Norellraptor

Norellraptor barsboldi

Norellraptor had a diet that is still unclear and walked on two legs. It lived in the Early Cretaceous. Bones have been found in China.

Quiz me on Norellraptor

When: Early Cretaceous (Aptian · Albian) · roughly 121.4 to 100.5 million years ago
Named in: 2026 · Wang, X.; Ji, Y.; Cau, A.; Kundrát, M.; Liu, Y.; Wang, Y.; Ji, Q.
Hip height: Not established
Length: 0.6 m · 2 ft
Weight: Not established
Found in: China · Jiufotang
Food and walking: Not recorded · Two legs
Kind: sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
Family branch: Microraptorinae

The story in short

In 2026, X. Wang and colleagues published the name Norellraptor. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.

Fossils referred to Norellraptor date to the Early Cretaceous (Aptian · Albian), roughly 121.4 to 100.5 million years ago. Finds come from China, including the Jiufotang Formation. It walked on two legs. Its diet is too uncertain to state.

Published estimates put Norellraptor at a length near 0.6 m.

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

Close relatives

Changyuraptor

Changyuraptor yangi

Early Cretaceous (Barremian) · roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago

Graciliraptor

Graciliraptor lujiatunensis

Early Cretaceous (Barremian) · roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago

Hesperonychus

Hesperonychus elizabethae

Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago