Fossil of giant feathered 'Dakotaraptor' found in South Dakota

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3. New update.....Dakotaraptor ruled Hell Creek Formation as lethal predator

In this Oct. 29, 2015 photo provided by Robert DePalma, DePalma, curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Palm Beach Museum of Natural History, examines the fierce foot claw of a newly discovered species of raptor called Dakotaraptor in West Palm Beach, Fla. The fossils were unearthed from the Hell Creek Formation in northwestern South Dakota. (Kylie Ruble/Robert DePalma via AP)

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-11-dakotaraptor-hell-creek-formation-lethal.html#jCp

Tyrannosaurus rex may have been known as the big guy around the Hell Creek Formation 66 million years ago, but a newly discovered species of raptor would have roamed the region as one of its most lethal predators.

Dakotaraptor stood 6 feet tall at the hips yet moved like a springy, agile sprinter, reaching 30 to 40 mph rivaling today's ostrich. But potential prey caught admiring the 17-foot-long creature's grace stood little chance, as the strong-muscled winged Dromaeosaur boasted a vicious 9½-inch-long killing claw that could make mincemeat out of any herbivore caught in its path, said Robert DePalma, curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Palm Beach Museum of Natural History.

"It had one of the strongest killing strokes in that slashing claw of any raptor known," DePalma said.

DePalma and his research team including University of Kansas paleontologists announced the new species in a study published Oct. 30 by the University of Kansas Paleontological Institute. Dakotaraptor helps fill a gap in body size distribution between the small bird-like Maniraptora creatures and the giant T. rex found in Hell Creek, which spans parts of northwestern South Dakota, southwestern North Dakota, eastern Montana and eastern Wyoming.

The newly discovered species roamed the earth alongside T. rex, the three-horned Triceratops and the duck-billed Edmontosaurus.

"Dakotaraptor coexisted with all of our favorites from our childhoods," DePalma said. "We had no idea that such a cool and lethal creature existed right alongside them. And it was in the ground the whole time. It's amazing."