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VELOCIRAPTORINE DROMAEOSAUR "RAPTOR" FOOT CLAW FROM HELL CREEK Hell Creek - Butte County, South Dakota, U.S.A. LATE CRETACEOUS PERIOD: 96 - 66 million years ago Without a doubt, a RAPTOR CLAW is the most sought-after fossil amongst all dinosaur fossil collectors regardless of how advanced they are. Fossil DROMAEOSAUR 'RAPTOR' claws of high quality preservation coming from the famous Hell Creek deposit in the United States are rare as well as being in THE HIGHEST COLLECTOR DEMAND therefore, the most valuable. For its astonishing array of dangerous and large prehistoric predator fossils, no place has captured more attention or has been featured on television more than Hell Creek! Dromaeosaur 'raptor' claws are amongst the most requested dinosaur fossils. This is a supreme quality VELOCIRAPTORINE DROMAEOSAUR FOOT CLAW from Hell Creek! Its lack of distortion, surface detail, and size make it a "top drawer" specimen for the advanced collector. With most raptors being the size of a small dog, this claw indicates it came from a larger Velociraptor-type dromaeosaur. The photos above attest to its immaculate condition. There is approximately 15% reconstruction work performed by us in our lab entailing the proximal end and a very small portion of the tip. The claw was found intact with perfect preservation requiring only this work as described and not needing any repair to the original portion. This is an unusually large toe claw for a dromaeosaur and highly recommended. Most toe claws found from dromaeosaurs in this region are half this size! WARNING:
We are seeing more and more claws that have been
expertly reconstructed and restored being sold as "no restoration
or repair". Very impressive dinosaur fossil claws
occasionally come up on the market with extraordinarily high quality workmanship
in fabrication and repair. These expertly repaired
and restored claws can fool all but the most trained eye and anyone that
does not actually have extensive experience in fossil restoration,
repair and preparation will likely not be able to tell the
difference. These claws are being sold at shows and on the
internet as having "NO REPAIR and/or NO RESTORATION" which is
simply untrue but the ignorance of the seller is just repeating what the
former supplier told them without their own ability to discern if any
work was truly performed on the claw. It is IMPERATIVE
to ONLY deal with a very knowledgeable dealer who has
considerable, first-hand personal experience with all facets of
fossil fabrication, restoration and repair in order to avoid becoming a
victim of the ignorance and fraud that unfortunately plagues this
business. Paleo Direct, Inc. operates a fully-equipped preparation
lab and we perform all our own work on the dinosaur claw specimens we
sell, enabling us to accurately disclose to our clients, an assessment
of the work performed.
Recent discoveries in China have shown feathered species existed. This has revolutionized paleontologists' view of what not only these creatures could have looked like when alive, but of possible plumage on other therapod dinosaurs. Dromaeosaurs share other characteristics with birds and theories now place these vicious predators as being the earliest ancestors of birds. Dromaeosaurs first evolved in the Early Cretaceous and survived right up to the end of the Late Cretaceous suggesting they were adaptable and capable hunters, surviving such a prolonged period yet, remaining virtually unchanged in overall design.
FOSSIL CLAWS OF THIS FAMOUS PREDATORY DINOSAUR FROM THE HELL CREEK FORMATION IN THE U.S.A. ARE AMONGST THE MOST IN-DEMAND FOSSILS OF ALL - THE PINNACLE OF A COLLECTION!!! 1.5" long on the dorsal curve SOLD DC6-012 INCLUDES DISPLAY BOX Actual Item - One Only |
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CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE DROMAEOSAUR "RAPTOR" FOSSILS FOR SALE |
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Velociraptor courtesy of MINEO SHIRAISHI and used with permission. This image is protected by copyright. |
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The
dromaeosaurs are popularly known (especially in the movie "Jurassic
Park") as "raptors", a group of fascinating extinct
creatures. Raptors ranged in size from the size of a small dog
on
up to 30 feet long! They are therapods that possessed specialized
features: a well-developed slashing talon on their second toe, a stiffened
tail, and large grasping hands.
The
"killing claw" of raptors was a terrifying and incredibly
efficient weapon. As they moved, it was held off the ground.
When the muscles of the toe were contracted, the claw swept down
quickly, providing for a powerful slash that may have been able to
disembowel prey swiftly. The stiffened tail would have been good
to stabilize the body while the grasping arms and jaws held onto the
prey for balance. Although there is no conclusive evidence for
this, it has been suggested that raptors could have performed leaps onto
large prey and used all four limbs to rip wounds in them. 
Raptors
were ferocious predators that some scientists believe hunted in packs
and attacked much larger dinosaurs by slashing their underbellies.
It is also believed that they were similar to lions in predatory
behavior, preferring ambushes and quick chases using their high
maneuverability along with strategic pack-hunting tactics. A human
could be torn to shreds by a pack of raptors in less than 30
seconds. 