Edmontonia vs Utahraptor

Welcome ladies and gentleman, to my daily DinoFight. I always appreciate my loyal readers, but for those of you who are new, every day I pit two of the most formidable dinosaurs to ever exist against one another in a fight to the death (most of the time). Medium division, round 1, fight 4: Edmontonia vs Utahraptor Edmontonia [img]http://www.nenature.com/DinoImages/Edmontonia033.jpg[/img] Height: 6.5 feet Length: 22 feet Weight: 3.5 tons Speed: 9 mph Diet: Low shrubbery, various plants Weapons: Tail, spiked armor Description: Edmontonia was a heavily armored ankylosaur. It was also one of the largest at slightly over 20 feet. The thing that set Edmontonia apart from other members of its family was its lack of a club on its tail. Instead, it bore spiky ridges all over it. Edmontonia would have used its heavily muscled and flexible tail to smack predators that tried to make a meal of it into next week. Apart from that, it was covered in hard bony plates from head to tail, which were themselves covered in a very thick layer of keratin, then topped off with long spikes on the shoulders and smaller spiky ridges down its back. As if that weren't enough, it had a low-slung build making it hard to tip it over and expose its soft underbelly due to the low center of gravity. Utahraptor [img]http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/utahraptor-kurt-miller.jpg[/img] Height: 11.5 feet Length: 30+ feet Weight: 2.5 tons Speed: 30 mph Diet: Various herbivores Weapons: Bite, giant sickle-shaped claws Description: Though the largest confirmed specimens of Utahraptor are just over 6 feet tall and 20 feet long, there are many reported to top that by far awaiting description at BYU. Utahraptor was actually different from your typical dromaeosaur not only in the sense that it was huge, but in the sense that it was built for power rather than speed. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't any slouch when it came to agility, but its powerful legs were built for thrusting its giant claws into its prey, not only causing internal damage with pure force, but also puncturing vital organs and veins that would have made the prey bleed to death. The claws could reach at least 1.5 feet, and if the diets of smaller raptors are any indication, a pack of Utahraptor could take out anything they wanted for prey. FIGHT! An Edmontonia browses some ferns on Isla Nublar, peacefully walking through the damp squishy moss that covers the ground. She splashes through a mud puddle, when in the distance she hears a herd of Iguanodon bugle. The Edmontonia pays no attention to them, but within minutes, the ground begins to shake with the weight of the thundering herd. She listens and determines the sound is to her left, but before she can get out of the way, the herd is among her. At least 20 Iguanodon stampede all around her and chasing them are 5 Utahraptor. The giant dromaeosaurs strategically corral the herd into a circle as they prepare to strike. However, the appearance of the Edmontonia was unexpected, and before it can swerve out of the way, one Utahraptor trips over the Edmontonia. The rest of the pack carries on, but the adult male is still laying in the mud puddle. Slightly embarrassed, he gets up and hisses at the ankylosaur. She bellows a call back at him as a warning. He, however, will not be intimidated and starts to circle the Edmontonia. After a few circles, she realizes the Utahraptor is really planning to attack and tries to avoid an attack to her soft stomach by planting her feet in the damp ground and lowering her body. The Utahraptor walks to her side but her flexible tail swings at him and he jumps out of the way very quickly, dodging a blow that would break his leg for sure. He backs up to the front of the Edmontonia and gives a final hiss before backing into the jungle. The Edmontonia grunts and after a moment goes back to eating. She fails to notice that the Utahraptor never went more than 20 feet away however, and he covers the distance in a couple bounds, ambushing the surprised herbivore with a bite to the head. His tooth punctures an eye and the Edmontonia growls in pain and turns her body to the side and whips the crouched raptor in the flank. It lets go and stands up to reposition itself for an attack, but the Edmontonia is prepared now, keeping her front end away from the Utahraptor. He feigns a jump to the right and when the Edmontonia turns accordingly, he dashes to the left and jumps on the ankylosaur's back. He grasps the side of the armor and anchors himself on before kicking the bony plates to little effect. The ankylosaur bellows and runs around the forest aimlessly, while the Utahraptor hangs on with no point as well. A pair of Allosaurus look at the strange scene in confusion as the two break the cover of the trees and run past them on the opposite side of the river. The Edmontonia begins to tire as they reach a hill. The Utahraptor, knowing that the Edmontonia is exhausted, hangs on to it tight and lurches to the right, but his plan to throw it off balance fails and instead spooks it into running straight down the steep hill. Before he can let go they tumble down the hill and he is repeatedly rolled over by the Edmontonia. They end up on the beach and the Edmontonia lands on its belly, almost unscathed aside from a few scratches and dizziness. The Utahraptor isn't so lucky. He was stabbed by the spikes on the Edmontonia's armor and nearly crushed under the weight. He drips blood on the light sand as he struggles to stand. He coughs up a little blood as well. The Edmontonia, although not paying attention, is in much better shape. He slips away into the forest in defeat, but the bright-as-a-potato Edmontonia doesn't even notice and forgets about the fight in a few minutes as it returns to munching on plants. WINNER: EDMONTONIA [img]http://www.alaskamuseum.org/education/dinosaurs/edmontonia.jpg[/img] Even though he lost the fight, the Utahraptor won't suffer much because will return to his pack and feed off their kills until he heals. While longer, taller and faster than Edmontonia, he wasn't as heavy or adapted for 1 on 1 fights with dinosaurs that could fight back. While a pair or a trio of Utahraptor could take an Edmontonia, a single one would have a hard time flipping the Edmontonia over to expose its vulnerable belly. Odds: About 62-38 Questions? Comments? Call for a rematch? Let me know.