Pyroraptor

What it was like

Pyroraptor was a small, feathered dromaeosaurid, part of the same group of dinosaurs as Velociraptor and Deinonychus. It measured only about 1.3 meters (4.2 feet) long, and like its relatives it likely carried an enlarged, curved claw on each foot for gripping prey.

It probably hunted small animals, using speed and sharp claws rather than size to catch its meals.

Its world

Pyroraptor lived from about 84 to 72 million years ago, in the Late Cretaceous, in what is now France. At the time, this part of Europe was broken up into islands surrounded by shallow seas, so Pyroraptor likely shared its home with a smaller mix of dinosaurs than animals living on larger landmasses.

How it was found

Only a single partial skeleton of Pyroraptor is known, discovered after a wildfire had burned away vegetation covering the rock. Allain and Taquet named it in 2000, choosing a name that nods to how it was found. Because so little of the skeleton survives, much about the size and appearance of Pyroraptor is still estimated by comparing it to better-known relatives such as Utahraptor, Microraptor, and Dromaeosaurus.