Bambiraptor
Bambiraptor was a tiny, fast-running dinosaur with feathers and a bird-like body. It lived in what is now Montana, USA, during the Late Cretaceous. This little hunter is famous for its nearly complete skeleton!21
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Fun facts
Bambiraptor's skeleton is about 75 percent of adult size, so it was a young dinosaur when it died.2
It had features similar to early birds, which helps scientists study how birds evolved from dinosaurs.2
Bambiraptor lived between 84 and 71 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous period.1
The name 'Bambiraptor' comes from the famous deer character Bambi, because the skeleton is so small and delicate.1
Larger bones from the same site suggest that Bambiraptor didn't change much as it grew up.2
Most asked questions about Bambiraptor
?How big was Bambiraptor?
Bambiraptor was tiny. The juvenile holotype was about 1 metre (3.3 feet) long and weighed about 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds). Adults may have grown to 1.3 metres (4.3 feet) long, though some estimates suggest up to 1.3 metres long.31
?Did Bambiraptor have feathers?
Yes, most paleontologists think Bambiraptor had feathers, even though no feathers were found with the fossil. This is because it belonged to a group that included feathered dinosaurs and early birds.3
?What did Bambiraptor eat?
Bambiraptor was carnivorous, meaning it ate meat. It likely hunted small animals like lizards and mammals, and may have used its hands to hold food to its mouth.31
?When did Bambiraptor live?
Bambiraptor lived during the Late Cretaceous, about 84 to 71 million years ago. The Natural History Museum says 84 to 71 million years ago, while Wikipedia says about 72 million years ago.13
?Could Bambiraptor fly?
Bambiraptor could not fly like a bird, but it had long arms and a wishbone, and may have been able to glide or climb trees. Some scientists think it was arboreal, meaning it lived in trees.3
?Why is it called Bambiraptor?
It is named after Bambi, the Disney deer, because the skeleton is so small and delicate. 'Raptor' means 'thief' in Latin, so the name means 'Bambi thief'.3
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Myth buster
Myth: Some people think Bambiraptor was a bird because it had feathers and a bird-like skull.
Truth: Bambiraptor was a dinosaur, not a bird. It belongs to the dromaeosaurid family, which includes Velociraptor, and it had many bird-like features but was not a bird.2
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Bambiraptor
- Named by
- Burnham et al. 20004
- Group
- Raptors
- Family / clade
- Dromaeosauridae4
- Classification
- Theropoda > Dromaeosauridae4
- Age of the rocks
- 84 to 72 million years (Campanian)4
- Rock formations
- Two Medicine4
- Countries
- USA4
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
- Discovery
- Bambiraptor was named by Burnham and colleagues in 2000, based on a nearly complete skeleton found in the Two Medicine Formation of Montana. The skeleton is a well-preserved subadult, about 75 percent of adult size.2
- Still debated
- Scientists still debate whether Bambiraptor is a juvenile of another dromaeosaurid, because the only known skeleton is from a young animal.2
Where the facts come from
- Bambiraptor | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
- Remarkable new birdlike dinosaur (Theropoda: Maniraptora) from the Upper Cretaceous of Montana (doi.org)
- Bambiraptor (en.wikipedia.org)
- Bambiraptor in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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