Gigantoraptor
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[Photo] Gigantoraptor erlianensis, a giant oviraptorosaur from the Late Cretaceous of China, based on skeletal reconstruction by Xu et al., 2007; pencil drawing. Date June 14, 2007. Author Arthur Weasley http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:ArthurWeasley

Fossil range: Late Cretaceous

Gigantoraptor is a genus of giant oviraptorosaurian dinosaur that lived 85 million years ago during the late Cretaceous Period. It was discovered in 2005 in the Iren Dabasu Formation, Erlian basin, in Inner Mongolia. Xu et al. found that it shared a common ancestor with and belonged to the same family as Oviraptor, but in comparison, Gigantoraptor was much larger, approximately 35 times larger than its likely close relative, Caudipteryx. At 8 metres (26 ft) long and weighing about 1.4 tonnes it is nearly 3 times as long and much heavier than the largest oviraptorosaur hitherto known, Citipati.

Its similarity to birds includes anatomical features such as a beak instead of toothed jaws. No direct evidence of feathers was preserved with the skeleton, but the authors inferred their presence based on the fact that Gigantoraptor was a member of the Oviraptorosauria, a group known to include many feathered species. Most unequivocal feathered dinosaurs found to date are small; however, evidence suggests that other large oviraptorids such as Citipati, as well as therizinosaurs such as Beipiaosaurus, almost certainly had feathers as well.

The diet of this animal is a mystery. Although some oviraptorosaurs such as Incisivosaurus are thought to have been mostly herbivorous, Gigantoraptor had hind legs with proportions that allowed for fast movement (it was probably more nimble than the ponderous Tyrannosaurus), and large claws, a combination that is not usually found in herbivores of this size.

The only known specimen is the incomplete and disassociated remains of a single individual that died at an estimated 11 years of age (determined from growth lines in one of the leg bones), and therefore possibly not full-grown. Its discovery was documented on film: Xu Xing reenacted the discovery of a sauropod for a Japanese documentary. As he wiped the bone clean, he realized it was not from a sauropod, but from an unidentifiable theropod in the size class of Albertosaurus. He then stopped the filming to secure the serendipitous find.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigantoraptor

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