Gigantoraptor

Filed under Cretaceous dinosaurs · Types of Dinosaurs editorial team

Order: Saurischia · Suborder: Theropoda · Infraorder: Oviraptorosauria · Family: Caenagnathidae (family not firmly confirmed)

Gigantoraptor was a massive oviraptorosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous period in what is now China. Stretching around 26 feet (8 meters) in length, it dwarfed the vast majority of its relatives, which were typically no larger than birds or small dinosaurs. Its great size came as a considerable surprise to scientists and demonstrated that oviraptorosaurs were capable of evolving gigantic body proportions far beyond what had previously been observed in the group. Belonging to the family Caenagnathidae, Gigantoraptor possessed the characteristic toothless beak of its lineage along with long legs, and is considered likely to have been at least partly feathered, placing it among the largest feathered animals known to science.

Its name, meaning "giant thief," echoes the naming tradition of Oviraptor, meaning "egg thief," a label that arose from an early and ultimately incorrect assumption that oviraptorosaurs raided the nests of other dinosaurs. Later fossil discoveries showing oviraptorosaurs brooding their own eggs overturned that interpretation, and modern paleontology no longer regards the group as egg-stealers. Gigantoraptor is thought to have been an omnivore, reflecting the mixed dietary habits common to many of its relatives, and remains one of the most striking examples of unexpected gigantism among bird-like dinosaurs.

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Reference background: Natural History Museum, London — Dinosaurs; Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History — Dinosaurs; American Museum of Natural History — Dinosaurs & Fossils. Figures are typical published ranges; taxonomy follows the source era and modern consensus is noted where it differs. See our sources & fact-check policy.

Related dinosaurs

Other dinosaurs from the Caenagnathidae family.