmedia1936 hi i watch your channel

[@timjung640]

Criminally underrated and overlooked channel.

[@djpagla1294]

True

[@djpagla1294]

Disapointing

[@pldcanfly]

There ya go :) 100!

[@James-yl6zm]

Criminally is overuse as a word FOR this

[@ProximaCentauri88]

What would be "overrated"? PBS and How To Be Smart?

[@d.c.monday4153]

They have terrible claws because they never cut them or file them smooth. No chiropodists or podiatrists in those days you see.

[@jl.7739]

Now I imagine raptors with fancy glitter toenail extensions. You know that’s what some people would do if you could have them as pets today.

[@giovannicruz2645]

@@jl.7739 lmao they run up to a raptor and knock it out and keep it in a jurrasic park cage lol

[@oerlikon20mm29]

@@jl.7739 oh I know a few girls with things like that, I often wonder how they wipe themselves after using the bathroom

[@rjcmick]

the thought that baby raptors flew around while the adults hunted on the ground is so cool to me.

[@johndoherty487]

They lacked the wing length and breast muscles to be capable of lifting off or maintaining flight. But they could have shortly glided from tree to tree.

[@rjcmick]

@@johndoherty487 oh dang :(

[@garethbaus5471]

More like the baby's would probably have the ability use their wings as a climbing assist and could possibly glide from a high point to avoid a predator if necessary but still cool.

[@Dragrath1]

while the big raptors probably couldn't fly there are some close relatives like microraptor which were much better proportioned for flight. Also even if they did fly since they are bipedal lift would likely have been initiated from their legs as this seems to be a conserved property among known vertebrates with powered flight wing muscles are for maintaining flight. Regardless Dromaeosauridae as a whole tended to be very close to the thresholds for powered flight with some species supporting the proportions and musculature to potentially fly but those were much smaller dromaeosaurs which morphologically seem to have had their claws much more strongly adapted for climbing and or perching rather than piercing. It thus is still a possibility some might have flown perhaps as transitional species between the arboreal hunters that were likely predominately insectivores and the larger ground dwelling hunters more likely to go after larger vertebrate prey

[@marinomele4575]

This is actually a quite popular theory. Especially if you think the implication this has: raptor chicks hid on tree branches, while their mum hunts - something like cheetahs can do. This would've been a simple yet great way to improve their offspring survivability, keeping the younglings safe. Yet... sadly... this is pure speculation... especially because there's no proof of them being even semi-arboreal in any shape or form.

[@RCSVirginia]

"Grandmother, what big claws you have." "The better to tear you apart, my dear."

[@Phoenixash-delfuego]

"Grandmother, what big claws you have." "Stop your cheek young lady and keep rubbing my feet."

[@jeremycanard5420]

This differential flight theory based on age development is interesting. My chickens when young flew onto shed tops and low tree branches. Now older they are more ground based.

[@ninjadogs3389]

I was thinking this same thing, and while the adult chickens can still get some good height (one of my girls likes to fly up to my shoulder) she could definitely fly a lot better when she was a young chick.

[@weemissile]

"So were those big sickle claws used as weapons?" "No, but actually yes."

[@stevenkobb156]

This reminds me of Komodo dragons. When young, they are agile climbers, which helps them avoid being eaten by adults. When grown, they are too heavy to climb.

[@GerardWay4President]

I wouldn’t mind having the chicken-sized raptor as a pet. I shall name him Pokey.

[@jaisanatanrashtra7035]

Also it can kill small kids in you house 😂 so nice pets they are 😁

[@barryhumphreys2083]

Pokey says my owner was tasty.

[@windhelmguard5295]

@@jaisanatanrashtra7035 so can cats and dogs.

[@HowlingWolf518]

I'd go with Petey myself.

[@jl.7739]

Can I strap one of my old Dinoriders figures on its back?

[@sleestakmcbong7593]

Sounds very plausible! Young monitor lizards and even Komodo Dragons spend their youth on trees and the bigger they get the less they spent their times being arboreal.

