Gigantoraptor

Name: Gigantoraptor ‭(‬Giant thief‭)‬. Phonetic: Gee-gan-to-rap-tor. Named By: Xu Xing,‭ ‬Tan Qingwei,‭ ‬Wang Jianmin,‭ ‬Zhao Xijin,‭ ‬Tan Lin‭ ‬-‭ ‬2007. Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Theropod.‭ ‬Oviraptoridae. Species: G.‭ ‬erlianensis‭ (‬Type‭)‬. Type: Unknown. Size: 8‭ ‬meters long. Known locations: Mongolia‭ ‬-‭ ‬Iren Dabasu Formation. Time period: Campanian of the Cretaceous. Fossil representation: 1‭ ‬partial skeleton,‭ ‬of a sub adult.‭ ‬Skull is unknown but the mandible has been recovered.

At eight meters Gigantoraptor is the largest oviraptorid dinosaur currently known,‭ ‬and is many times larger than other members of the group.‭ ‬Problems that exist at the time of writing are the remains that while incomplete show two characteristics belonging to different lifestyles.‭ ‬What can be ascertained is that Gigantoraptor had a long neck,‭ ‬a trait found in many herbivores.‭ ‬On the flip side however,‭ ‬Gigantoraptor had large sharp claws like you may expect with a carnivore.‭ ‬The different body features make it difficult to establish how Gigantoraptor actually lived and what it ate,‭ ‬although‭ ‬it had‭ ‬a similar morphology of long neck and sharp claws are also known in other dinosaurs such as therizinosaurs like  Therizinosaurus  and ornithomimids like  Deinocheirus .‭ Another feature that can be interpreted either way‭ ‬is the long hind legs,‭ ‬particularly the long lower portions of the legs.‭ ‬These kinds of legs are found across the known theropods in both dinosaurs that chased after others,‭ ‬and dinosaurs that relied upon running faster than their predators.‭ ‬It is hard to say which is truer for Gigantoraptor,‭ ‬but as a herbivore it may have had to cover large distances in a semi-arid environment in order to find enough food to keep its large body going.‭ ‬As a predator it would have had an easy time chasing after prey. Either way they may have to keep out of the way of large predators such as tyrannosaurs like  Tarbosaurus . One aspect of Gigantoraptor which requires pause for thought is if it had feathers.‭ ‬As an oviraptorid it would actually be unusual if Gigantoraptor didn't have feathers,‭ ‬but feathers,‭ ‬like hair,‭ ‬are usually only present for the purpose of insulation,‭ ‬and as animals get bigger,‭ ‬they tend to need less insulation because of gigantothermy.‭ ‬This has brought speculation that Gigantoraptor may have had severely reduced feathers,‭ ‬and may have actually lacked them all together.‭ ‬If Gigantoraptor did have feathers,‭ ‬they may have served a purely display purpose,‭ ‬or if for the purpose of insulation,‭ ‬to cope with harsh environmental conditions such as the cold nights of arid landscapes.