New research has revealed that some dinosaurs, closely related to Velociraptor, had grooved teeth that would have delivered a poisonous bite to kill its prey. Sinornithosaurus, a feathered raptor, had a series of fang-like teeth similar to some venomous lizards and snakes. These grooved teeth were on the upper jaw and are believed to have transferred poison into the dinosaur’s prey. Depressions were also found in the sides of the jawbone that could well have contained poison glands.

Sinornithosaurus was a turkey-sized raptor that would have roamed the forests of what is now northern China 125 million years ago in early Cretaceous times. When it bite into the skin of its prey the venom would drip down the teeth and into its body. It is most likely that this caused some form of paralysis allowing Sinornithosaurus to finish off its prey in its own time. Sinornithosaurus was a feathered dinosaur. The international team that carried out the research was led by David Burnham.