In Depth
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.
