Utahraptor
YOO-tah-RAP-tor /ˌjuːtəˈræptɔːr/
Accepted genus
Utah plunderer (Utah thief)
- Utah · English (from Ute) · the U.S. state where the fossils were found
- raptor · Latin · plunderer, robber, seizer
Utahraptor is named after the U.S. state of Utah, where its fossils were found, combined with the Latin word "raptor", meaning plunderer or seizer. The name refers to its predatory lifestyle and its large, sickle-shaped claw on the second toe. The type species is Utahraptor ostrommaysorum.
- Named by
- Kirkland, Gaston and Burge
- Year named
- 1993
- Period
- Early Cretaceous
- Stage
- Barremian
- Found in
- Cedar Mountain Formation (Yellow Cat Member), Utah, USA
A large dromaeosaurid theropod, among the biggest known members of its family. Stage dating is approximate (Barremian, possibly extending into the Aptian depending on the dating of the Yellow Cat Member).