Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Fukuiraptor Wednesday

Fukuiraptor is a dinosaur that really does not deserve the‭ '‬raptor‭' ‬part of its name.‭ ‬This is because when it was discovered,‭ ‬one of the large hand claws was interpreted as being a‭ '‬killing claw‭' ‬on the second toe,‭ ‬similar to other dromaeosaurids that have the epithet raptor.‭ ‬Later analysis resulted in a reconstruction that had the claw in its correct place,‭ ‬at the end of the fingers.‭ ‬Now Fukuiraptor is known to have been a carnosaur like Allosaurus.
       Sizing Fukuiraptor has actually been quite difficult.‭ ‬Initially it was thought that the Fukuiraptor holotype was a juvenile,‭ ‬but other remains from other Fukuiraptor individuals indicate the juveniles were actually smaller.‭ ‬Either the Fukuiraptor holotype was actually an adult,‭ ‬in which case it would actually be quite small for a carnosaur,‭ ‬or Fukuiraptor had a growth curve similar to tyrannosaurids where they spent several years very small,‭ ‬until growing large over a small number of years.‭ ‬Only further remains will allow us to know for sure.

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