Rapator

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Rapator
Fossil range: Early Cretaceous

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Sauropsida
Superorder:	Dinosauria
Order:	Saurischia
Suborder:	Theropoda
Infraorder:	Coelurosauria
Family:	?Alvarezsauridae
Genus:	Rapator
Species:	R. ornithlolestoides

Binomial name

Rapator ornitholestoides
von Huene, 1932

Rapator (meaning "plunderer") was a genus of theropod dinosaur from Australia. It lived during the Early Cretaceous and grew to as much as 9 meters in height. It was originally named by Friedrich von Huene in 1932, and its discovery is based on his discovery of a single bone. Originally thought to be a bone from the upper part of an indeterminate theropod hand (specifically metacarpal I), it was later noted that the bone is similar to the finger bone of an alvarezsaur (Holtz et al., 2004). If it did belong to the family Alvarezsauridae, it would be by far the largest member.

[edit] References

Huene, F. (1932). "Die fossile Reptil-Ordnung Saurischia, ihre Entwicklung und Geschichte." Monogo. Geol. Pal. 4 (1) pts. 1 and 2, viii + 361 pp.
Holtz, Molnar and Currie (2004). "Basal Tetanurae." In Weishampel, Dodson and Osmolska. The Dinosauria Second Edition. University of California Press. 861 pp.