Fukuiraptor
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Extinct (fossil)
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| Fukuiraptor kitadaniensis Azuma & Currie, 2000 |
Fukuiraptor was a medium-sized carnivore of the Early Cretaceous (Barremian) that lived in what is now Japan. Scientists first thought it was a member of the Dromaeosauridae, but after studying the fossils they now believe it was related to Allosaurus. The type specimen is the skeleton of an individual about 4.2 metres long. It is thought that this specimen was not mature and an adult may have been larger. However, the other individuals recovered from the same locality are all juveniles that were smaller than the holotype (Currie & Azuma, 2006), in the smallest case less than a quarter of the holotype's size.
This specimen caused some confusion upon its initial discovery because its hand claw was mistaken for the killer claw on the foot of a dromaeosaur. It is now considered to be a basal member of the allosaur clade, and possibly similar or identical to the Australian "Allosaurus" species.
[edit] References
- Currie, P.J. & Y. Azuma, 2006. New specimens, including a growth series, of Fukuiraptor (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from the Lower Cretaceous Kitadani Quarry of Japan. J. Paleont. Soc. Korea 22(1): 173-193.
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