Dino Wiki / All dinos / Meat-eating dinos

Dino card No. 0674 of 2,027

Fukuiraptor

Say it: foo-KOO-ee-RAP-tor

Name means: “thief of Fukui”1

Ate: MeatMeat-eating dinosEarly Cretaceous

Fukuiraptor was a meat-eating dinosaur that lived in Japan during the Early Cretaceous, about 125 to 115 million years ago. It was a fast, lightly built hunter with big claws on its hands.1

Lived

133 to 113 million years ago4

Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Fossils were found in the Kitadani Formation and possibly the Sebayashi Formation in Japan.1

Length

4.2 to 5 m (14 to 16 ft)1

The holotype was a juvenile; adults may have been larger. Estimates vary.

Weight

175 kg to 590 kg (386 to 1,300 lb)1

Top speed

about 46 km/h (29 mph)

Running, estimate

What did Fukuiraptor eat?

Fukuiraptor was a carnivore, meaning it ate meat. It had blade-like teeth and large hand claws for catching prey.

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 30 dogs

as long as 5 dogs nose to tailas long as 28 bananas end to endas heavy as 120 watermelonsas heavy as 31 kindergarten kidsas heavy as 18 school kidscould run 100 metres in 7.8 seconds (the fastest human needs 9.6)

How big was Fukuiraptor compared to YOU?

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

How fast was it?

A person walking about 5 km/h (3 mph)

A kid on a bike about 12 km/h (7 mph)

Fukuiraptor about 46 km/h (29 mph)

A galloping horse about 65 km/h (40 mph)

A cheetah about 100 km/h (62 mph)

cool stuff

Fun facts

Fukuiraptor had very large, flat hand claws that were so big scientists first thought they were foot claws from a different kind of dinosaur.1

Its teeth were like blades, with wrinkled enamel like carcharodontosaurids and oblique blood grooves near the serrations like tyrannosaurids.1

Many Fukuiraptor fossils have been found together, including lots of juveniles, some less than a quarter the size of the biggest one.1

Fukuiraptor was lightly built, with slender finger bones, even when fully grown.1

Scientists are not sure where Fukuiraptor belongs in the dinosaur family tree. It has been called a carnosaur, a megaraptoran, and even a relative of tyrannosaurs.1

Fukuiraptor lived alongside other dinosaurs like the plant-eaters Fukuisaurus and Fukuititan in the Kitadani Formation.1

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

?How big was Fukuiraptor?

Fukuiraptor was about 4.2 metres (14 feet) long and weighed around 175 kilograms (386 pounds), based on the immature holotype. Some estimates suggest it could reach 5 metres (16 feet) and weigh up to 590 kilograms (1,300 pounds).1

?What did Fukuiraptor eat?

Fukuiraptor was a carnivore, meaning it ate meat. It had blade-like teeth and large hand claws for catching prey.1 4

?When did Fukuiraptor live?

Fukuiraptor lived during the Early Cretaceous epoch, about 125 to 115 million years ago. Some sources say it lived between 121 and 99 million years ago.1 3

?Where was Fukuiraptor found?

Fukuiraptor fossils were found in Japan, in the Kitadani Formation near Katsuyama in Fukui prefecture. A tooth was also found in the Sebayashi Formation.1

?Was Fukuiraptor a dinosaur?

Yes, Fukuiraptor was a theropod dinosaur, a meat-eating dinosaur that walked on two legs.1 3

?Why did Fukuiraptor have big claws?

Fukuiraptor had very large, flat hand claws that were probably used for catching and holding prey. They were so big that scientists first thought they were foot claws from a different dinosaur.1

?Is Fukuiraptor related to T. rex?

Scientists are not sure. Some studies say Fukuiraptor is a megaraptoran, while others suggest it might be related to tyrannosaurs like T. rex. Its classification is still debated.1

?Could Fukuiraptor fly?

No, Fukuiraptor was a ground-dwelling dinosaur and could not fly. It was a fast, lightly built hunter that lived on land.1 4

Ask Rex about Fukuiraptor

Rex only answers questions about this page. 10 questions a month.

Rex is an AI and can make mistakes. He runs on servers in the EU and questions are never saved. Never type your name or other personal things.

Myth buster

Myth: Fukuiraptor was a dromaeosaur, like Velociraptor.

Truth: Scientists first thought its hand claws were foot claws, which made them think it was a dromaeosaur. Later studies showed it was a megaraptoran, a different group of meat-eaters.1

For dino experts

Scientific name: Fukuiraptor
Named by: Azuma and Currie 20004
Group: Meat-eating dinos
Family / clade: Neovenatoridae4
Classification: Theropoda > Allosauroidea4
Age of the rocks: 133 to 113 million years (Hauterivian / Aptian)4
Rock formations: Kitadani, Sebayashi4
Countries: Japan4
Fossil records: 2 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: Fukuiraptor was named by Yoichi Azuma and Philip Currie in 2000. The first skeleton was found in a quarry near Katsuyama in Fukui Prefecture, Japan.1 2
Still debated: Scientists still debate whether Fukuiraptor was a megaraptoran, an allosauroid, or a tyrannosauroid, because different studies place it in different groups.1

Where the facts come from

Fukuiraptor (en.wikipedia.org)
PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
Fukuiraptor (nhm.ac.uk)
Fukuiraptor 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.

Rex is hungry! Dino Wiki is a dad's project for his dino-loving son, free with no ads. Grown-ups can feed Rex a snack to help keep it online.Feed Rex