[@alicewilloughby4318]

Sleestak McBong, I didn't know this and it's really interesting!

[@VenomQuill]

Isn't it because older dragons will eat them? Wouldn't it be fascinating if young raptors had to climb away from established raptors, and could only come down and join hunts as adults that were too big to be eaten by other raptors?

[@hankskorpio5857]

Whats with the lil oblong dot in the upper left center of the screen?

[@Narglestopia]

I kept trying to wipe it off 😅

[@mothlightmedia1936]

I know what they are now. They're an editing error. They turn into the green lines on the map and they should be triggered to turn on at the moment the map came on but i must have missed them while checking the video over so they play about 40 seconds early. There's not much I can do about it now haha, hopefully they weren't too annoying

[@yerokaasregor]

I didn’t even notice it until I seen your comment, thanks a lot I can’t stop looking at it now😅😂😂

[@watchdealer11]

@@mothlightmedia1936 You are a thorough, dude. I would've been happy with "it was an error" 😂

[@bobbymobay]

I've been trying to clean the screen for 5 minutes.......lol.....before realizing.....lol!

[@tyrannokoenigsegg8868]

Love how one of the contributors are Ken Ham

[@mariog9202]

dude ik right lol i noticed that and got confused.

[@suvidani]

I was listening, I was like wtf? :D Someone has a great sense of humor.

[@colinmitchell4859]

Me, too. That is absolutely hillarious!

[@Josh-rn1em]

That's a name I haven't heard for many a year.

[@ZetaFuzzMachine]

We seriously need an analysis on bipedal tree climbing! My guess is that the sickle claw developed exclusively to climb. That would have made small raptors able to easily escape danger by going up a tree, and while they were there, gave them the ability to perform ambushes. Then the trait was kept around as it was a really useful for many purposes. What you guys think?

[@derrickbonsell]

This is probably the best evolution/paleobiology channel on KZbin.

[@johninitaly]

My understanding is that modern eagles, owls, etc have very powerful feet with sharp claws that they kill by piercing and damaging damaging internal organs.

[@drobvensick]

Is it possible that some of them hunt like leopard dropping from trees as form of ambush attacks?

[@mothlightmedia1936]

I haven't seen a study looking into that but that sounds highly plausible

[@WaterShowsProd]

This method would also be a good explanation of their arm feathers as they could use them to control their descent, and change their trajectory. There was a study about dinosaurs using arm feathers to help it climb trees, studying they way flightless birds flapped their wings to help them climb. I think this all ties together rather neatly.

[@Juusokakku]

The secretary bird's stomp might also be one way these claws were used

[@kazkk2321]

It's amazing how little we know and how difficult it is to interpret the past

[@garethbaus5471]

Depends on how far back you want to go.

[@ctchulk]

and amazing how much we have pieced together

[@matthiasfloren2610]

Way more scary than jp. Being eaten alive with that raptorial stare

[@eliteecho9383]

The first movie gave an impression of being eaten alive, the other two not so much.

[@matthiasfloren2610]

@@eliteecho9383 I know that. But I keep the jp raptors seperate from the accurate ones. I do not want to beat that dead horse again. They eat their victims alive but they slice them open first also terrifying.

[@williamjordan5554]

Grizzlies do that too.

[@Toumoriryuu]

That has got to be the STRANGEST graphic I have ever seen in a video at around 7:05. Go back a couple of minutes and you can watch a small black smudge on the video through many many graphics until it finally just expands into a dot and a label... why? What did I just watch? I am so distracted by it that I am having trouble returning to the video...

[@adhdhikaru]

Sen-Yuan Li maybe an editing error?

[@easportsaxb8057]

Dude it's just an editing error it's not that bad

[@27olo27]

@@easportsaxb8057 That was pretty weirdly distracting. Wasn't sure if I was the only one to see that. I thought my screen was dirty. Started around 5:30

[@easportsaxb8057]

@@27olo27 I didn't notice it that much, but the first time I watched this video I viewed in on my phone, and when I watched it again on my laptop I already knew about the editing error, so it still didn't annoy me too much. But honestly, it's not that big of a deal.

