Apatoraptor
Apatoraptor was a toothless, feathered dinosaur that lived in what is now Alberta, Canada. It had long wings covered in feathers, but it could not fly. Instead, it probably used its flashy wings to show off and attract mates.1
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Fun facts
Apatoraptor had no teeth. Its beak was toothless, like a bird's.2
Its name means 'deceptive thief' because its skeleton was mistaken for a different kind of dinosaur for many years.1
The fossil was found in 1993 but sat on a shelf for 15 years before scientists realized it was something new.1
Apatoraptor had pits on its arm bones that show it had feathers on its wings. These wings were probably used for display, not flight.1
It is one of the most complete caenagnathid skeletons ever found in Alberta, with many bones still in their original positions.1
Apatoraptor lived during the Maastrichtian age, about 72 to 66 million years ago.4
Its neck was long and made of at least 11 vertebrae, and its ribs had finger-like extensions called uncinate processes.2
Most asked questions about Apatoraptor
?How big was Apatoraptor?
It was about 2 metres long and weighed around 180 kilograms, which is larger than a human.3
?Could Apatoraptor fly?
No. It had long wings covered in feathers, but it was too heavy to fly. It used its wings for display instead.3
?When did Apatoraptor live?
It lived about 70 million years ago, during the Campanian age of the Late Cretaceous, in what is now Alberta, Canada.3
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Myth buster
Myth: Apatoraptor could fly because it had feathered wings.
Truth: Apatoraptor had wings with feathers, but they were too small and weak for flight. They were probably used to show off to other dinosaurs.1
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Apatoraptor
- Named by
- Funston and Currie 20164
- Group
- Odd feathered dinos
- Family / clade
- Caenagnathidae4
- Classification
- Theropoda > Oviraptorosauria4
- Age of the rocks
- 72 to 66 million years (Maastrichtian)4
- Rock formations
- Horseshoe Canyon4
- Countries
- Canada4
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
- Discovery
- Apatoraptor was named in 2016 by Gregory Funston and Philip Currie. The skeleton was found in 1993 in Alberta, Canada, but was mistaken for a different dinosaur until it was prepared years later.41
- Still debated
- Scientists are still debating exactly how Apatoraptor and other caenagnathids are related to each other. This skeleton helped clear up some of those relationships.2
Where the facts come from
- Deceptive feathered dinosaur finally gets a name (ualberta.ca)
- tandfonline.com (tandfonline.com)
- Newly identified Alberta dinosaur had arm muscles fit to lift feathers | CBC News (cbc.ca)
- Apatoraptor in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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