Dinosaur profile: Megaraptor – the Killer Claw
By Stephen Day
Argentina has been the home of some spectacular fossil discoveries in recent years. Some of the largest titans of our planet have been found in this country, including the colossal Giganotosaurus and Argentinosaurus. The thought of a 5.2 ton Giganotosaurus must have been terrifying sight for any prey, but imagine the thought of a predatory dinosaur with a 14-inch claw making its way towards you.
To understand more about this predator, we need to travel to modern day Patagonia and to the hills north-west of here.
| PROFILE INFORMATION |
|---|
| Name Megaraptor namunhuaiquii (Lance footed giant thief) |
| Classification Carnosaur |
| Period Late Cretaceous |
| Age 90/84mya |
| Location Near Patagonia, Argentina |
Often referred to as “the lake district”, the remote hills of north-west Patagonia are like those out of a fairytale. Snow capped hills, ancient forests and sapphire blue lakes are just some of the features that make this place picture-perfect. Isolated fisherman and bird life dwell here in a great sense of innocence. There is no denying that today, this is a place of utmost tranquillity and beauty wielded together. However not everything here is as innocent as it appears …
In 1997, an Argentine scientist by the same of Dr. Fernando Novas, was digging around the hills of north-west Patagonia when he made a spectacular, yet unsettling discovery. Dr. Novas dug up a huge 13-inch dinosaur bone claw. Palaeontologists also speculate that when it was attached to the dinosaur it could have reached a length of 15 inches or more! Along with this huge claw Dr. Novas, also found some smaller bones from the creatures arm, hand and foot. Dr. Novas initially believed this to be the toe claw of a huge raptor like dinosaur.
In 1998, Dr Novas decided to call his new dinosaur “Megaraptor namunhuaiquii” which translates as “lance-footed giant thief”. Dr Novas and other Argentine scientists studied the claw in greater depth and they all initially believed that this claw belonged to the largest dromaeosaur ever found. However, further research was carried out by Novas and his team and it then became apparent that, due to the shape of the foot bones and splitting of the North and South America continents, it could not be the claw of a dromaeosaur. Dr. Novas then concluded his findings and decided it was not related to the dromaeosaurs of North America and that in fact, it was something entirely different.
Dr Novas and the 13-inch claw
Due to Dr Novas only finding a few bones and a large claw, there were still many questions left unanswered. The answers to some of these questions did not arrive until nearly six years after the initail discovery. As a result of recent finds, including an entire front limb, it has now become apparent that the 13-inch claw was not that of a dromeosaur or that of a toe claw, in fact the 13-inch claw was joined to the Megaraptor’s first digit on its hand.
It, therefore, remains to be seen what other surprises this extraordinary dinosaur may have for us in the future!