Neuquenraptor

Neuquén robber

• Neuquén · Place name (Spanish form of a Mapuche-de · Neuquén Province, Argentina
• raptor · Latin · robber, plunderer

The name combines Neuquén, the Argentine province where the fossils were found, with the Latin word "raptor", meaning robber or plunderer. It therefore means "Neuquén robber", marking both the place of discovery and its identity as a predatory, raptorial theropod. The type species is Neuquenraptor argentinus.

Named by

Novas and Pol

Year named

2005

Period

Late Cretaceous

Stages

Turonian – Coniacian

Found in

Portezuelo Formation, Neuquén Province, Patagonia, Argentina

A small unenlagiine paravian theropod (usually placed in Dromaeosauridae or Unenlagiidae). Its validity is debated: some researchers think it may be a junior synonym of the related Unenlagia from the same formation, but it is generally treated as a distinct genus.