Deinonychus vs Herrerasaurus
A detailed side-by-side comparison of Deinonychus and Herrerasaurus, covering size, diet, classification, geologic period, and discovery history.
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| Property | Deinonychus | Herrerasaurus |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Deinonychus antirrhopus | Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis |
| Classification | Dromaeosauridae | Saurischia |
| Period | Cretaceous Early | Triassic Late |
| Diet | Carnivore | Carnivore |
| Length | 3.4 m | 6.0 m |
| Height | 0.9 m | 1.5 m |
| Weight | 73 kg | 350 kg |
| Discovery Year | 1969 | 1963 |
| Discovery Location | Montana, USA | Ischigualasto Formation, Argentina |
| Named By | John Ostrom | Osvaldo Reig |
Size Comparison
about the size of a human adult
roughly the length of a large SUV
Weight Comparison
about 1 adult humans
about 5 adult humans
Timeline Comparison
Diet Comparison
Deinonychus
CarnivoreDeinonychus was a meat-eating predator, hunting other animals for food.
Herrerasaurus
CarnivoreHerrerasaurus was a meat-eating predator, hunting other animals for food.
Classification Comparison
Deinonychus
Herrerasaurus
Group: Saurischia
(Lizard-hipped dinosaurs)
Did You Know?
Herrerasaurus was about 1.8x longer than Deinonychus.
Herrerasaurus weighed roughly 5x more than Deinonychus.
Both Deinonychus and Herrerasaurus were carnivores.
Deinonychus lived during the Cretaceous Early while Herrerasaurus lived during the Triassic Late, separated by roughly 136 million years.
Herrerasaurus was discovered 6 years earlier, in 1963.
Deinonychus belonged to Dromaeosauridae while Herrerasaurus belonged to Saurischia.
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