Pyroraptor

***Pyroraptor*** (olympic fire thief) is a genus of dromaeosaurid that lived approximately 70.6 Million Years Ago in the Campanian-Maastrichtian stages of the Late Cretaceous. Its one known species, *P. olympius,* was the main character in the second episode of the dinosaur documentary Dinosaur Planet.

## In *Dinosaur Planet*

### "Pod's Travels"

The genus was the main subject of the episode. A trio of *Pyroraptor* is first shown hunting near a clearing, with the pack made up of a young male named Pod and his sisters. After an earth-tremor, Pod briefly moves away from them in the search and finds a *Rhabdodon* carcass, and begins to feed. Before Pod can call in his sisters, a pair of *Tarascosaurus* appear and attempt to get their carcass back, only for Pod to call in his sisters. After a small standoff another tremor from the nearby volcano causes Pod and the male *Tarascosaurus* to lose their footing, knocking out the former briefly and incapacitating the latter. As Pod wakes up he and his sisters scare off the female and attempt to finish off the male, but a stampeding herd of *Rhabdodon* cause the raptors to abandon the carcass and the downed *Tarascosaurus*. The pack is forced to the beach, where the herd is calming down. But as all seems to have finally gone back to normal, a tsunami hits the beach, killing one of the sisters and forcing the rest of the pack out to sea on a log.

While stranded, a Plesiosaur attacks the pair, killing Pod's remaining sister. Pod later awakens to an *Ichthyornis* attempting to scavenge him, before it realizes he's alive and flies off. After Pod once again succumbs to unconsciousness, he hits land. A flock of *Ichthyornis* and packs of Dwarf Dromaeosaurs and *Allodaposuchus* attempt to scavenge him, with the smaller raptors scaring off the *Ichthyornis* before he wakes up, managing to scare everything else away. Pod attempts to find these raptors, watching as they take down a dwarf *Rhabdodon*, and later meeting them face to face before they get scared of him and run off again.

As Pod explores the island, he attempted to get a drink, before being accidentally run off by a pair of oblivious *Magyarosaurus*. Pod then comes across a pair of dueling dwarf *Rhabdodon*, with the defending male mortally wounding the challenger. After scaring off another pack of *Allodapasuchus* from the iguanodont they finished off, eats his fill and then sleeps on a nearby rock. When the crocodiles return Pod chases them off again before leaving the carcass to a pack of Dwarf Troodonts. Pod then attempts to call for any other *Pyroraptor* on the island. Mistaking his echo for others of his species, Pod continues calling, eventually drawing in a pack of dwarf troodonts. Pod runs down to meet the pack, and once they show signs of submission, he becomes a part of the pack. As he travels he comes upon some dwarf *Tarascosaurus* feeding on a *Magyarosaurus*. Pod decides to challenge them, and manages to kill the dominant male of the group, scaring the females away. With the carcass claimed, the troodonts feed alongside him after having fled from the larger abelisaurs. Pod one day was last seen going back to the beach, scaring some *Ichthyornis* and investigating the log that brought him to the island.

### Errors

* It is incorrectly shown to be living 80 million years ago in the series, along with every other animal featured (except *Ichthyornis* and *Tarascosaurus*).
* *Pyroraptor* should've been more heavily feathered, and they should've also had wings and a tail fan. They should have a feathered face and a scaly snout like a bird.
* During the scene were Pod and his sister were out at sea the puppet portraying the dinosaurs had their teeth showing but when it was switched back to a CGI portrayal their teeth were hidden by their lips.
* *Pyroraptor* should not be able to pronate its hands recent studies show they could only keep their hands in position as birds do.
* *Pyroraptor* didn’t hunt in packs; they were solitary and only came together to hunt other dinosaurs and scavenge like Komodo dragons.
* Although Pod kills a male dwarf *Tarascosaurus* by slashing his neck with his sickle claws in the episode, real *Pyroraptor* used their sickle claws to pin down prey while their teeth did the killing.
* *Pyroraptor* did not make the screeching roar that Pod makes in this episode (the sound effects were used in *When Dinosaurs Roamed America* for the dromaeosaurids featured in the Late Cretaceous segment 90 million years ago). Instead, *Pyroraptor* vocalizations would have been composed of eagle and bittern sounds.

### Trivia

* Some people believe *Pyroraptor* is synonymous with *Variraptor*: another European late-cretaceous dromaeosaur which was discovered two years earlier.
* While it's possible *Pyroraptor* was alive at the same time as the animals of Hateg Island were, it's unlikely they ever met.
* The coloring used to distinguish the *Pyroraptor* genders are very similar to the color of modern day Cardinals. Their color schemes are also very similar to the color schemes of the *Dromaeosaurs* from *When Dinosaurs Roamed America* (they even have the same sound effects).
* Along side *Velociraptor,* the show gave *Pyroraptor* speculative "lips".
* This is the last species of raptor to appear in the series.
* Pyroraptor similar face version of Papo Jurassic Park Velociraptor.