Dineobellator
Dineobellator was a fast, feathered predator that lived in what is now New Mexico. It was about the size of a modern turkey and used its sharp claws and strong arms to catch prey. This dinosaur lived right at the end of the age of dinosaurs, alongside T. rex.21
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How big was it?
How long was it?
How tall was it?
at the hips
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Fun facts
Dineobellator had special features on its arm bones that gave it a stronger grip than other raptors, helping it hold onto struggling prey.21
Its tail bones allowed it to move its tail more flexibly near the base, which may have helped it turn quickly while chasing prey.21
Dineobellator lived alongside many other dinosaurs, including T. rex, and scientists think it filled a different hunting role than the giant predator.21
It is the first well-known raptor from the very end of the Cretaceous in the southern United States.21
Most asked questions about Dineobellator
?How big was Dineobellator?
About 1.1 metres (3.5 feet) tall at the hip and 1.8 to 2.1 metres (6 to 7 feet) long, similar in size to a large raptor like Deinonychus.45
?Did Dineobellator have feathers?
Yes. Quill knobs on its arm bones show that it had feathers, just like other dromaeosaurids such as Velociraptor.45
?What did Dineobellator eat?
It was a predator that likely ate small animals like birds and lizards, and may have used its strong grip to catch larger prey. It lived alongside fish, turtles and mammals that could have been its prey.45
?When did Dineobellator live?
It lived about 66.5 million years ago, near the very end of the Cretaceous Period, just before all non-bird dinosaurs went extinct.15
?Was Dineobellator bigger than Velociraptor?
It was similar in size to Velociraptor, but some studies suggest it was about as big as Deinonychus, which is larger than Velociraptor.5
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Dineobellator
- Named by
- Jasinski et al. 20206
- Group
- Raptors
- Family / clade
- Dromaeosauridae6
- Classification
- Theropoda > Dromaeosauridae6
- Age of the rocks
- 72 to 66 million years (Maastrichtian)6
- Rock formations
- Ojo Alamo6
- Countries
- USA6
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database6
- Discovery
- Dineobellator was discovered in 2008 in the Bisti/De-na-zin Wilderness of New Mexico. It was named and described by scientists Jasinski and colleagues in 2020.13
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure exactly how big Dineobellator was, because only a partial skeleton has been found. Estimates of its length and weight are based on comparisons with other raptors.3
Where the facts come from
- New Dromaeosaurid Dinosaur (Theropoda, Dromaeosauridae) from New Mexico and Biodiversity of Dromaeosaurids at the end of the Cretaceous | Scientific Reports (nature.com)
- New Dromaeosaurid Dinosaur (Theropoda, Dromaeosauridae) from New Mexico and Biodiversity of Dromaeosaurids at the end of the Cretaceous (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
- New feathered dinosaur was one of the last surviving raptors | Penn Today (penntoday.upenn.edu)
- Dineobellator (Wikipedia) (Wikipedia)
- Dineobellator in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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