footprints of overgrown raptor discovered in China

Movies often portray the velociraptor as a relatively small dinosaur. Scientists are now overturning that image: they have found remains of a species in China that was five meters long.

Maybe you are, after watching Jurassic Park, became convinced of the idea that the velociraptor used to be a relatively small dinosaur. Scientists have now proven that this picture is certainly not always correct. In Fujian province, in southeastern China, scientists have found footprints measuring 36 centimeters long. Based on previously determined proportions, this would mean that the dinosaur would have been about five meters long – and had an average leg length of 1.8 meters. Due to its enormous proportions, the dinosaur probably belongs to the Troodontidsand has been given its own name; Fujianipus yingliangi – a name after the area in which it was found. The track type found has also been given its own name: Fujanipu. The location of the footprints is named Longxiang track site got.

Jurassic Park
Scientist Anthony Romilio contributed to the research. He says: “When people think of raptor-like dinosaurs, they often have the image of Jurassic Parkmovies in their heads; small, aggressive hunters that are the size of a human. However, the traces we found point to a group that was much smarter and within the family of the Velociraptor located, namely the Troodontids. The raptor was about five meters long and had a leg length of 1.8 meters. Just imagine what it must have looked like if something like that was heading towards you at full speed!” The research has been published in the journal iScience.

Tracking
For the research, the scientists traveled to the Fujian province in southern China, to the city of Longyan. They were specifically looking for footprints of new dinosaur species. The research shows that they eventually found this. The footprints found clearly show that the new species had two ‘toes’. This made it possible to compare the dinosaur species with other species that also had two ‘toes’. Romilio adds: “We compared the footprints found with two-toed dinosaur tracks from Asia, North and South America and Europe. This showed that the footprints are very distinctive in their shape, making them quite unique.” After discovering the footprints, the scientists first took photos of them with an iPhone XS Max. These photos were ultimately used to design a number of 3D models, which could be studied more closely afterwards.

Huge
The results of the study are significant because they seem to shed new light on a trend that scientists have been investigating for some time. Romilio concludes: “In Alaska, bones have been found near the old Arctic Circle. These bones show a trend towards gigantism (among dinosaurs, ed.), probably because fewer dinosaur species lived in that area. Our results seem to suggest that these giant raptors eventually moved much further south than we previously thought, and that they also lived much more widely apart. In essence, this shows how incredibly diverse there was among raptors in terms of size. This shows their ecological diversity and their adaptability.”