Dakotaraptor

Dakota thief (Dakota plunderer)

• Dakota · Dakota (Sioux) / place name · refers to South Dakota, where the fossils were found
• raptor · Latin · thief, plunderer, one who seizes

The name combines "Dakota", for South Dakota where the fossils were found, with the Latin "raptor", meaning plunderer or seizer. It was chosen to mark the animal as a predatory dromaeosaurid from the Dakotas region. The type species is Dakotaraptor steini, named for Walter W. Stein, who helped excavate the fossils.

Named by

DePalma et al.

Year named

2015

Period

Late Cretaceous

Stage

Maastrichtian

Found in

Hell Creek Formation, South Dakota, USA

A large dromaeosaurid theropod. The original material may be a chimera: the furcula, and possibly other bones, may belong to a different animal, such as a turtle. Its exact relationships are debated.