Open Paleo

Luanchuanraptor

Lü et al., 2007 lwahn-CHWAHN-RAP-tor

Named after Luanchuan, Henan Province, China combined with Latin raptor (thief/seizer); meaning "Luanchuan thief"

72.2–66.0 million years ago Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous stages

Luanchuanraptor is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous of China. The genus is based on a partial skeleton from the Qiupa Formation in Luanchuan, Henan. They were medium-sized dromaeosaurids, the first Asian dromaeosaurid taxa described from outside the Gobi Desert or northeastern China.

Under dispute

Luanchuanraptor is an Asian dromaeosaurid known from an associated but partial skeleton and is rarely included in phylogenetic analyses. The analyses that do include it recover it as a velociraptorine (Hartman and colleagues, 2019; Pei and colleagues, 2020), the placement followed, but its position is weakly constrained.

Diagnosis

  1. Distalmost caudal vertebrae with elongated prezygapophyses spanning only one preceding vertebra and a low, blade-like neural spine between them
  2. A distinct groove in the position of the neural spine on some distal caudal vertebrae
  3. Anterior haemal arches bridged, enclosing the haemal canal
  4. Posterior haemal arches with short, trifurcated proximal and posterior extensions bearing a short middle process
  5. Large, deep concavity on the medial surface of the coracoid
  6. Deltopectoral crest extending over nearly the proximal half of the humerus

Species

Luanchuanraptor henanensis Lü et al., 2007

Type species

Named for Henan Province in central China, where the holotype was discovered.

Holotype
HGM 41HIII-0100 , Henan Geological Museum
Material
A partial skeleton including four teeth, a left frontal, cervical, dorsal, and caudal vertebrae, haemal arches, the left scapulocoracoid, right humerus, right ilium, left pubis, and manual elements.
Horizon
Qiupa Formation, Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous , 72.2–66.0 million years ago
Locality
Henan, China

References

  1. Lü, J. C.; Xu, L.; Zhang, X. L.; Ji, Q.; Jia, S. H.; Hu, W. Y.; Zhang, J. M.; Wu, Y. H. (2007). New dromaeosaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Qiupa Formation of Luanchuan area, western Henan, China. Geological Bulletin of China 26(7): 777-786. lü2007c
  2. Hartman, S.; Mortimer, M.; Wahl, W. R.; Lomax, D. R.; Lippincott, J.; Lovelace, D. M. (2019). A new paravian dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of North America supports a late acquisition of avian flight. PeerJ 7: e7247. PeerJ. doi:10.7717/peerj.7247

    Recovered Luanchuanraptor as a velociraptorine dromaeosaurid.

    hartman2019a
  3. Pei, R.; Pittman, M.; Goloboff, P. A.; Dececchi, T. A.; Habib, M. B.; Kaye, T. G.; Larsson, H. C. E.; Norell, M. A.; Brusatte, S. L.; Xu, X. (2020). Potential for Powered Flight Neared by Most Close Avialan Relatives, but Few Crossed Its Thresholds. Current Biology 30(20): 4033-4046.e8. Elsevier BV. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2020.06.105

    Paravian phylogeny recovering Luanchuanraptor as a velociraptorine.

    pei2020a