Rativates
From Latin 'ratis' meaning 'raft' (in reference to the bird group Ratites) and 'vates' meaning 'seer'; the ornithomimids seemingly foretold the future existence of the ratites they resembled.
Late Cretaceous stages
Rativates is a genus of ornithomimid theropod dinosaur from the Campanian-aged (Late Cretaceous) Dinosaur Park Formation of Alberta, Canada. The type species is Rativates evadens.
Diagnosis
- Maxilla with contact for jugal short and blunt rather than long and tapered
- Mid-caudal neural spines mound-like and anteroposteriorly reduced at tail transition
- Posterior contact of ischial shafts convex and completely fused
- Distal end of third metatarsal without concavity on flexor surface, with straight flexor edge in distal view
- Relatively enlarged medial condyle of tibia
Species
Rativates evadens McFeeters et al., 2016
Type species
From Latin 'evadens' meaning 'evading', referring both to the animal's fleet-footed ability to escape predators and to the specimen's eighty-year evasion of recognition as a distinct species.
- Holotype
- ROM 1790 , Royal Ontario Museum
- Material
- Incomplete skull and postcranial skeleton.
- Horizon
- lower Dinosaur Park Formation, Campanian, Late Cretaceous , 83.6–72.2 million years ago
- Locality
- Quarry Q028, Alberta, Canada
References
- McFeeters, B.; Ryan, M. J.; Schröder-Adams, C.; Cullen, T. M. (2016). A new ornithomimid theropod from the Dinosaur Park Formation of Alberta, Canada. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 36(6): e1221415. Informa UK Limited. doi:10.1080/02724634.2016.1221415 mcfeeters2016a
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Paul, G. S. (2024). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs (3rd ed.). Princeton University Press.
Source of the body length and mass estimates.
paul2024a -
Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Theropods. Princeton University Press.
Source of the hip height estimate, and the appearance features.
jones2026c