Tratayenia
- Length
- 8 m (26.2 ft)
- Period
- Late Cretaceous (86–83 Mya)
- Place
- Argentina
- Food
- Carnivore
- Clade
- Megaraptoridae
Tratayenia is an extinct genus of megaraptoran theropod dinosaurs known from remains found in the Late Cretaceous (Santonian age) Bajo de la Carpa Formation of Argentina. The type and only species, Tratayenia rosalesi, was described in March 2018.
Tratayenia can be distinguished from other megaraptorans on the basis of three autapomorphies (unique derived features) of the front portion of each dorsal vertebra, as well as a single autapomorphy of the sacrum. Tratayenia is one of the youngest known genera of megaraptorans, having lived only about 83 million years ago.
What we know
- Named by Porfiri et al., 2018.
- Body length estimated at about 8 m.
- Fossils found in Argentina.
What we guess
The reconstruction notes for Tratayenia — soft tissue, color, behavior — haven't been written up yet. Only the recorded basics above are filled in so far.