Overoraptor
Overoraptor was a small, fast meat-eating dinosaur that lived in what is now Argentina. It had strong arms and a special claw on its second toe that it used to catch prey. Scientists think it was very bird-like and may help us understand how birds evolved.1
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Fun facts
Overoraptor's bones have a pattern of light and dark spots, which is why it was named 'piebald thief'.1
It had a special 'raptorial' claw on its second toe, like a Velociraptor, which it used to slash at prey.1
Overoraptor had very bird-like arms, with a strong ulna and a saddle-shaped joint in its wrist that helped it move its hands like a bird folding its wings.1
It lived about 100 to 90 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous period.2
Overoraptor was a gracile dinosaur, meaning it had a slender, lightweight body built for speed.1
Its fossils were found together with crocodile and turtle bones, suggesting it lived near water.1
Most asked questions about Overoraptor
?How big was Overoraptor?
Scientists disagree. The team that named it estimated about 1.3 metres (4.3 ft) long, but another expert thinks it was about 3 metres (9.8 ft) long and weighed around 30 kilograms (66 lb).3
?When did Overoraptor live?
Overoraptor lived during the Cretaceous Period, about 100 to 90 million years ago. Its fossils come from the Huincul Formation in Argentina.3
?What did Overoraptor eat?
Overoraptor was a meat-eating dinosaur. It had a sharp claw on its second toe and bird-like arms, which it likely used to catch small prey.3
?Why is it called Overoraptor?
Its name means 'piebald thief' because its fossil bones have light and dark spots, like a piebald animal. 'Raptor' means thief in Latin.3
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Overoraptor
- Named by
- Motta et al. 20204
- Group
- Meat-eating dinos
- Family / clade
- Paraves4
- Classification
- Theropoda4
- Age of the rocks
- 110 to 106 million years (Albian)4
- Rock formations
- Huincul4
- Countries
- Argentina4
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
- Discovery
- Overoraptor was named in 2020 by paleontologists Matías Motta, Federico Agnolín, Federico Brissón Egli, and Fernando Novas. The species name chimentoi honors Dr. Roberto Nicolás Chimento, who discovered the fossils in the Huincul Formation of Argentina.1
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure whether Overoraptor could fly or just had bird-like arms for other purposes, like catching prey or display.1
Where the facts come from
- New theropod dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of Patagonia sheds light on the paravian radiation in Gondwana (ri.conicet.gov.ar)
- PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
- Overoraptor (en.wikipedia.org)
- Overoraptor in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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