A team of researchers from the Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences has announced the discovery of fossil remains belonging to a dinosaur from the Megaraptoran family, a group of large predatory dinosaurs that roamed the Earth about 70 million years ago, during the late Cretaceous period shortly before the mass extinction of dinosaurs.
According to Federico Agnolín of the museum, the fossilised skeleton was unearthed in the Lago Colhué Huapi rock formation in Patagonia, southern Argentina.
He described it as one of the most complete skeletons of the Megaraptoran lineage ever found.
The newly identified species has been named Joaquinraptor casallii, in honour of the son of Lucio Ibiricu, a member of the research team from the Patagonian Institute of Geology and Palaeontology. Scientists estimate that the dinosaur was about 19 years old at the time of its death and measured roughly seven metres in length, though the exact cause of death remains unknown.
The discovery includes parts of the skull, limb and tail bones, and notably a leg bone found in its mouth, believed to belong to an ancient crocodile relative.
Researchers say this provides rare insight into the predator’s diet and hunting behaviour.
Megaraptorans are characterised by their elongated skulls and massive claws, and they once inhabited regions across South America, Australia, and parts of Asia before vanishing with the end-Cretaceous extinction event.
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