Megaraptor
genus of reptiles (fossil)
Megaraptor was a large 26 feet (8 m) long late Cretaceous dinosaur. It had two large sickle-like claws on each hand. It was a lightly built biped, with a large head and sharp, serrated teeth in powerful jaws.
| Megaraptor Temporal range: Upper Cretaceous, 98 mya
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| Genus: | Megaraptor Novas, 1998
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The first fossil of Megaraptor to be discovered was one of its claws. As they strongly resembled the claws seen in Dromeosaurs, it was thought that Megaraptor was a large member of that family.[1] Later, a complete hand was discovered, revealing the main claw was on its thumb.[2]
It is now classified either as a allosauroid carnosaur, related to Neovenator, or right over on the other side of the Theropoda as a tyrannosauroid coelurosaur.[3]
References
change- ↑ Novas, F.E. (1998). "Megaraptor namunhuaiquii, gen. et sp. nov., a large-clawed, Late Cretaceous theropod from Patagonia". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 18: 4–9. doi:10.1080/02724634.1998.10011030.
- ↑ Calvo J.O.; et al. (2004). "Phylogenetic status of Megaraptor namunhuaiquii Novas based on a new specimen from Neuquén, Patagonia, Argentina". Ameghiniana. 41: 565–575.
- ↑ Benson, R.B.J.; Carrano, M.T; Brusatte, S.L. (2010). "A new clade of archaic large-bodied predatory dinosaurs (Theropoda: Allosauroidea) that survived to the latest Mesozoic". Naturwissenschaften. 97 (1): 71–78. Bibcode:2010NW.....97...71B. doi:10.1007/s00114-009-0614-x. PMID 19826771. S2CID 22646156.