Condorraptor
Name:
Condorraptor
(Condor thief - named after Cerro Condor).
Phonetic: Kon-dore-rap-tor.
Named By: O. W. M. Rauhut - 2005.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Saurichia, Theropoda, Megalosauroidea.
Species: C. currumili
(type).
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Estimated about 4 to 5 meters long for
holotype individual. Possible adult size estimated at about 8 meters
long.
Known locations: Argentina, Chubut Province -
Cañadón Asfalto Formation.
Time period: Callovian of the Jurassic.
Fossil representation: Partial post cranial skeletal
remains, including pelvis, hind leg and various vertebrae.
Initially
described from a tibia (one of the lower leg bones), a second
discovery in 2007 revealed much more of the skeleton of
Condorraptor, allowing for a clearer picture of Condorraptor
to come
to light. Condorraptor was a mid-sized theropod
that may have been
similar to the famous Megalosaurus,
the first dinosaur genus to be
ever named. In addition to this Condorraptor may
have been related to
the similarly sized Piatnitzkysaurus
which is also known from the same
formation as Condorraptor. As a midsized
theropod, Condorraptor
would have been a predator of other dinosaurs, quite probably early
sauropods
and ornithischian dinosaurs.
The
name Condorraptor raptor is often confused as
being a reference to a
condor bird, but in actuality the condor part of the name is actually
a reference to Cerro Condor, a village in Chubut Province near where
the holotype fossils of Condorraptor were
discovered.
Further reading
- Osteology and relationships of a new theropod dinosaur from the
Middle Jurassic of Patagonia. - Palaeontology 48(1):87-110.
- O. W. M. Rauhut - 2005.
- A fragmentary theropod skull from the Middle Jurassic of
Patagonia. - Ameghiniana 44(2):479-483. - O. W. M.
Rauhut - 2007.
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