Meet 'Joaquinraptor', the new crocodile-eating dinosaur discovered in Argentina

A new dinosaur with strong claws that ate old crocodile bone has been found by scientists in Argentina.

The discovered fossil was likely 23 feet (7 meters) long, and came from an enigmatic dinosaur group called 'megaraptorans'. They roamed across what is now South America, Australia, and portions of Asia, evolving into several species over millions of years.

Megaraptorans were famed for their stretched-out skulls and "huge and very powerful claws," said Lucio Ibiricu of the Patagonian Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, a member of the research team.

Meet ‘Joaquinraptor’

Researchers reported that they discovered a head, arm, leg, and tail bones in the Lago Colhué Huapi rock formation in Patagonia. They observed distinguishing traits in the bones, leading them to believe this was a new species.

However, it is unclear how these creatures hunted or where they fit into the evolutionary chronology, owing to the limited nature of the fossils discovered thus far.

Federico Agnolin of the Argentine Museum of Natural Science Bernardino Rivadavia, who was not a member of the research team that made this discovery, told AP via email that the newest member of the megaraptoran clan, Joaquinraptor casali, "fills a major gap by providing one of the most complete skeletons yet."

The species discovered through the fossils presumably lived between 66 and 70 million years ago, close to the period dinosaurs became extinct, and was at least 19 years old when it died, though researchers are unsure what killed it.

The front leg bone, crushed against its jaws, which belonged to an old relative of crocodiles, could reveal information about its nutrition and whether it was the top predator on the humid prehistoric flood plain.

According to AP, Ibiricu named the fossil after Joaquin, his son.