Maip

Maip was about 9 to 10 metres (30 to 33 feet) long and weighed over 1.3 metric tons (1.4 short tons). It is the largest known megaraptorid.54

Maip was a meat-eater. It used its long arms and 35-centimetre-long claws to grab and tear apart its prey, and its teeth were sharp but small.4

Maip lived near the end of the Age of Dinosaurs, about 72 to 66 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous period.5

Maip's fossils were discovered on a farm called La Anita, about 30 kilometres west of El Calafate in Santa Cruz, Argentina.5

Maip is named after a monster from Aonikenk mythology that kills with cold wind. The name was chosen because the dinosaur lived in a cold, mountainous area.54

No direct feather fossils have been found for Maip, but it is a coelurosaur, a group that includes feathered dinosaurs. Scientists are not sure if it had feathers.5

No, Maip was smaller than T. rex. T. rex could reach about 12 metres (40 feet) long and weigh over 8 metric tons, while Maip was about 9 to 10 metres long and weighed over 1.3 metric tons.5

Scientists do not know exactly how fast Maip could run, but its long legs and light, hollow bones suggest it was a relatively agile predator.4