Deinonychus had four toes, each armed with a sharp claw, three pointed forward and one pointed back. The most striking characteristic was the massive sickle-shaped claw, jointed like a cats claw, that was found on the second digit of the foot (McGowan, 1991). The claw stuck out about 10-12cm, on each hind leg. The two main joints of the clawed toe permitted the claw to be lifted back and kept clear off the ground, thus keeping it sharp. The joints on the other toes were nonretractable (Wilford, 1985). The sickle-clawed toe was used as an effective weapon of defense and used for killing and dismembering prey (Wilford, 1985) by gouging and tearing (Desmond, 1975), and cutting or slashing. It was not used for digging, tree-climbing, standing or walking by providing traction on the ground (Wilford, 1985).