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Joaquinraptor

Say it: hwah-KEEN-rap-tor

Name means: “Joaquin's thief”1

Ate: MeatMeat-eating dinosLate Cretaceous

Joaquinraptor was a meat-eating dinosaur with big claws on its hands. It lived in what is now Argentina near the very end of the age of dinosaurs. Scientists found its skeleton with a crocodile arm bone stuck between its jaws!1

Lived

72 to 66 million years ago8

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Chubut Province, central Patagonia, Argentina2 1

Food

Meat2 1

Length

7 m3

estimate

Weight

680 kg to 1.036 tonnes3 4 5

range of estimates from different methods

Height

2.2 m4

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 35 big dogs

as long as 7 dogs nose to tailas long as 39 bananas end to endas heavy as 210 watermelonsabout as tall as a door

How big was Joaquinraptor compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Joaquinraptor is a member of a group called Megaraptoridae, which are known for their large claws on the first and second fingers.1

The only known skeleton of Joaquinraptor includes parts of the skull, backbone, shoulder, arm, and leg bones.1

This dinosaur lived during the Maastrichtian stage, about 72 to 66 million years ago, right up to the time when the non-bird dinosaurs went extinct.2 1

Joaquinraptor was one of the last surviving megaraptorid dinosaurs, and it may have been the top predator in its ecosystem in central and southern Patagonia.1

The fossil of Joaquinraptor was found with a crocodile arm bone between its lower jaws, and some of its teeth touched that bone. This might mean it was eating a crocodile.1

Joaquinraptor was named in 2025 by a team of scientists led by Lucio M. Ibiricu. The name honors the first author's son Joaquin and the fossil site called Valle Joaquin.1

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

?How big was Joaquinraptor?

It was at least 7 metres (23 feet) long and weighed about 1,036 kilograms (2,284 pounds). That is about as long as a large pickup truck.3 6

?What did Joaquinraptor eat?

It was a meat-eater. Scientists found a crocodile arm bone stuck in its jaws, so it probably ate crocodile relatives.3 6 7

?When did Joaquinraptor live?

It lived about 67 million years ago, near the very end of the age of dinosaurs. It was one of the last megaraptorids.3 6

?Did Joaquinraptor have big claws?

Yes, it had large, curved claws on its hands, like other megaraptorids. Its arms were long and strong.3 7

?Where was Joaquinraptor found?

It was found in central Patagonia, Argentina, in the Lago Colhué Huapi Formation. The fossils were collected from 2019 to 2023.3 6

?Is Joaquinraptor a dinosaur?

Yes, it is a dinosaur. It is a theropod dinosaur from the group called Megaraptoridae.3

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Joaquinraptor
Named by: Ibiricu et al. 20258
Group: Meat-eating dinos
Family / clade: Megaraptoridae8
Classification: Theropoda > Megaraptora8
Age of the rocks: 72 to 66 million years (Maastrichtian)8
Rock formations: Lago Colhué Huapi8
Countries: Argentina8
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database8
Discovery: Joaquinraptor was named by Lucio M. Ibiricu and colleagues in 2025. The skeleton was found in the Lago Colhué Huapi Formation in Chubut, Argentina, at a site called Valle Joaquin.2 1
Still debated: Scientists are not sure if the crocodile arm bone found with Joaquinraptor shows that it ate crocodiles, or if it got there by accident, such as being moved by water.1

Where the facts come from

Latest Cretaceous megaraptorid theropod dinosaur sheds ... (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
Joaquinraptor (en.wikipedia.org)
Joaquinraptor (es.wikipedia.org)
(PDF) Latest Cretaceous megaraptorid theropod dinosaur sheds light on megaraptoran evolution and palaeobiology (researchgate.net)
How mean was this new Argentine dinosaur? It had a croc leg in its jaws | Reuters (reuters.com)
New megaraptor discovered—with its final meal still in its mouth | National Geographic (nationalgeographic.com)
Joaquinraptor in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

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