[@Archimedes.5000]

Also happens from about 10:35, and then it becomes part of the map

[@bkjeong4302]

Many extant predators actually do kill prey multiple times their size. In regards to dromaeosaur mobility, while dromeosaurs weren't especially fast for theropods, to argue they were incapable of extended pursuit takes things too far in the other direction. That has much more to do with aerobic capability, and in that aspect dromeosaurs aren't any worse than other theropods, and far better than ambush specialists such as cats. I see mustelids as the best mammalian analogue to dromaeosaurs; like dromaeosaurs, mustelids hunt alone (with some exceptions in both clades), punch quite above their weight, can grapple, and can run down prey extended distances despite not being cursorial animals. Basically Deinonychus is the dromaeosaur version of Megalictis.....

[@littlesaresare]

He said that the evidence for raptors hunting animals larger than them suggests that the claw maybe wasn't used to restrain those animals to be eaten while still alive. Never once did he claim that no living predators ever kill prey bigger than them. In fact he then gave examples of living predators killing prey that is larger than them! Sounds you like you're too keen on sounding smarter to actually care what he said.

[@emilhagberg4405]

Dont forget how haasts eagle hunted moas!

[@lexobischof7069]

Wtf a wing span of 3 meters well I’m out

[@bkjeong4302]

Haast’s eagles even went after the largest moa; there is skeletal evidence of this actually happening (moa remains showing massive wounds and gauges from eagle talons).

[@oddityurie3435]

Many prehistoric animals behave very similarily to animals in modern day and it kinda makes sense since if somethings works then it will surely be used and repeated over and over again, which basically summarizes one of the main reasons why animals and organisms evolve

[@OdeeOz]

That terrible claw, it is being found, was used to puncture the throat area of a victim. As you show a couple minutes into the video. Well done!

[@jaisanatanrashtra7035]

The size comparison you are showing in your recent videos are awesome continue with it 👍 8:36 7:55 0:46 3:24 5:04 9:17 9:50

[@mothlightmedia1936]

Thank you I will

[@trvth1s]

Maybe the claw is multipurpose. Feline claws are curved like raptor claws. Cats use their claws to climb, to grip prey and to slice/slash eachother or an attacker.

[@agusvilorio2267]

The Comodo Dragon is arboreal when young and terrestrial when adult. The same as the Deinonychus might have been.

[@easportsaxb8057]

*Komodo

[@JohnDrummondPhoto]

Juvenile Komodo dragons have to be arboreal, or their gigantic adult brethren would prey on them. Similarly, juvenile crocs stay in shallow waters, away from their adult relatives (not including their mothers, who actively guard their hatchlings for months).

[@thefisherking78]

That was my first thought when he raised this idea. They might have climbed up for safety but also had/developed the ability to glide down.

[@thefisherking78]

Ken Ham 😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@kotarojujo2737]

Dakoraptor proportional and size really fit in the Jurassic Park's Raptor

[@aikhis]

Lol I love the sponsor who is using the name Ken Ham. Lol to use a fervent anti-evolution, Bible thumping, ark encounter building, creationist to sponsor video's about evolution makes me chuckle every time I see it.

[@kai_plays_khomus]

Just wanted to write the same. Using this name to support a channel about evolution deserves applause! Oh how I wish the real Ken Ham would know about this! It's expert level mocking. Maybe it should be considered to name a transitional species after him too..

[@kovinar25]

😂😂

[@heyzues8363]

@@kai_plays_khomus, something obnoxious and simple, Ken haminus simplus rusticus.

[@mathewadams2929]

I noticed that too. Epic trolling for the win.

