By Staff Reporter (media@latinospost.com) | First Posted: Nov 06, 2015 08:51 AM EST
Tags DAKOTARAPTOR, University of Kansas, RAPTOR FOSSIL FOUND, RAPTOR FOSSIL, MASSIVE RAPTOR, MASSIVE RAPTOR FOSSIL, CRETACEOUS PERIOD, PALM BEACH MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

A new massive raptor fossil was unearthed in Northwestern South Dakota on Monday.

According to the New York Times, the giant raptor bones were found in South Dakota's Hell Creek.

The massive raptor fossil has been named Dakotaraptor by researchers, of which constituted paleontologists from the University of Kansas.

Currently believed to be one of the largest raptors in the world, the Dakotaraptor was estimated to be a whopping 17 feet and is reported to be feathered while it had been alive, according to the Lawrence Journal World.

"The Dakotaraptor was one of the largest raptors in the world and we reconstructed the length at roughly 17 feet from tip of the nose to tip of the tail," Robert DePalma, a palaeontologist from the Palm Beach Museum of Natural History, was quoted saying.

The Dakotaraptor had wings, adds DePalma, making it the largest raptor so far to be unearthed with long feathers on its wings. However, the massive raptor had been too huge to fly. It's unknown what purpose its feathers serve.

"The row of bumps, those reinforced attachment points along the ulna, those are where each one of those feathers would, essentially, plug into the bone," DePalma explained further.

According to KDLT News, because of its unusual wings, the massive raptor led palaeontologists to theorize the following possibilities:

  •  The Dakotaraptor merely evolved from a flying raptor.
  •  The Dakotaraptor is part of a family of raptors that would eventually evolve to fly.

The Dakotaraptor's immense size would reportedly make the velociraptor look like a lizard when the two are put side by side.

A University of Kansas news release stated that the massive raptor fossil found had been from the Cretaceous period 66 million years ago, adding that it's highly likely that it had been lite and agile like Velociraptors.

The bulk of the height of the massive raptor fossil found is from its legs.

"The legs that it had, really long, really thin legs, this thing could easily jump twice or three times its body height very simply. At the blink of an eye," said DePalma.

Led by DePalma, a research team in Florida is researching and curating the giant raptor fossil.

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