Austroraptor
Austroraptor was a huge, feathered raptor that lived in South America near the end of the age of dinosaurs. It had short arms and a long snout full of cone-shaped teeth, perfect for catching fish.1
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Fun facts
Austroraptor is the largest raptor ever found in the Southern Hemisphere.1
Its teeth were cone-shaped and smooth, without the serrated edges seen in many other meat-eating dinosaurs.1
It lived alongside giant meat-eaters like Carnotaurus and Aucasaurus.1
Scientists think Austroraptor could run fast because its foot bones were long and slender.1
The first fossil of Austroraptor was found in 2002 by a team led by Fernando Novas.1
Most asked questions about Austroraptor
?How big was Austroraptor?
Austroraptor was about 5 to 6 metres (16 to 20 feet) long and weighed between 300 and 520 kilograms (660 to 1,150 pounds).1
?Did Austroraptor have feathers?
Yes, Austroraptor was a raptor, and raptors are known to have had feathers. It is described as a feathered dinosaur.1
?What did Austroraptor eat?
Austroraptor likely ate fish, because its cone-shaped, smooth teeth were similar to those of fish-eating animals like spinosaurs. It may also have hunted small, fast animals.1
?Could Austroraptor swim?
Scientists think Austroraptor may have eaten fish, but there is no direct evidence that it swam. It was a ground-dwelling dinosaur.13
?Was Austroraptor bigger than Velociraptor?
Yes, Austroraptor was much bigger than Velociraptor. Austroraptor was about 5 to 6 metres long, while Velociraptor was about 2 metres long.1
?When did Austroraptor live?
Austroraptor lived during the Late Cretaceous period, about 76.5 to 68 million years ago.13
?Where was Austroraptor found?
Austroraptor was found in Argentina, in the Allen Formation of RΓo Negro. The first fossil was collected in 2002.1
?Why did Austroraptor have short arms?
Austroraptor had short arms, with its upper arm bone less than half the length of its thigh bone. This is similar to other large meat-eaters like Tyrannosaurus, but they are not closely related.1
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Austroraptor
- Named by
- Novas et al. 20083
- Group
- Raptors
- Family / clade
- Dromaeosauridae3
- Classification
- Theropoda > Dromaeosauridae3
- Age of the rocks
- 72 to 66 million years (Maastrichtian)3
- Rock formations
- Allen3
- Countries
- Argentina3
- Fossil records
- 2 in the Paleobiology Database3
- Discovery
- Austroraptor was named in 2008 by Fernando Novas and his team based on a partial skeleton found in Argentina. The species name honors HΓ©ctor Cabaza, who founded the museum where the fossil was studied.1
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure whether Austroraptor was a true dromaeosaurid or belonged to a separate family called Unenlagiidae.2
Where the facts come from
- Austroraptor (en.wikipedia.org)
- PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
- Austroraptor in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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Tyrannosaurus
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Spinosaurus
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Parasaurolophus
Pteranodon