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Call Me a Chicken Again, I Dare You: A sculptor's interpretation of Sinorinthosaurus millenii. Sinorinthosaurus belonged to the family of dinosaurs known as Dromaeosaurs, which the famous Velociraptor belongs to. Image courtesy of Raresource.com.

Small dinosaurs are often laughed at, called “prehistoric chickens”, and the like. However, Sinorinthosaurs (SIEN-oh-RINTH-oh-sawr-us) millenii was, potentially, one “prehistoric chicken” you did not want to screw with. Lest you be eaten alive.

A recent discovery made by University of Kansas scientists showed that the teeth of Sinorinthosaurus were grooved, much like a rear-fanged snake has. Rear fanged snakes are much like many modern-day lizards, the Komodo dragon being the prime example of this. They did not inject true venom, like a Cobra or Rattlesnake would. Instead, the venom rests in pockets near the nasal cavity, using specialized ducts to seep into its grooved teeth. This venom would be watered down and mixed with the animal’s saliva.

Now, what in the world could a turkey-sized animal like Sinorinthosaurus do with toxic saliva? It would do what any great carnivore does; go hunting.

Now, merely spitting the saliva at potential prey would do nothing more than irritate their skin, or blind them if aim is prime. Now, as much as spitting would be interesting (such as shown by the Dilophosaurus of Jurassic Park), it’s highly impossible. If a Sinorinthosaurus were to even try, it would do nothing more than drool and glare.

Instead of drooling like a fool, Sinorinthosaurus took a much more practical approach; biting. When the animal bit into the flesh of its prey, the saliva would seep into the open wounds. A bite in itself (venomous or not) would render at least a Tetnis shot in modern times. But this bite had much, much more bark to it.

The venom in the saliva of Sinorinthosaurus would most likely not kill anything. It had a better job to do, which would lead to a much more gruesome death. After a matter of time, the bite would render prey stupefied, unable to move for the life of them. With its hunt frozen but alive, Sinorinthosaurus could begin its feasting.

Sinorinthosaurus has brought up a large discussion among paleontologists, and that is the origin of venom. While modern birds descended from animals such as Sinorinthosaurus, they all lack pockets for injecting venom, though several species have been found to have toxic skin and feathers. So then, how exactly did venom come about?

“How primitive is venom really? Does it go all the way back to the archosaurs?” Scientist David Burnham says, referring to the reptiles predating even dinosaurs by 30 million years, “These are things people haven’t really tested yet.”