Dromeosaurs are one of the last dinosaur groups to really
become superstars. In the 80s, Deinonychus was the most popular dinosaur: a
unique sprinter, jumper, kicker, gangster. A well-armed social hunter,
Deinonychus mobbing and dismembering their prey became a defining image of the
new “hot blood” look of dinosaurs as science finally came to terms with
dinosaur endothermy. When Michael
Crichton gave them the name of Velociraptor and Steven Spielberg put them on
screen in the most terrifying depiction of any dinosaur, they became
superstars.
Immediately after the release of the film, a new giant
dromaeosaur was discovered: Utahraptor. Utahraptor showed that Deinonychus was
no longer the earliest or largest dromaeosaur. Earlier dromaeosaurs have since
been found, but not larger ones. At over 1,000 lbs, Utahraptor remains the
largest (and most famous) of the dromaeosaurs. In the 2010s, a new giant raptor
has made headlines. Extremely rare, Dakotaraptor finally allows for the fantasy
“Utahraptor meets Tyrannosaurus” scenarios dinosaur fans have dreamed of for 20
years.
But there are two other giant raptors, two big dromaeosaurs
that have been found and ignored by popular culture. One I will deal with later
along with its family, but today I will talk about Velociraptor’s giant
predecessor in Mongolia: Achillobator.