[@derekk.2263]

They built the creation museum 6 miles from the house I grew up in. Most people in the area think it's ridiculous and having gone one time on a free day I know have a fervent hatred for creationism. Not that they make anything close to a convincing argument but it's enough to train kids out of critical thinking and stunt the numbers of future scientists.

[@symbiosister]

this is really good work - I've been watching a lot of dinosaur and prehistory themed channels lately and this is probably one of the most in-depth and interesting videos I've seen. Keep this up, please

[@ericdebord]

That claw is for climbing trees. Same kinda spur is on line man boots to climb poles.

[@benmcmahon928]

My favourite youtube channel by far! great videos, keep up the good work

[@adhvithnambiar3743]

I am so continually impressed and mesmerized by the topics Moth Light Media chooses to explore! Such an amazing channel! 🙌🏼

[@meeriniemi]

So interesting and well explained, thank you!

[@mothlightmedia1936]

Thank you

[@sophiagnetneva6861]

i really appreciate all the research you do this video is insanely interesting

[@abdulazizrex]

I think that the idea of raptors disemboweling their prey comes from human comparison! It definitely looks like larger raptor species like deinonychus and Utahraptor would be capable of slashing through the soft flesh of humans, that is if they ever came across us! It is definitely not the usual case with their usual thick hided dinosaur prey.

[@felix25ize]

Biomechanical experiences has been made , showing that the famous terrible claws of dromeosaurs were not even able to tear bacon rind; then the scaly or feathered skin of others dinosaurs ... In fact, it was most probably principally used to grasp and maintain the prey while the animal bited it. and if the claw could be keeped up when running, it was just to avoid damaging it on the ground, cats have retractable claws for the same reason.

[@phaslow4393]

You are awesome! Thank you for your videos which are helping me maintain my sanity while I sit at home all day due to the corona virus lockdown. All the best to you!

[@mothlightmedia1936]

Thank you I appreciate it

[@sfdgdrgdvxff]

I was suggested this channel after forever of not watching paleontology videos and I'm hooooooked again I love your effort and presentation. Your sheer variety of animals is also extremely gleeful

[@ivanclark2275]

It kinda reminds me of the hook on the end of a lot of modern raptor’s beaks. Maybe comparison of those two features could have interesting results. I wonder if the shape of the claw strongly correlates to diet.

[@Kwodlibet]

It's all rather plausible - or maybe even "clawsible" ?😉👌 I've always had a feeling that pack hunting, turkey-sized, raptors were largely responsible for evolution of armored dinosaurs like Ankylosaurus - some of them developed armored eyelids... what for? To protect from a bite of a large theropod? No way. That would make little to no difference, but a determined "pecking" by dozens of claws - sure.

[@eatsmeetswest7351]

freaking love this channel man. great stuff.

[@eliletts5158]

Wow! I never thought of all those theories! Great video!

[@DanielThorntonPortfolio]

"there are no animals today that could be compared with such a strange set of life stages!" Butterflies: wtf bro

[@galloe8933]

I would have never guessed they used their cycle claws brutally restrain their prey and eat them alive. Raptors are pretty rock and roll.

[@shawnwales696]

I think you probably meant sickle noy cycle.

[@galloe8933]

Christ dude, I think you're right but I can never edit out such a well intentioned yet confusing typo. Also, "cycle" was clearly not the word I was trying to type but I didn't change it... I think I was having a stroke.

[@darth856]

I never would have imagined as a kid that many dinosaurs had feathers. But I have to say they look pretty cool.

[@caniform-craze2080]

Dinosaurs closest to the bird lineage definitely had feathers, (most) dinosaurs from other clades though likely didn't have any feathers until evidence suggests otherwise ofc.

[@fruitylerlups530]

@@caniform-craze2080 i wonder if feathers evolved before or after the birth of the theropods?

[@caniform-craze2080]

@@fruitylerlups530 there is evidence to suggest the former.

[@AS-ho9ym]

Great series of videos! Precisely what I've been yearning for! Great job! Please make tons of these kind of videos!

