Deltadromeus agilis raptor claw measuring 58mm fossil from the middle Cretaceous of what is today North Africa. A remarkable foot claw of at the 'delta runner' an enigmatic dinosaur discovered from the region, the scarcity of finds of this genus type to date has not revealed a full or near complete skeleton with a skull.

The large of type dinosaur claw in an unearthed condition, as found in the fossil bed in North Africa. Having the archetypical sabre curved killing form of a large-sized dromeosaur. The claw is in very good preservation. In the dinosaurs lifetime, the claw would have been covered with a keratinised cuticle or stratum corneum type sheathing. The fine manual ungual (forefoot claw), discovered in the continental intercalaire of the Lower Cretaceous period, Cenomanian stage, 100 - 93 million years ago, of the Kem-Kem Basin, Morocco.

Condition; The dinosaur claw is a very fine example, a none fragile and not crumbly example which can often be the case which then requires much-stabilised conservation work with preservatory mediums. The claw is complete and whole. Distally the claw has lost its smooth appearance due to the rigours of fossilisation and erosion. proximally the claw appears to still have over the bone tissue a semblance of the petrified and fossilised keratinised cuticle material which the claws would have had in life. Overall a unique and very interesting fossilised carnivore killing ungual with the excellent morphology of parietal radial ridges, Palmer flange and curved nerve claw groove ledge dorsal and ventrally. The claw has not suffered any crushing during fossilisation and is of slim three-dimensional proportions.

Claws are far less common discoveries than that of the teeth of dinosaurs, thousands of teeth are discovered from this location, many types and qualities of preservation including mostly damaged or partial teeth. Among these thousands, over the last decade, very few claws have been discovered and good raptor claws are even rarer than other reptilian types. On a topical note, while the popularity of the Jurassic Park films led to the common use of the name raptor for this taxon of the dinosaur, the name does not have any academic taxonomic validity.

The archetypical sabre curve looks menacing, the highly developed slashing claw is the signature of the evolution of this particular dinosaur genus type, over 100 million years of the dromeosaur lineage has gone into refining the shape and durability of the killing ungual. The Claw oozes with an appeal for any dinosaur aficionado.

Order: Saurischia.
Family: Neovenatoridae.
Genus: Deltadromeus agilis raptor - Delta runner.
Origin: Tegana formation of Kem Kem, Morocco, North Africa.
Age: Middle Cretaceous, Cenomanian stage, 100,000,000 to 93,000,000 years.

Length: 5.8cm (Mesial Curvature)
Length: 5.0 cm (Direct Root/Tip)
Height: 1.55 cm
Width: 0.95 cm

Approximate weight: 0,005 g