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Dalianraptor

Say it: dah-lee-an-RAP-tor

Name means: “Dalian thief”1

Ate: MeatEarly birdsEarly Cretaceous

Dalianraptor was a small, bird-like dinosaur that lived about 120 million years ago. It had short arms and may have been flightless, unlike many of its relatives. Scientists are not sure if the only fossil found is real or a fake made from different animals.1

Lived

121 to 113 million years ago3

Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Jiufotang Formation, Liaoning, China1 3

Food

Meat3

Length

0.8 m1

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

as long as 1.5 house cats nose to tailas long as 4 bananas end to end

How big was Dalianraptor compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

cool stuff

Fun facts

Dalianraptor lived during the Early Cretaceous period, about 120 million years ago.1

It was about 80 centimeters (31 inches) long, about the size of a crow.1

Dalianraptor had a longer thumb bone and shorter forelimbs than its close relative Jeholornis, which may mean it could not fly.1

The only known fossil, called D2139, was seen in a photo before it was officially named in 2005.1

Some scientists think the Dalianraptor fossil is a chimera, meaning it was made by gluing together bones from different animals.1

If the fossil is real, scientists are still not sure where Dalianraptor fits in the dinosaur family tree.1

AI-made picture of Dalianraptor — An AI-made picture of how Dalianraptor 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 Dalianraptor

?Is Dalianraptor a dinosaur?

Yes, Dalianraptor is a theropod dinosaur and a type of avialan, which is a bird-like dinosaur.1 3

?How big was Dalianraptor?

Dalianraptor was about 80 centimetres long, roughly the size of a crow.1 2

?Could Dalianraptor fly?

Probably not. Dalianraptor had short forelimbs and a longer thumb bone, which suggests it may have been flightless.1 2

?Is the Dalianraptor fossil real?

Some scientists suspect the only fossil is a chimera, meaning it was made by gluing bones from different animals together. If it is real, its place in the dinosaur family tree is still uncertain.1 2

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Myth buster

Myth: Dalianraptor was a dromaeosaurid (raptor dinosaur) like Velociraptor.

Truth: Dalianraptor is actually an avialan, a group that includes birds and their closest dinosaur relatives, not a dromaeosaurid.1

For dino experts

Scientific name: Dalianraptor
Named by: Gao and Liu 20053
Group: Early birds
Family / clade: Avialae3
Classification: Theropoda > Avialae3
Age of the rocks: 121 to 113 million years (Aptian)3
Rock formations: Jiufotang3
Countries: China3
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: The fossil of Dalianraptor was discovered before the 2000s and first seen in a photo by Matthew Martyniuk, who thought it was an unnamed dromaeosaurid. It was officially named and described by Gao and Liu in 2005.1 3
Still debated: Scientists debate whether the only Dalianraptor fossil is a real animal or a chimera made from different species.1

Where the facts come from

Dalianraptor (en.wikipedia.org)
PaleoCodex :: Dalianraptor (paleocodex.com)
Dalianraptor 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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