
Gigantoraptor (meaning "giant seizer") is a genus of large oviraptorosaur dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period. It is known from the Iren Dabasu Formation of Inner Mongolia, where the first remains were found in 2005. Gigantoraptor reached massive sizes; it is estimated to have cover 8–8.9 m (26–29 ft) in length, and to have weighed about 2 to 2.7 t (2,000 to 2,700 kg). It had an extensively pneumatized vertebral column and elongated arms and legs. Both femur and tibia measured over 1 m (3.3 ft) in length, an unusual trait among giant theropods. The lower jaws were toothless and ended in a keratinous beak, as seen in other oviraptorosaurs. Though several oviraptorosaur species are known to have developed a full coat of feathers, Gigantoraptor, due to its size, could have lost some of this integument. The genus is classified as an oviraptorosaurian dinosaur, a group of generally small feathered animals. Though it was originally found to represent a basal oviraptorid, subsequent analyses have shown it to be a caenagnathid. It was a giant, ground-dwelling bipedal omnivore with a shearing bite as indicated by the preserved mandible. The shape of its beak indicates a generalist diet with a potentially occasional carnivory. The holotype—and only known specimen—has been determined to represent a young adult that died at the age of 11, and it reached a young adulthood around 7 years of life. Such development indicates an accelerated growth compared to other larger theropods. The discovery and examination of large oviraptorosaur eggs, Macroelongatoolithus, indicates that large species such as Gigantoraptor built their nests with the center lacking eggs in order to avoid crushing.

Gigantoraptor

Dinosaurs/Creatures
for Dinosaurs/Creatures in Primeval HBO series Remake
Suggested by damo01

Strange, unexplained "anomalies" have ripped multiple holes in the fabric of time and space, allowing dangerous (and dangerously hungry) creatures from the distant past to lumber onto the streets of modern Britain. A crack team of specialists were appointed by the government to investigate and control these "creature incursions," creating the Anomaly Research Center (ARC), which is now jointly owned by the government and by entrepreneurial scientist Philip Burton. The ruthless, manipulative Burton heads ARC's control center, often butting heads with government official James Lester, while zoologist Matt Anderson leads a capable crew in the field. They are under siege, however -- anomalies are becoming more numerous, unpredictable and dangerous than ever before, and the end of the world seems to be just around the corner.





