Discoveries

February 02, 2023

The Claws Appear

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The “Jurassic Park” movie franchise possibly took some liberties when depicting the velociraptors, according to a new study.

Scientists discovered that the extinct predatory creature did not use its scary, sharp claws for slashing but instead for capturing its prey, the Independent reported.

Without an actual raptor to study, researchers closely observed the modern-day red-legged seriema.

Standing around three feet tall and weighing about four pounds, the South American predatory bird is known for its unique “recurved sickle claws” that resemble the ones in “raptor” groups, including the velociraptor and deinonychosaurs.

In their paper, the team wrote how the seriema used its claws to pounce on a rubber snake and whack it against a rock in an attempt to kill it. The bird then used the claw to pin the snake to the ground while tearing it with its beak.

The predatory avian also showed this same pinning-and-grasping skills on dead mice.

Researchers said the dino-like curved claws also had no serrations – or cutting surface – to slash through flesh.

They suggest that birds are among the “best proxies” for the claw usage of raptor dinosaurs because of the great degree of similarity between the claws of seriemas and those of deinonychosaurs, as well as their common lineage and predatory habits.

Still, they cautioned that there could be other anatomical differences between the two that may change the way claws function.

This story originally appeared in the February 02, 2023 newsletter, Murder, and Other Disasters.