Orkoraptor Orkoraptor

"Etymology TBD"

You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Orkoraptor 8.4 m (27.6 ft) long
5 people holding hands
Length
8.4 m (27.6 ft)
Period
Late Cretaceous (76–70 Mya)
Place
South America · Argentina
Food
Carnivore
Clade
Megaraptoridae

Orkoraptor is a genus of medium-sized megaraptoran theropod dinosaur from the late Cretaceous Period of Argentina. It is known from incomplete fossil remains including parts of the skull, teeth, tail vertebrae, and a partial tibia. The specialized teeth resemble those of some maniraptoriform theropods, namely the deinonychosaurs and compsognathids. This and other anatomical features led the authors who described it (Novas, Ezcurra, and Lecuona) to suggest that it was a maniraptoran coelurosaur. However, subsequent studies found it to be a megaraptoran. Found in the Cerro Fortaleza Formation of Southern Patagonia, it is one of the southernmost carnivorous dinosaurs known from South America.

What we know

  • Named by Novas, Ezcurra & Lecuona, 2008.
  • Body length estimated at about 8.4 m.
  • Fossils found in South America and Argentina.