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Gigantoraptor
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Gigantoraptor

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Gigantoraptor () is a genus of large oviraptorosaurian dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period. It is known from the Iren Dabasu Formation of Inner Mongolia, where the first remains were found in 2005.

~18 min read

Encyclopedic overview

14 sections
Contents
  • History of discovery
  • Description
  • Skull
  • Postcranial skeleton
  • Classification
  • Paleobiology
  • Feathers
  • Ontogeny and development
  • Feeding
  • Reproduction
  • Paleoenvironment
  • See also
  • References
  • External links

Gigantoraptor () is a genus of large oviraptorosaurian dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period. It is known from the Iren Dabasu Formation of Inner Mongolia, where the first remains were found in 2005.

Gigantoraptor was the largest-known oviraptorosaur, reaching in length and in body mass. It had an extensively pneumatized vertebral column and elongated arms and legs. Both femur and tibia measured over in length, an unusual trait among giant theropods. The lower jaws were toothless and ended in a keratinous beak, as seen in other oviraptorosaurs. Though several oviraptorosaur species are known to have developed a full coat of feathers, Gigantoraptor, due to its size, could have lost some of this integument.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Gigantoraptor” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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