Wyoming’s 5 Deadliest and Scariest Dinosaurs
There were once deadly beasts thundering across what would later be called the state of Wyoming. Of the baddest of the deadly bad, which was the baddest of the bad?
Using size, speed, teeth, and claws as our measuring tools here are Wyoming's Top 5 Deadliest Dinosaurs.
5). Deinonychus
It might have had feathers. Small in sized and bird like it was a petite carnivore, for its time, at just 9 feet long and 3.5 feet high, and less than 200 pounds. A relative of the bigger Velociraptor it had "killing claws," on its large and curved on its hind feet. It would leap onto its prey, bite and dig at them with its back claws.
4). Velociraptor
The velociraptor was made famous by the Jurassic Park movies and is usually presented as a scaly, almost lizard-like dinosaur. But it was similar to its smaller relative the above-mentioned Deinonychus and, though larger, was probably covered in feathers and more like a "killer chicken." A series of fossils have been found which preserved feather impressions.
3). Allosaurus Fragilis
The Allosaurus is often thought of as the T Rex of its time. But this guy was much smaller, weighing in at only 1.5 tons. A T Rex weighed in at 6 tons. Some scientists think that they hunted in packs. "Big Al" sits in a Laramie Museum.
2). Tyrannosaurus Rex There is no way to make a list like this without including the massive and mighty T Rex. No doubt he was king of the land, in his time. But perhaps there was once a dinosaur in Wyoming that was bigger, and badder. But that would have been back when Wyoming was under water. One found in Wyoming was said to have even been cannibalized by its own kind.
1). Pliosaur
To the giant sea monster pliosaur, a T Rex would have just been an appetizer. A BBC documentary classifies it as "the most powerful reptile ever." This was acted out in the latest Jurassic World movie where a Pliosaur ate a man-made hybrid called an Indominus Rex which was twice the size as he parks T Rex. The bones of a Pliosaur were discovered in Thermopolis, Wyoming. The Wyoming Dinosaur Center was opened on the very spot where the bones were dug up.
Special thanks to The Wyoming Dinosaur Center for this great list of bad beasts.