[@shotsycreates2094]

Just subbed... this channel is so interesting and cool!!!! Thank you!!!

[@daphneloose5880]

great video!! it was interesting to know all about those wicked looking sicle claws on raptors. never knew that they could have been used to climb trees or dig for grubs and other invertebrates underground.

[@thelonerider9693]

"You alive when they start to eat you... so try to show a little respect". Well Jurassic Park got one thing right, apparently!

[@dukecity7688]

Excellent. Comprehensive. You fire my imagination. What a gift. Thank you.

[@KonigSchutze]

Your video is freaking amazing, high production value. Subbed. Hopefully you're on Nebula :)

[@pedrohtunes]

Amazing video!

[@thatacchillin]

Enthralled in these videos. You do a good job.

[@sevehayden1463]

I'm thinking of the baseline raptor claw as kind of a multitool. Sometimes a climbing aid (mostly in small species/young individuals) used for multiple kinds of hunting depending on what opportunities present themselves and sometimes even used for some edge uses like breaking open insect nests. Some raptors specialize a bit and focus more on one kind of claw use, while others kinda act like a carnivorous jack of all trades, varying between hunting small animals, scavenging, and sometimes possibly going after a larger meal. One fossil I hope will be discovered is something that seems like it was killed by a small raptor dropping from a tree. It'd be evidence for both the climbing theory and kinda one of the hunting theories, in addition to showing an interesting behavior. If there is a way to show for sure that some dromaeosaurids actually hunted things much larger than themselves instead of just scavenging, it'd be evidence (not proof) of at least a bit of cooperation, I think. Even if you can take something that big down, there's little point if you're chased away from it by another predator or the meat spoils before you can get that much out of it. Predators tend to only hunt things worth the risk, and it's more likely to be worth the risk if the kill can be defended and there's more than one dinosaur eating from it. Even if there's no dedicated family groups/packs it would be beneficial for small dinosaurs of the same species to band together briefly to defend a large source of food, even if there isn't any cooperative hunting.

[@PokemonZeta6]

I've watched about 6 episodes now and I definitely am subscribing 👍

[@nolanbannon3101]

This claw structure seems like a very useful tool and we cant be certain how creative the animals who used it were. I really like the tree climbing idea because it is easier to glide then it is to fly Also it would be really good for restraining down prey

[@kanamesuzaku1138]

First, keep it up u do a really good job at making these

[@steveclapper5424]

It always struck me as a climbing tool.

[@philipnorris6542]

All good stuff; when dealing with the subject of prehistoric life there is, inevitably, a good deal of educated guesswork involved.

[@DefektiveEnvy]

Great episode!

[@mothlightmedia1936]

Thank you

[@DawnOfTheComputer]

This channel is gonna blow up.

[@austinmccormick8952]

Fantastic video, as per usual

[@alejandrorojas6835]

Amazing channel

[@alicewilloughby4318]

3:40 - They think the babies could fly and then became ground dwellers as they grew up? I never knew that! Fascinating! 5:44 - "This "food" tastes like plastic! What kind of crap are you feeding me???"

[@windhelmguard5295]

my hypothesis is that raptors, instead of trying to actually kill larger prey animals, would just feed on the animal while it was still alive and trying to shake them off, with those claws they could simply hold on while feeding. hell it might have even been common for a raptor to attack a large animal and getting it's fill, wile the prey animal survived and made a full recovery.

[@kylecollier2285]

Sesshomaru Uzumaki that is true, especially since the prey could die from infection from numerous bite wounds by Dromaeosaurs. So perhaps Dromaeosaurs were like ninja versions of Komodo Dragons. Holding onto prey with their claws on their hands and feet and using numerous bites to not only consume their prey alive, but even after the attack the prey would've died from infection, and one way or another either the same raptors or another pack of raptors will come across the dead or dying animal and proceed to consume it.

[@tachyonicnewt2473]

This is what I thought, though I have not seen much evidence for or against it.

