page_title: Neuquenraptor
section_title: Discovery and naming
hierarchical_section_title: Neuquenraptor / Discovery and naming
caption_attribution_description: English: Life reconstruction of the dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur Neuquenraptor argentinus, based on a skeletal by Slate WeaselFile:Neuquenraptor_Skeletal.svg.
context_page_description: Neuquenraptor is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaurs that lived in South America during the Late Cretaceous in what is now the Portezuelo Formation of Argentina. It is one of the first dromaeosaurids found in the Southern Hemisphere.
context_section_description: In January 1996 the remains of Neuquenraptor were found near Plaza Huincul in the Sierra del Portezuelo and reported that very year. In 1997 it was revealed the intended name was "Araucanoraptor argentinus". In 1999 it was provisionally described as a member of the Troodontidae. However, it was named as the type species Neuquenraptor argentinus in 2005 by Fernando Novas of the Bernardino Rivadavia Natural Sciences Museum and Diego Pol of Ohio State University and described as a dromaeosaurid. The generic name combines Neuquén, referring to the Neuquén Province and basin of northern Patagonia, Argentina, with Latin raptor meaning "thief". The specific name refers to Argentina.
caption: Speculative life restoration
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