Murusraptor
From Latin 'murus' (wall) and 'raptor' (thief); meaning 'wall thief', referring to its discovery in a canyon wall.
Late Cretaceous stages
Murusraptor is a genus of carnivorous megaraptoran theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous (Coniacian age) Sierra Barrosa Formation, part of the Neuquén Group of Patagonia, in Argentina, South America. It is known from a single specimen that consists of a partial skull, ribs, partial pelvis, leg and other assorted skeletal elements.
Diagnosis
- Anterodorsal process of lacrimal longer than height of preorbital process
- Thick, shelf-like thickening on lateral surface of surangular ventral to groove between anterior surangular foramen and insert for uppermost intramandibular process
- Sacral ribs hollow and tube-like
- Short ischia distally flattened and slightly expanded dorsoventrally
- Large mandibular fenestra
- Distal ends of caudal neural spines laterally thickened into lateral knob-like processes
Species
Murusraptor barrosaensis Coria & Currie, 2016
Type species
Named for the Sierra Barrosa Formation of Patagonia, Argentina, from which the holotype was recovered.
- Holotype
- MCF-PVPH 411 , Museo ‘Carmen Funes’, Plaza Huincul
- Material
- Partial skeleton with skull of an immature individual.
- Horizon
- Sierra Barrosa Formation, Coniacian, Late Cretaceous , 89.8–85.7 million years ago
- Locality
- Sierra Barrosa, Neuquén, Argentina
References
- Coria, R. A.; Currie, P. J. (2016). A New Megaraptoran Dinosaur (Dinosauria, Theropoda, Megaraptoridae) from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia. PLOS ONE 11(7): e0157973. Public Library of Science (PLoS). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0157973 coria2016a
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Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Theropods. Princeton University Press.
Source of the mass and hip height estimates.
jones2026c