Article: 'Raptor' dinosaurs roamed far and wide

From: Robert Karl Stonjek (rstonjek_at_bigpond.net.au)
Date: 02/25/05 

Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2005 23:10:06 -0500 (EST)

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'Raptor' dinosaurs roamed far and wide

18:35 23 February 2005=20
Jeff Hecht=20
Swift and deadly "raptor" dinosaurs - similar to the terrifying =
velociraptors featured in the movie Jurassic Park - were more widespread =
than previously thought, a new fossil find in Argentina has revealed.=20

The discovery shows they spread across the southern continents during =
the Cretaceous period - when they were thought to have been largely =
limited to Asia and North America.

Larger predatory dinosaurs of the southern continents differed from =
those of the north, so many palaeontologists thought that the smaller =
predators would also differ - although few had actually been found in =
the south. The new discovery shows that assumption to be wrong, says =
Fernando Novas of the Argentine Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones =
Cient=EDficas y T=E9cnicas in Buenos Aires.

Novas says the two-metre-long predator - which lived about 80 million =
years ago - boasted a deadly hooked claw on each foot which it used to =
disembowel its larger prey.

The claw is distinctive of dromeosaurs, the group which includes =
Velociraptor. But the movie star dinosaur was a more evolved species =
than the Argentine find, which has been named Neuquenraptor argentinus - =
which means robber of the Neuquen province of northeast Patagonia.

Full Text at NewScientist
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=3Ddn7055

Posted by
Robert Karl Stonjek

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<P>'Raptor' dinosaurs roamed far and wide</P>
<DIV class=3Dartblock>18:35 23 February 2005 </DIV>
<DIV>Jeff Hecht </DIV>
<P>Swift and deadly "raptor" dinosaurs - similar to the terrifying =
velociraptors=20
featured in the movie <I>Jurassic Park</I> - were more widespread than=20
previously thought, a new fossil find in Argentina has revealed. </P>
<P>The discovery shows they spread across the southern continents during =
the=20
Cretaceous period - when they were thought to have been largely limited =
to Asia=20
and North America.</P>
<P>Larger predatory dinosaurs of the southern continents differed from =
those of=20
the north, so many palaeontologists thought that the smaller predators =
would=20
also differ - although few had actually been found in the south. The new =

discovery shows that assumption to be wrong, says Fernando Novas of the=20
Argentine Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cient=EDficas y T=E9cnicas =
in Buenos=20
Aires.</P>
<P>Novas says the two-metre-long predator - which lived about 80 million =
years=20
ago - boasted a deadly hooked claw on each foot which it used to =
disembowel its=20
larger prey.</P>
<P>The claw is distinctive of dromeosaurs, the group which includes=20
Velociraptor. But the movie star dinosaur was a more evolved species =
than the=20
Argentine find, which has been named <I>Neuquenraptor argentinus</I> - =
which=20
means robber of the Neuquen province of northeast Patagonia.</P>
<P>Full Text at NewScientist<BR><A=20
href=3D"http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=3Ddn7055">http://www.ne=
wscientist.com/article.ns?id=3Ddn7055</A></P>
<P>Posted by<BR>Robert Karl Stonjek</P></DIV></BODY></HTML>

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