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''Aoniraptor'' is a
megaraptora Megaraptora is a clade of carnivorous tetanuran theropod dinosaurs with controversial relations to other theropods. Its derived members, the Megaraptoridae are noted for their elongated hand claws and proportionally large arms, which are usually ...
n
theropod Theropoda (; ), whose members are known as theropods, is a dinosaur clade that is characterized by hollow bones and three toes and claws on each limb. Theropods are generally classed as a group of saurischian dinosaurs. They were ancestrally ...
from the
Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', ...
of
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...
(
Huincul Formation The Huincul Formation is a geologic formation of Late Cretaceous ( Early Cenomanian to Late Turonian) age of the Neuquén Basin that outcrops in the Mendoza, Río Negro and Neuquén Provinces of northern Patagonia, Argentina.
).


Discovery and naming

The holotype, MPCA-Pv 804/1 to 804/25, which consists of the last sacral vertebra, six proximal caudal vertebrae, four mid-caudal vertebrae, and five haemal arches, was recovered by Matias Motta from the Violante Farm, part of the
Huincul Formation The Huincul Formation is a geologic formation of Late Cretaceous ( Early Cenomanian to Late Turonian) age of the Neuquén Basin that outcrops in the Mendoza, Río Negro and Neuquén Provinces of northern Patagonia, Argentina.
. It was discovered in 2010, but only formally described in 2016. ''Aoniraptor'' has been considered as synonymous with the theropod ''
Gualicho ''Gualicho'' (named in reference to the gualichu) is a genus of theropod dinosaur. The type species is ''Gualicho shinyae''. It lived in what is now northern Patagonia, on what was then a South American island continent split off from the superc ...
'', described from the same formation, due to the similarities of their caudal vertebrae. If found to be true, the name ''
Gualicho ''Gualicho'' (named in reference to the gualichu) is a genus of theropod dinosaur. The type species is ''Gualicho shinyae''. It lived in what is now northern Patagonia, on what was then a South American island continent split off from the superc ...
'' would have precedent. Aranciaga Rolando ''et al.'' in 2020 performed a comparative analysis between ''Aoniraptor'' and ''Gualicho,'' and found many differences between the two.


Description

''Aoniraptor'' grew up to long and likely weighed up to when fully grown.


Etymology

''Aoniraptor'' comes from the Tehuelche language word "Aoni", which means south, and the Latin word "raptor", meaning thief. The specific name, ''libertatem'', comes from the Latin word for freedom, as it was discovered on the bicentennial of Argentina's independence from Spain in 1810.


See also

*
2016 in paleontology Flora Plants Fungi Cnidarians Research * '' Yunnanoascus haikouensis'', previously thought to be a member of Ctenophora, is reinterpreted as a crown-group medusozoan by Han ''et al.'' (2016). * A study on the fossil corals from the Late T ...


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q24705122 Megaraptorans Cenomanian life Turonian life Late Cretaceous dinosaurs of South America Cretaceous Argentina Fossils of Argentina Huincul Formation Fossil taxa described in 2016