[@windhelmguard5295]

@@kylecollier2285 well most crocodiles can handle getting a leg ripped of while swimming through muddy, luke warm bogs of almost stagnant water, getting all sorts of dirt in the wound, without getting an infection and since crocodiles are closely related to dinosaurs (more so than actual lizards) it would be reasonable for large dinosaurs to have a similar trait.

[@bkjeong4302]

Eating larger prey alive is reasonable but I doubt the prey would survive for more than an hour at most.

[@jacoblewis5230]

@@kylecollier2285 The problem with that is because now a days monitor lizards like the Komodo Dragon are now considered venomous since venom glands on their lower jaws. you can look it up for more info.

[@MustardGravyy]

Never knew one like the Utah raptor existed. That's terrifying

[@abdulazizrex]

Please do a video specifically focusing on social behavior and pack hunting in raptors??

[@abdulazizrex]

The thought of deinonychus being able to fly and then loose it is bewildering!

[@rustyspurs771]

A rudimentary understanding of the practical applications of physics will tell you exactly what a claw is for when you look at it. Highly hooked claws pierce so well that they're really awful for slashing, in order for it to slash well, the angle of the foot would have to be so far forward that the target would just get kicked instead. (edit: on further review, it's angled so far forward that it's impossible for it to slash well from literally any incoming position. What it is incredibly good at is piercing and then from there, making horrifying leverage cuts by essentially following the angle of the claw forward, making a semi-circular cut that's the length of the claw its self.

[@JoeYDiMeSRaeN]

That can't be the real Ken Ham, and whoever contributes in his name is such an awesome person. I also am awesome for noticing.

[@MrJero85]

There are many Ken Hams in this world.

[@MyKingoflol]

so you're telling me that raptors have claws that look like the claws of raptors? fascinating

[@braveheart4603]

Modern birds show us that claws like this can be utilized in all different ways depending on the niche that is carved out. Some species evolve to use them like chickens and others like those eagles in the galapagos and countless other variations as well.

[@lindanorris2455]

GREAT VIDEO!

[@mikel6668]

great video

[@mothlightmedia1936]

Thanks!

[@thepool3974]

Great video

[@planescaped]

My immediate thoughts were that it was for gripping or climbing.

[@davidletasi3322]

Recent studies have shown that the distal phalynx on the second pedal digit attached to the killer claw of the Velociraptor family has a thickened posterior ventral heal similar to those found in climbing birds like wood peckers. Sone researchers are starting to suggest that the smaller velociraptors like V. mongolensis and Bambiraptor were small tree hoppers specializing in catching lizards, tree frogs, small birds and insects. The larger raptorial dinosaurs like Dakotaraptor, Utahraptor and Deinonychus are in the same family as Dromaeosaurus and were most likely open ground runners hunting larger prey. However it's still interesting that the fighting dinosaur specimens from Mongolia discovered by the Polish expedition of 1971 uncovered the interaction between Protoceratops and Velociraptor.

[@rybavresu9917]

I think all is clawsible.

[@spartandud3]

A little off topic but I love the new paleo art for raptors with feather covering.

[@RipleySawzen]

3:50 "There are no animals today that could be compared with such a strange set of life stages" Bears tend to climb more in cubhood than adulthood. Many adult brown bears will never even climb a tree again.

[@Jawru]

I’d love to see a video focused on the largest animals that have existed in different species, like raptors, frogs, rodents, etc.

[@shadowraith1]

Interesting speculation. I do wonder if we will ever develop the sciences enough to actually know?

