Fukuiraptor

Name: Fukuiraptor‭ (‬Fukui thief‭)‬.
Phonetic: Foo-kwee-rap-tor.
Named By: Azuma‭ & ‬Currie‭ ‬-‭ ‬2000.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Theropoda,‭ ‬Allosauroidea,‭ ‬Neovenatoridae.
Species: F.‭ ‬kitadaniensis‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: 4.2‭ ‬meters long,‭ ‬possibly a juvenile.
Known locations: Japan,‭ ‬Honshu Island,‭ ‬Fukui Prefecture -‭ ‬Kitadani Formation.
Time period: Barremian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Single specimen.




       Fukuiraptor is a dinosaur that really does not deserve the‭ '‬raptor‭' ‬part of its name.‭ ‬This is because when it was discovered,‭ ‬one of the large hand claws was interpreted as being a‭ '‬killing claw‭' ‬on the second toe,‭ ‬similar to other dromaeosaurids that have the epithet raptor.‭ ‬Later analysis resulted in a reconstruction that had the claw in its correct place,‭ ‬at the end of the fingers.‭ ‬Now Fukuiraptor is known to have been a carnosaur like Allosaurus.
       Sizing Fukuiraptor has actually been quite difficult.‭ ‬Initially it was thought that the Fukuiraptor holotype was a juvenile,‭ ‬but other remains from other Fukuiraptor individuals indicate the juveniles were actually smaller.‭ ‬Either the Fukuiraptor holotype was actually an adult,‭ ‬in which case it would actually be quite small for a carnosaur,‭ ‬or Fukuiraptor had a growth curve similar to tyrannosaurids where they spent several years very small,‭ ‬until growing large over a small number of years.‭ ‬Only further remains will allow us to know for sure.

Further reading
- A new carnosaur (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Lower Cretaceous of Japan. - Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 37:1735-1753. - Y. Azuma & P. J. Currie - 2000.
- New specimens, including a growth series, of Fukuiraptor (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from the Lower Cretaceous Kitadani Quarry of Japan. - Journal Paleontology Society Korea 22 (1): 173–193. - P. J. Currie & Y. Asuma - 2006.




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