Fukuiraptor

What it was like

Fukuiraptor was a mid-sized carnivorous theropod, growing to around 4.2 meters (14 feet) long. It had strong hind legs built for pursuit and hands tipped with sharp claws suited to gripping prey, typical of its group of carnivorous theropods.

Early studies puzzled over an unusually large claw found near its skeleton, at first mistaking it for a hand claw and picturing Fukuiraptor as an outsized predator. Later work showed the claw actually belonged to a foot, and today Fukuiraptor is understood as a more modestly sized hunter for its time.

Its world

Fukuiraptor lived from about 121 to 113 million years ago, in the Early Cretaceous, in what is now Japan. Its bones come from the Kitadani Formation, a site that has produced several other dinosaurs bearing its own name, including Fukuisaurus, Fukuivenator, and Fukuititan.

As the largest known predator from this formation, Fukuiraptor was likely the top hunter in its ecosystem, preying on smaller plant eaters such as Koshisaurus and the ornithomimosaur Tyrannomimus.

How it was found

Azuma and Currie named Fukuiraptor in 2000, based on a partial skeleton found in the Kitadani Formation. It belongs to the family Neovenatoridae, closely related to Neovenator and Chilantaisaurus, though exactly how it fits among the mid-sized carnivorous theropods of its time is still debated.