[@oseiowusu-afriyie3650]

Best channel ever

[@blowfishes]

Excellent video - except for the fleck of dust on the video that had me attempting to clean my screen several times and thinking something had gotten under my screen protector 🤣😂🤣

[@Eye_Exist]

My theory is following: as feathered dinosaurs, raptors could have also used the massive claws for climbing attacks from trees, climbing into a tree with the claw and diving onto it's prey from stealth, striking it with the massive climbing claw, using gravity to multiply its force. This would also explain the evolution of birds, as the evolution pressure would be increasingly more on the gliding ability, therefore naturally leading into evolution of feathers, and later onto flapping and eventually powered flight. Thinking of it: many birds such as owls, eagles and hawks dive hunt today - owls especially exactly from trees. Not unheard idea in the modern raptor family at least. Would it make sense that it all started from raptors living in the dinosaur era? The massive claw getting increasingly bigger as the evolution favored climbing and dive attacking from stealth onto their prey, eventually leading to the evolution of powered flight and to birds we see today. Ps. this massive claw would be also good for hanging in the trees, waiting for prey to walk under it. it would be both the main weapon to penetrate skull/thick skin with the glide strike and to hang from the trees with the littlest effort possible.

[@JoeJoeTheCapybara]

Fantastic

[@mothlightmedia1936]

Thank you

[@ssandus1153]

Imagine 5 Raptors clinging ontop of these large dinosaurs and tearing pieces off eith their jaws and you can see how they can kill larger creatures.

[@janetlapham3919]

so some northern raptors climbing to perches and leaping onto prey below is a pretty reasonable depiction. that's pretty cool, and far more terrifying.

[@kaytlinjustis5643]

I remember that fossil! The documentary stated that, when they reenacted the 'Terrible Claw' and found that it isn't as powerful compared to the human arm with the same motion. So, they figured it was used to puncture an airway or major artery. Disappointing the truth is, but enlightening! Thanks for the vid! ^^

[@Qbliviens]

Probably the best video I have seen on the topic of dromeaosaur ecology, covering all the aspects perfectly, from the fact that they were not that speedy afterall, but rather ambush predators to the raptor prey restrain, the way they used their claws to catch their prey and that they also were rather adapted to hunt smaller animals, and not packhunters of larger animals, like wolves or lions, as always depicted. Those depictions of deinonychus clinging onto prey with their hand claws have always bothered me, and I also think eagles killing larger prey like mountain goats is a great analogy, using their talons to cling onto and wound the prey, while using the hands, which were essentially wings in dromaeosaurs (despite them having claws), only for balance, along with their feathered tail.

[@mothlightmedia1936]

Thank you

[@bkjeong4302]

Dromeosaurs were still capable of killing animals their own size or larger, so they were actually hunting large prey relative to body size. It's just that them killing elephant-sized ornithopods or such is unrealistic. Leopards cannot kill elephants either, but nobody says leopards prey on small animals just because of that. The same should also apply to dromaeosaurs. "Small" is relative.

[@fergin4979]

I like the idea that the giant claws were for latching/climbing onto larger dinosaurs. Swarm as a pack

[@Infernoraptor]

The flying baby hypothesis made my jaw drop. KZbin has been suggesting this channel after watching vids from Ben G Thomas, TREY the explainer, and E.D.G.E. I'm subbing!

[@tachyonicnewt2473]

I would also recommend you look at NORTH 02

[@MaxisGameplays]

Very interesting take on the juvy raptor being able to fly then transition into a ground predator as an adult.

[@juanleuschner7457]

Can you please do a video on Notoungulata. I'm curious to why they went extinct.

[@galloe8933]

I bet Utaraptor tasted amazing... I have no clear idea how to spell its name but I have so many ideas of what I could do with all that meat.

[@shawnwales696]

Utahraptor. Probably tasted like chicken, LOL.

[@inkedfeathers7834]

The random black speck on screen made me panic, thinking I had dead pixels on my screen 😂

[@derekk.2263]

I really have to believe at least some raptors hunted in flocks. Wolves take down very large animals by latching on with their jaws and once enough wolves grab their prey they can pull it down. I see multiple velociraptors jumping on the back of a protoceratops and hanging on with their mouths and claws until there are enough to force it down to the ground.

[@flossedinparadise1759]

Shout out to the little line segment that pops on the screen @5:45 lmao

[@gato-junino]

Very interesting.