This sketch drawn by Robert DePalma, curator of vertabrate paleontology at the Palm Beach Museum of Natural History, depicts the newly discovered species of raptor, Dakotaraptor.(Robert Depalma/The Associated Press)

The Albuquerque Journal has a story about a new dinosaur described as a “turkey from hell”.  The animal has been named Dakotaraptor steini.  It was 6 feet tall at the hips and would have been an agile sprinter capable of reaching 30-40 MPH.  It was discovered in the Hell Creek Formation and dates to about 66 million years ago.  Oh, and by the way, the 17 foot long feathered dromeosaur had a 9 1/2 inch long killing claw!

Tyrannosaurus rex may have been known as the big guy around the Hell Creek Formation 66 million years ago, but a newly discovered species of raptor would have roamed the region as one of its most lethal predators.

Dakotaraptor stood 6 feet tall at the hips, yet moved like a springy, agile sprinter, reaching 30-40 mph, rivaling today’s ostrich. But potential prey caught admiring the 17-foot-long creature’s grace stood little chance as the strong-muscled, winged Dromaeosaur boasted a vicious 9½-inch-long killing claw that could make mincemeat out of any herbivore caught in its path, said Robert DePalma, curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Palm Beach Museum of Natural History.

“It had one of the strongest killing strokes in that slashing claw of any raptor known,” DePalma said.

DePalma and his research team, including University of Kansas paleontologists, announced the new species in a study published Oct. 30 by the University of Kansas Paleontological Institute. Dakotaraptor helps fill a gap in body size distribution between the small bird-like Maniraptora creatures and the giant T. rex found in Hell Creek, which spans parts of northwestern South Dakota, southwestern North Dakota, eastern Montana and eastern Wyoming.