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Dakotaraptor

Say it: dak-oh-ta-RAP-tor

Name means: “thief from Dakota”1

Ate: MeatRaptorsLate Cretaceous

Dakotaraptor was a giant, feathered raptor that lived right at the end of the Age of Dinosaurs. It was one of the biggest dromaeosaurs ever, as large as a small car, and it used its huge sickle claws to hunt. Its arm bones show it had feathers, even though it was too big to fly.1 2

Lived

72 to 66 million years ago5

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

South Dakota, USA, in the Hell Creek Formation1 5

Food

Meat5 2

Length

4.35 to 6 m1

estimates from different studies

Weight

220 kg to 350 kg1

Height

1.83 m3

at the hips

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

How tall was it?

at the hips

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 12 big dogs

as long as 6 dogs nose to tailas long as 33 bananas end to endas heavy as 70 watermelonsabout as tall as a door

How big was Dakotaraptor compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Dakotaraptor was one of the last surviving dromaeosaurids, living just before the mass extinction 66 million years ago.1

Its arm bone (ulna) has bumps called quill knobs, which are direct evidence that it had large feathers on its forearms.2

Some bones originally thought to belong to Dakotaraptor were later found to be from a turtle, so scientists are still debating which fossils are really from this dinosaur.1

It was about as big as Utahraptor, but its legs and arms were more like those of smaller, faster raptors such as Deinonychus.2

Dakotaraptor fossils were found in a bonebed with many other animals, including dinosaurs, birds, mammals, and fish.2

Its name honors both the Dakota people and the state of South Dakota, plus the Latin word for thief.1

AI-made picture of Dakotaraptor — An AI-made picture of how Dakotaraptor might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Dakotaraptor

?How big was Dakotaraptor?

About 4.35 to 6 metres long and weighed 220 to 350 kilograms. That is about the size of a small car.1

?Did Dakotaraptor have feathers?

Yes. Its arm bone has quill knobs, which are bumps where big feathers attached, so it definitely had feathers on its forearms.1 2

?Could Dakotaraptor fly?

No, it was too big to fly. But it used its feathered wings to help pin down prey or as a shield.4

?When did Dakotaraptor live?

It lived at the very end of the Age of Dinosaurs, about 66 million years ago, just before the big extinction.1 4

?Where was Dakotaraptor found?

Its fossils were discovered in South Dakota, USA, in a famous rock layer called the Hell Creek Formation.1 2

?Was Dakotaraptor bigger than T. rex?

No, T. rex was much bigger. Dakotaraptor was about 5.5 metres long, while T. rex could be over 12 metres long.1

?What did Dakotaraptor eat?

It was a meat-eater that hunted other animals. It had a giant sickle claw on each foot for killing prey.1 4

?Is Dakotaraptor really a dinosaur?

Yes, it is a dinosaur. Some scientists have questioned whether all its bones really belong to it, but it is still considered a dromaeosaurid raptor.1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Dakotaraptor
Named by: DePalma et al. 20155
Group: Raptors
Family / clade: Dromaeosauridae5
Classification: Theropoda > Dromaeosauridae5
Age of the rocks: 72 to 66 million years (Maastrichtian)5
Rock formations: Hell Creek5
Countries: USA5
Fossil records: 2 in the Paleobiology Database5
Discovery: Dakotaraptor was named in 2015 by Robert DePalma and colleagues, based on fossils found in 2005 in the Hell Creek Formation of South Dakota. The type specimen is held in a private collection, which has made it hard for other scientists to study.1 2
Still debated: Scientists are not sure whether Dakotaraptor is really a valid dinosaur, because some of its bones might belong to turtles and the main specimen is in a private collection that is not accessible to researchers.1

Where the facts come from

Dakotaraptor (en.wikipedia.org)
The First Giant Raptor (Theropoda: Dromaeosauridae) from the Hell Creek Formation (bioone.org)
Dakotaraptor ruled Hell Creek as lethal predator (argusleader.com)
New Winged Dinosaur May Have Used Its Feathers to Pin Down Prey (smithsonianmag.com)
Dakotaraptor 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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