Megaraptor
Name	Megaraptor
Order	Saurischia
Suborder	Theropoda
Class	Neovenatoridae
Name Translation	Giant Thief
Period	Late Cretaceous
Location	South America
Diet	Meat
Length	26 ft (8 meters)

• Name Pronunciation: "Meg-uh-rap-tor"
• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Chordata
• Genus: Megaraptor Novas, 1998
• Superorder: Dinosauria

General InformationEdit

Megaraptor was a large theropod of the Cretaceous Period.It's most distinguishing feature was on each hand had a 14 inch (35 cm) sickle-like claw on it's thumb and the other fingers had smaller claws. When alive, this claw would have been sheathed in a horny, keratinous material much like our fingernails, making the claw even bigger, longer and sharper. The tail was probably used for balance and fast turning. It may have had a relatively large brain and large eyes. Megaraptor was about 25-26 feet (7.5-8 m) long. Megaraptor was titled to be the biggest dromaeosaur, but now it may actually be a closer relative to spinosaurs, or carcharodontosaurs.Megaraptor means [mega theif] cos a carcass was found with a megaraptor eating it.

DiscoveryEdit

Incomplete Megaraptor remains were found in 1996 in Northwest Patagonia, Argentina, by paleontologist Fernando E. Novas. Novas named it in 1998 (when it was still thought to be a raptor, hence the name). Fossils included a huge sickle-shaped claw, metatarsal, ulna, and a finger bone. [1]

HistoryEdit

Discovered in 1997 in Argentina, Megaraptor was found associated with the fossil remains of Unenlagia, a bird-like dinosaur. There is some speculation that Megaraptor was the adult version of Unenlagia, which is known from an apparently juvenile specimen. Remains of a specimen similar to those of the Megaraptor have also recently been found in China and await study. [2]

ReferencesEdit

• Name Pronunciation/Phylum/Genus/Superoder/Kingdom wikipedia [3]

• History from [4]

• Discovery [5]

• General Information [6]

• Megaraptor Details Picture [7]