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Rativates

Say it: RAT-ih-VAY-teez

Name means: “raft seer”1

Ate: A bit of everythingOstrich dinosLate Cretaceous

Rativates was a fast, ostrich-like dinosaur that lived in what is now Canada. It had long legs for running and a toothless beak, and it could eat both plants and small animals.1 4

Lived

84 to 72 million years ago4

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Alberta, Canada1 4

Food

A bit of everything4 1

Length

3 m2

Weight

90 kg2

Height

1.5 m2

standing height

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?

standing height

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 3 big dogs

as long as 3 dogs nose to tailas long as 17 bananas end to endas heavy as 18 watermelonsup to the handle of a door

How big was Rativates compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Rativates was about half the size of the largest individuals of its relative Struthiomimus.1

The name Rativates means 'raft seer', because scientists thought these dinosaurs looked like modern ratites (like ostriches) and seemed to predict their evolution.1

The only known fossil of Rativates was discovered in 1934 by Levi Sternberg, but it was not recognized as a new species until 2016.1

Rativates had a straight edge on its third toe bone, unlike other ornithomimids which had a curved edge.1

The tail vertebrae of Rativates had short, mound-like spines, which is different from many other ornithomimids.1

A thin section of its thigh bone showed that the known Rativates was at least eight years old and not a juvenile.1

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

?How big was Rativates?

About 3.3 metres (11 feet) long, 1.5 metres (5 feet) tall, and weighed around 90 kilograms (200 pounds).3

?Did Rativates have feathers?

Probably yes. While no skin impressions were found for Rativates, its close relative Ornithomimus had a downy covering and may have had true feathers.3

?When did Rativates live?

Rativates lived about 77 to 75 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous period.1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Rativates
Named by: McFeeters et al. 20164
Group: Ostrich dinos
Family / clade: Ornithomimidae4
Classification: Theropoda > Ornithomimosauria4
Age of the rocks: 84 to 72 million years (Campanian)4
Rock formations: Oldman4
Countries: Canada4
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: Rativates was named in 2016 by Bradley McFeeters and colleagues. The only skeleton was found in 1934 by Levi Sternberg in Alberta, Canada, but it took over 80 years for scientists to realize it was a new species.1
Still debated: Scientists are still debating exactly how Rativates is related to other ornithomimids like Struthiomimus and Ornithomimus.1

Where the facts come from

Rativates (en.wikipedia.org)
Carleton student discovers new dinosaur - The Charlatan, Carleton's independent newspaper (charlatan.ca)
Carleton PhD Student Leads Team That Discovered Ostrich-like Dinosaur - Graduate Studies (graduate.carleton.ca)
Rativates 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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