O raptor tipo ave Sinornithosaurus era venenoso

The birdlike raptor Sinornithosaurus was venomous

Enpu Gonga, Larry D. Martinb, David A. Burnhamb,1, and Amanda R. Falkc

- Author Affiliations

aDepartment of Geology, Northeastern University, Liaoning 110004, China;

bDivision of Vertebrate Paleontology, Biodiversity Institute, Natural History Museum, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045-7561; and

cDepartment of Geology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045-7613

Edited by David B. Wake, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, and approved November 16, 2009 (received for review October 26, 2009)

Abstract

We suggest that some of the most avian dromaeosaurs, such as Sinornithosaurus, were venomous, and propose an ecological model for that taxon based on its unusual dentition and other cranial features including grooved teeth, a possible pocket for venom glands, and a groove leading from that pocket to the exposed bases of the teeth. These features are all analogous to the venomous morphology of lizards. Sinornithosaurus and related dromaeosaurs probably fed on the abundant birds of the Jehol forests during the Early Cretaceous in northeastern China.

dromaeosaur Jehol grooved fangs venomous delivery system

Footnotes

1To whom correspondence should be addressed: E-mail: dinosaur@ku.edu.

Author contributions: E.G., L.D.M., and D.A.B. designed research; E.G., L.D.M., and D.A.B. performed research; E.G., L.D.M., and D.A.B. analyzed data; and E.G., L.D.M., D.A.B., and A.R.F. wrote the paper.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.

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