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Bambiraptor Bambiraptor

"Etymology TBD"

You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Bambiraptor 1.3 m (4.3 ft) long
2 people holding hands
Length
1.3 m (4.3 ft)
Period
Late Cretaceous (72 Mya)
Place
Montana, USA
Food
Carnivore
Clade
Dromaeosauridae Dinosauria Saurischia Theropoda Coelurosauria

Bambiraptor is a genus of bird-like dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous (about 72 million years ago) of Montana. It was described by scientists at the University of Kansas, Yale University, and the University of New Orleans. The holotype fossil is less than 1 m long, although this specimen appears to be a juvenile, and it is possible that Bambiraptor is a juvenile Saurornitholestes. It is even suspected that the type specimen is a chimera, based on the fact that “there are elements of three different similarly sized lower legs included in the holotype.” Because of its small size, it was named Bambiraptor feinbergi, after the popular Disney movie character (the name literally translates to “Bambi thief”) and the surname of the wealthy family who bought and lent the specimen to the new Graves Museum of Natural History in Florida.

What we know

  • Named by Burnham et al., 2000.
  • Body length estimated at about 1.3 m.
  • Fossils found in Montana, USA.