Megaraptora

Rinconraptor is a medium-sized megaraptoran theropod dinosaur, growing to approximately 7 m in total body length. It was a bipedal carnivore with proportionately long arms, each ending in three long claws. An enigmatic group, Rinconraptor's discovery helped to reinforce the idea that megaraptorans were closely related to tyrannosaurs.

Invictibellatrix is a megaraptoran theropod that lived during the Early Cretaceous period in what is now England. It is the first megaraptoran discovered in Europe, shedding light on how this group diversified and dispersed throughout the Cretaceous. Invictibellatrix is the smallest known megaraptoran, at an estimated 3-4 m in total body length.

Speculative life restoration of Invictibellatrix amberina, the first megaraptoran dinosaur described from Europe, based off of T.K. Robinson’s composite megaraptoran skeletal: https://incinerox.artstation.com/projects/J9aV0d

Phylogenetic relationships, chronostratigraphic, and paleoecological implications of M. intrepidus. a Graphic illustrating temporal range of North American tyrannosauroids including species-level range prior to the discovery of M. intrepidus, extension of current range, and hypothesized range based on isolated teeth12. The current gap in the North American tyrannosauroid record spans from the Tithonian to the Aptian. Faunal composition of Late Cretaceous ecosystems was established between the Albian and Turonian, as recognized by the stratigraphic appearance of major clades (see refs. 7,12 and references therein). b generalized phylogenetic relationships of Tyrannosauroidea, showing the appearance of select traits related to cursoriality in tyrannosaurs that are newly optimized as a result of the discovery of M. intrepidus. Tree topology follows this study using the modified dataset of Carr and colleagues27. Coelurus and Tanycolagreus are grafted as basal tyrannosauroids following Brusatte and colleagues5. c Stratigraphic distribution of Allosauria in North America (incl. Megaraptora but see ref. 70 for alternative hypotheses regarding this clade) documents overlap with M. intrepidus in early Late Cretaceous ecosystems leading to (d) refined calibration on the origin of late diverging tyrannosauroids and clade-level faunal turnover within apex predator roles throughout the Late Jurassic–Late Cretaceous of North America. Colored polygons are stylized call-outs and are not intended to reflect two-dimensional data. Temporal data corresponding to this figure are available in Supplementary Table 5

Speculative reconstruction of Aoniraptor'’ from the Late Cretaceous of Argentina, here restored as a megaraptoran as recovered by most studies

Reconstructed skeleton of a megaraptoran highlighting the known bones of Joaquinraptor casali in blue. Reconstruction by TK Robinson and Andrew McAfee. Scale bar=1 m.

Phylogenetic relationships, chronostratigraphic, and paleoecological implications of M. intrepidus. a Graphic illustrating temporal range of North American tyrannosauroids including species-level range prior to the discovery of M. intrepidus, extension of current range, and hypothesized range based on isolated teeth12. The current gap in the North American tyrannosauroid record spans from the Tithonian to the Aptian. Faunal composition of Late Cretaceous ecosystems was established between the Albian and Turonian, as recognized by the stratigraphic appearance of major clades (see refs. 7,12 and references therein). b generalized phylogenetic relationships of Tyrannosauroidea, showing the appearance of select traits related to cursoriality in tyrannosaurs that are newly optimized as a result of the discovery of M. intrepidus. Tree topology follows this study using the modified dataset of Carr and colleagues27. Coelurus and Tanycolagreus are grafted as basal tyrannosauroids following Brusatte and colleagues5. c Stratigraphic distribution of Allosauria in North America (incl. Megaraptora but see ref. 70 for alternative hypotheses regarding this clade) documents overlap with M. intrepidus in early Late Cretaceous ecosystems leading to (d) refined calibration on the origin of late diverging tyrannosauroids and clade-level faunal turnover within apex predator roles throughout the Late Jurassic–Late Cretaceous of North America. Colored polygons are stylized call-outs and are not intended to reflect two-dimensional data. Temporal data corresponding to this figure are available in Supplementary Table 5

A) Skull reconstruction of Murusraptor barrosaensis, MCF-PVPH-411. B) Body reconstruction of Murusraptor barrosaensis, MCF-PVPH-411. Both illustrations show recovered elements in white. Scale bars: A = 10 cm, B = 1 m.

A) Skull reconstruction of Murusraptor barrosaensis, MCF-PVPH-411. B) Body reconstruction of Murusraptor barrosaensis, MCF-PVPH-411. Both illustrations show recovered elements in white. Scale bars: A = 10 cm, B = 1 m.

A) Skull reconstruction of Murusraptor barrosaensis, MCF-PVPH-411. B) Body reconstruction of Murusraptor barrosaensis, MCF-PVPH-411. Both illustrations show recovered elements in white. Scale bars: A = 10 cm, B = 1 m.