Tianyuraptor

Name: Tianyuraptor ‭(‬Tianyu thief‭)‬.
Phonetic: Te-an-yu-rap-tor.
Named By: X.‭ ‬Zheng,‭ ‬X.‭ ‬Xu,‭ ‬H.‭ ‬You,‭ ‬Q.‭ ‬Zhao‭ & ‬Z.‭ ‬Song‭ ‬-‭ ‬2009.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Theropoda,‭ ‬Dromaeosauridae,‭ ‬Microraptoria.
Species: T.‭ ‬ostromi‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: About‭ ‬1.6‭ ‬meters long,‭ ‬maybe slightly bigger.
Known locations: China,‭ ‬Liaoning Province‭ ‬-‭ ‬Yixian Formation,‭ ‬Dawangzhangzi Bed.
Time period: Barremian/Aptian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Almost complete individual,‭ ‬believed to be a subadult.‭ ‬Only the tip of the tail is missing.




       Although not very well known,‭ ‬Tianyuraptor is important to many palaeontologists because it is often regarded as a transitional form that links northern and southern genera of dromaeosaurids.‭ ‬Tianyuraptor is noted for having a smaller than usual furcula and arms that are proportionately much smaller than those of other dromaeosaurid genera.‭ ‬Overall,‭ ‬Tianyuraptor is actually quite a bit larger than most other known microraptorian dromaeosaurs,‭ ‬though it still has the long hind leg proportions,‭ ‬meaning that it was likely a very fast runner for its size.‭ ‬The‭ ‬proportionately much smaller arms however mean that there was practically no chance that it could glide for short distances,‭ ‬as has been proposed for some other smaller microraptorian genera like Microraptor.

Further reading
-‭ ‬A short-armed dromaeosaurid from the Jehol Group of China with implications for early dromaeosaurid evolution,‭ ‬X.‭ ‬Zheng,‭ ‬X.‭ ‬Xu,‭ ‬H.‭ ‬You,‭ ‬Q.‭ ‬Zhao‭ & ‬Z.‭ ‬Song‭ ‬-‭ ‬2009.



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