Dinosaurs A to Z
Dromaeosauridae

Luanchuanraptor henanensis

"Luanchuan thief"

Generic raptor body-plan outline
You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Luanchuanraptor 1.8 m (5.9 ft) long
as long as 2 people standing fingertip to fingertip
generic raptor body plan, scaled to length — not a silhouette of Luanchuanraptor
Length
1.8 m (5.9 ft)
Period
Late Cretaceous (72–66 Mya)
Place
Asia · China
Food
Carnivore
Clade
Dromaeosauridae Dinosauria Saurischia Theropoda Coelurosauria Sickle-clawed raptors: Velociraptor, Deinonychus, Utahraptor.

Luanchuanraptor (meaning “Luanchuan thief”) is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous of China. The genus is based on a partial skeleton from the Qiupa Formation in Luanchuan, Henan. They were medium-sized dromaeosaurids, the first Asian dromaeosaurid taxa described from outside the Gobi Desert or northeastern China.

What we know

  • Named by Lü et al. 2007.
  • Body length estimated at about 1.8 m.
  • Fossils found in Asia and China.

What we guess

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