Traces of an XXL velociraptor, the largest of all, discovered by researchers in China

DINOSAURS – Among carnivorous dinosaurs, raptors (or dromaeosaurids) are rarely large. Animals in the velociraptor family are more reminiscent of big chickens with teeth. We are therefore far from the image of Jurassic Park. But this new discovery could well change the situation.

A study published on April 24 in the journal cell shows footprints. The latter are not common, since they are gigantic. According to paleontologists’ analyses, they belong to a new species called Fujianipus yingliangi.

Considering the size of this new species, the velociraptors (except for the lack of feathers) of Jurassic Park were not that oversized. This new species has an estimated size of 1.8 meters high and almost 5 meters long. A damn big chicken.

Footprints of 35 centimeters, therefore a size of…

The prints were found in Longyan Prefecture, Fujian, China. A place that preserves a remarkable variety of dinosaur tracks and fossils. Precisely, the traces found measure approximately 35 centimeters. For researchers, they date from the end of the Cretaceous period, between 80 and 105 million years ago.

“There is a rule of thumb that you multiply the length of the footprint by four to get the height of a dinosaur at the hip”said one of the study’s authors, Anthony Romilio at IFLScience. This is what made it possible to calculate the probable size of this new species.

Paleontologists knew directly that it was a species of raptor thanks to a characteristic characteristic of this group of animals, their curved claw on their third finger. On the print, we can see two fingers. The last one, since it is folded down, touches the ground less. It probably served as a weapon for slashing and/or keeping its prey within jaw reach.

Tendency towards gigantism

This XXL raptor is part of the lineage of gigantic dinosaur species, which was not lacking at that time on Earth. “ Bones discovered in Alaska indicate a trend toward gigantism near the ancient Arctic Circle, an area with potentially less competition for species due to long periods of winter darkness », Explains Anthony Romilio in a press release. But quite a few of them were not confined to this area.

“ Our results suggest that these giants dispersed much further south and were more widely dispersed » adds the paleontologist. Hence the fact of finding an XXL raptor in the middle of China. Conversely, other members of the dromaeosaurid family are very small. Some of the researchers who worked on the newly discovered footprints also worked on the world’s smallest dinosaur footprints, a species of raptor discovered in South Korea.

“This just shows the incredible size range among raptor dinosaurs, highlighting their adaptability and ecological diversity,” underlines Anthony Romilio. Is this one of the reasons that allowed raptors to develop on the earth, or even dominate it? According to some researchers, many species of raptors grew over time. In this way, the asteroid may have prevented the raptors from dominating the planet.

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