Scientists in Patagonia just revealed their research on the Joaquinraptor Casali, a newly discovered megaraptor with Freddy Kruger-style knife hands that apparently died with chunks of crocodile in its mouth.
This thing was not the size of the velociraptors you’re imagining from Jurassic Park. It was 23 feet long. And it was an apex predator with oversized, knife-like hands that had no natural rivals because, at the time, South America didn’t have tyrannosaurs roaming around.
Joaquinraptor sat comfortably atop its food chain, and evidently treated the crocodiles’ ancient ancestor, crocodyliforms, like a snack. Paleontologists found part of a croc’s leg jammed between the lower jaws of the fossilized Joaquinraptor.
The bone had bite marks indicating that it was in contact with the predator’s teeth, suggesting that Joaquinraptor was either mid-bite or maybe even in the middle of a messy brawl between ancient beasts when the extinction asteroid slammed into Earth.
“Interestingly, we recovered a humerus, between the lower jaw bones of Joaquinraptor, suggesting – though not proving – that the new megaraptor may have been eating the crocodyliform when it died,” Lucio Ibiricu, a paleontologist at the Patagonian Institute of Geology and Paleontology (IPGP), told ScienceAlert.
Newly Discovered Megaraptor Died With An Ancient Crocodile In Its Mouth
This particular fossil is a big deal. It’s one of the most complete megaraptor specimens ever dug up, offering juicy clues about a weird group of predators that remain understudied thanks to bad fossil luck.
Scientists believe this Joaquinraptor was about 19 years old and not even fully grown. Megaraptors like Joaquinraptor are evolutionary outliers.
Unlike tyrannosaurs, these guys leaned into speed and relied on their deadly claws—especially on their first and second fingers. That raptor claw Alan Grant uses to terrify the kid at the beginning of Jurassic Park? Think that, but bigger, like a Chinese meat cleaver.
Their reign lasted until about 68 million years ago, right before an asteroid abruptly ended the Cretaceous period.
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