Megaraptor

Megaraptor namunhuaiquii · Megaraptor was a large predatory theropod dinosaur that lived in what is now Patagonia, Argentina, around 90–88 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous.

It lived about 90 to 88 million years ago.

Megaraptor
Photo: Miner97, CC BY-SA 4.0
Megaraptor
Photo: Alexander Thomas Lovegrove, CC BY-SA 4.0
Megaraptor
Photo: Tom Parker, CC BY-SA 4.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassReptilia
OrderSaurischia
FamilyMegaraptoridae
GenusMegaraptor
SpeciesMegaraptor namunhuaiquii

Where its fossils were found

Neuquén Province, Patagonia, Argentina.

Fun facts

  • Megaraptor's biggest hand claw was about 35 cm long, and in life a keratin sheath may have made it even longer.
  • Scientists first thought its huge claw belonged on the foot, but a later find showed it was actually on the hand.
  • Megaraptor may have used its big hand claws to grab prey and pull it toward its chest so its jaws could finish the job.
  • Its hands were unusually long, and the hand and fingers alone made up around 70 cm of its 93.8 cm forearm.

Play it

The Megaraptor was the creature in the Dinosaur daily on November 5, 2026. Can you identify tomorrow's from its photos? Every day brings a new creature to place from kingdom to genus, map and name.

Play today's creature or replay a past daily

Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).