- Fukuiraptor
Taxobox|
name = "Fukuiraptor"
fossil_range = EarlyCretaceous
image_width = 250px
image_caption = life restoration of "Fukuiraptor kitadaniensis"
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
classis =Sauropsid a
superordo =Dinosauria
ordo =Saurischia
subordo =Theropod a
infraordo =Carnosauria
superfamilia = Allosauroidea
genus = "Fukuiraptor"
species = "F. kitadaniensis"
binomial = "Fukuiraptor kitadaniensis"
binomial_authority = Azuma & Currie,2000 "Fukuiraptor" was a medium-sized carnivore of the
Early Cretaceous (Barremian ) that lived in what is nowJapan . Scientists first thought it was a member of theDromaeosauridae , but after studying the fossils they now believe it was related to "Allosaurus ". Thetype 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 theAustralia n "Allosaurus" species.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.
External links
* [http://www.dinosaur.pref.fukui.jp/en/ddic/Fukuiraptor.html "Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum"]
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