Dinosaurs A to Z
Dromaeosauridae

Imperobator

Generic raptor body-plan outline
You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Imperobator 2 m (6.6 ft) long
as long as 2 people standing fingertip to fingertip
generic raptor body plan, scaled to length — not a silhouette of Imperobator
Length
2 m (6.6 ft)
Period
Late Cretaceous (71–70 Mya)
Place
Antarctica · Gondwana · Utah, USA
Food
Carnivore
Clade
Dromaeosauridae Dinosauria Saurischia Theropoda Coelurosauria Sickle-clawed raptors: Velociraptor, Deinonychus, Utahraptor.

Imperobator (“powerful warrior”) is a genus of probable unenlagiid paravian theropod dinosaurs, that lived during the Maastrichtian age of the Late Cretaceous in what is now James Ross Island in Antarctica. Imperobator is one of only two non-avian theropods known from Antarctica, crossing over to the landmass when it was part of Gondwana. The only described specimen was found in 2003 by an expedition launched by the University of California Museum of Paleontology and initially described as a dromaeosaur in 2007. The fossil was formally described as a new genus in 2019, and later searches reported more fossils from the site including teeth and skull bones.

What we know

  • Named by Ely & Case, 2019.
  • Body length estimated at about 2 m.
  • Fossils found in Antarctica and Gondwana.

What we guess

The reconstruction notes for Imperobator — soft tissue, color, behavior — haven't been written up yet. Only the recorded basics above are filled in so far.