| Neuquenraptor | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Diagram featuring the known elements and size of theholotype specimen | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Family: | †Dromaeosauridae |
| Subfamily: | †Unenlagiinae |
| Genus: | †Neuquenraptor Novas & Pol, 2005 |
| Species: | †N. argentinus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Neuquenraptor argentinus Novas & Pol, 2005 | |
Neuquenraptor (meaning Neuquén thief) is a genus ofdromaeosauridtheropoddinosaurs that lived in South America during theLate Cretaceous in what is now thePortezuelo Formation ofArgentina. It is one of the first dromaeosaurids found in theSouthern Hemisphere.
In January 1996 the remains ofNeuquenraptor were found nearPlaza Huincul in theSierra del Portezuelo and reported that very year.[1] In 1997 it was revealed the intended name was "Araucanoraptor argentinus". In 1999 it was provisionally described as a member of theTroodontidae.[2] However, it was named as thetype speciesNeuquenraptor argentinus in 2005 byFernando Novas of theBernardino Rivadavia Natural Sciences Museum andDiego Pol ofOhio State University and described as a dromaeosaurid. The generic name combinesNeuquén, referring to theNeuquén Province andbasin of northernPatagonia,Argentina, withLatinraptor meaning "thief". Thespecific name refers to Argentina.[3]
The known remains,holotypeMCF-PVPH 77, were uncovered in layers of thePortezuelo Formation dating to theConiacian. It consists of only a left foot, some cervical vertebrae fragments, ribs, tail chevrons and aradius.[3]
Neuquenraptor is estimated to have measured 1.8–3.5 m (5.9–11.5 ft) long and have weighed 75 kg (165 lb).[4][5] It was larger than its close relativeBuitreraptor, a genus it shared some osteological and physical similarities with.[6]
Neuquenraptor might be a junior subjectivesynonym ofUnenlagia;[7] that is, the two might represent the same genus or even species, in which case the nameUnenlagia would have to be used instead ofNeuquenraptor because the former name was published earlier, in 1997, and thus has priority.[8]Neuquenraptor was assigned by Novas and Pol to theDromaeosauridae in apolytomy with several dromaeosaurid taxa.[3] Later phylogenetic analyses have not treated it as a valid genus, combining its data with that ofUnenlagia into a single unit.[9][10]
Neuquenraptor enjoys a special importance because of its provenance fromSouth America. Until the discovery ofNeuquenraptor, all dromaeosaurids had been found inNorth America,Europe or NorthernChina /Mongolia, and scientists believed that dromaeosaurids only inhabitedLaurasia, i.e. theNorthern Hemisphere. South America however, during theMesozoic became part ofGondwana. The find ofNeuquenraptor provides some possible indication of the degree of isolation between the Northern and Southern hemispheres.[3]
The supercontinentPangaea started to break up in the EarlyJurassic, leading to the separation around 160 Ma of Laurasia in the north and Gondwana in the south. Gondwana itself was soon fragmented into West Gondwana (i.e., Africa and South America) and East Gondwana (i.e., Antarctica and Australia plus India and Madagascar). West Gondwana broke apart during theCretaceous, asAfrica andSouth America separated between 132 and 90 Ma. Between approximately 80 and 60 Ma, i.e. in the Late Cretaceous and earlyPaleocene, North America and South America were perhaps connected, at least episodically, by a land bridge, due to the eastward motion of the Caribbean plate between the two continental masses.[3]
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