Gigantoraptor
Name:
Gigantoraptor
(Giant thief).
Phonetic: Gee-gan-to-rap-tor.
Named By: Xu Xing, Tan Qingwei, Wang Jianmin,
Zhao Xijin, Tan Lin - 2007.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Saurischia, Theropod. Oviraptoridae.
Species: G. erlianensis (type).
Type: Unknown.
Size: 8 meters long.
Known locations: Mongolia - Iren Dabasu
Formation.
Time period: Campanian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Partial skeleton, of a
sub adult. Skull is unknown but the mandible has been recovered.
At
eight meters Gigantoraptor is the largest
oviraptorid
dinosaur
currently known, and is many times larger than other members of the
group. Problems that exist at the time of writing are the remains
that while incomplete show two characteristics belonging to different
lifestyles. What can be ascertained is that Gigantoraptor
had a long
neck, a trait found in many herbivores. On the flip side however,
Gigantoraptor had large sharp claws like you may
expect with a
carnivore. The different body features make it difficult to establish
how Gigantoraptor actually lived and what it ate,
although it had
a similar morphology of long neck and sharp claws are also known in
other dinosaurs such as therizinosaurs
like Therizinosaurus
and ornithomimids
like Deinocheirus.
Another
feature that can be interpreted either way is the long hind legs,
particularly the long lower portions of the legs. These kinds of
legs are found across the known theropods in both dinosaurs that chased
after others, and dinosaurs that relied upon running faster than
their predators. It is hard to say which is truer for Gigantoraptor,
but as a herbivore it may have had to cover large distances in a
semi-arid environment in order to find enough food to keep its large
body going. As a predator it would have had an easy time chasing
after prey. Either way they may have to keep out of the way of large
predators such as tyrannosaurs
like Tarbosaurus.
One
aspect of Gigantoraptor which requires pause for
thought is if it had
feathers. As an oviraptorid it would actually be unusual if
Gigantoraptor didn't have feathers, but feathers,
like hair, are
usually only present for the purpose of insulation, and as animals
get bigger, they tend to need less insulation because of
gigantothermy. This has brought speculation that Gigantoraptor
may
have had severely reduced feathers, and may have actually lacked them
all together. If Gigantoraptor did have
feathers, they may have
served a purely display purpose, or if for the purpose of
insulation, to cope with harsh environmental conditions such as the
cold nights of arid landscapes.
Further reading
- A gigantic bird-like dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of China -
Nature 447 (7146): 844–847 - X. Xu, Q. Tan, J. Wang, X. Zhao, L. Tan -
2007.
- Functional anatomy of a giant toothless mandible from a bird-like
dinosaur: Gigantoraptor and the evolution of the oviraptorosaurian jaw.
- Scientific Reports. 7 (1): 16247. - W. Ma, J. Wang, M. Pittman, Q.
Tan, L. Tan, B. Guo & X. Xu - 2017.
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