Dracoraptor

Say it like this: “DRAH-ko-RAP-tuh”

Dracoraptor hanigani

Dracoraptor ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Early Jurassic. Bones have been found in the United Kingdom.

Quiz me on Dracoraptor

When: Early Jurassic (Hettangian) · roughly 201.4 to 199.5 million years ago
Named in: 2016 · Martill, D. M.; Vidovic, S. U.; Howells, C.; Nudds, J. R.
Hip height: 0.7 m · 2 ft
Length: 2.1–3 m · 7–10 ft
Weight: 4 kg · 9 lb
Found in: the United Kingdom · Blue Lias
Food and walking: Carnivore · Two legs
Kind: sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
Family branch: Coelophysoidea

The story in short

Dracoraptor was formally named in 2016 by D. M. Martill and colleagues. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.

It lived in the Early Jurassic (Hettangian), roughly 201.4 to 199.5 million years ago. Finds come from the United Kingdom, including the Blue Lias Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.

Published estimates put Dracoraptor at a length near 2.1–3 m, hips about 0.7 m high, and a body mass around 4 kg.

On the family tree it sits in Coelophysoidea, among the theropod dinosaurs.

Close relatives

Lophostropheus

Lophostropheus airelensis

Late Triassic · Early Jurassic (Rhaetian · Hettangian) · roughly 205.7 to 199.5 million years ago

Panguraptor

Panguraptor lufengensis

Early Jurassic (Hettangian · Sinemurian) · roughly 201.4 to 192.9 million years ago

Pendraig

Pendraig milnerae

Late Triassic (Norian · Rhaetian) · roughly 227.3 to 201.4 million years ago