Acheroraptor
Name:
Acheroraptor
(Underworld thief).
Phonetic: A-cher-o-rap-tor.
Named By: David C. Evans, Derek W. Larson
& Philip J. Currie - 2013.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Saurischia, Theropoda, Dromaeosauridae, Velociraptorinae.
Species: A. temertyorum
(type).
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Uncertain due to lack of fossil remains, but
scaling of known elements to related genera suggest a length of about
2 meters.
Known locations: USA, Montana - Hell Creek
Formation.
Time period: Late Maastrichtian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Right maxilla (tooth
bearing bone of the upper jaw), dentary and teeth.
Acheroraptor
was the first confirmed genus of dromaeosaurid
dinosaur to be known as
coming from the world famous Hell Creek Formation of North America.
Dromaeosaurid teeth had been known before this time, but they had
often been presumed to have come from either Dromaeosaurus
or
Saurornitholestes,
though these teeth are now more commonly referred
to Acheroraptor.
At
the time of writing Acheroraptor is only known from
a maxilla and
dentary with additional referred teeth. These however have been
enough to at least confirm that Acheroraptor was
actually a North
American cousin of the famous Velociraptor
that lived in Asia.
Comparison of the known Acheroraptor fossils at
least suggest that the
total length of the holotype individual of Acheroraptor
would have been
somewhere in the region of about two meters in length.
Acheroraptor
was the only dromaeosaurid dinosaur known from the Hell Creek Formation
until 2015 when the genus Dakotaraptor
was named. At least five
and half meters in length however, Dakotaraptor
would have been
significantly larger than Acheroraptor.
Care should be taken not to confuse Acheroraptor with Archaeoraptor.
Further reading
- A new dromaeosaurid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) with Asian
affinities from the latest Cretaceous of North America.
Naturwissenshaften. - David C. Evans, Derek W. Larson
&
Philip J. Currie - 2013.
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