Fukuiraptor

*Fukuiraptor kitadaniensis*

***Fukuiraptor*** (Greek for "theif of Fukui") (foo-KWEE-rap-tor) was a genus of megaraptoran theropod dinosaur of the Early Cretaceous epoch (either Barremian or Aptian) that lived in what is now Japan. It was discovered in the Kitadani quarry near Katsuyama in the Fukui prefecture. A large claw was discovered that was first thought to be the sickle-claw belonging to a large, unknown member of the dromaeosaurid (or raptor) family of dinosaurs, so it was named *Fukuiraptor*, or "Fukui thief".

However, closer examination a few years ago and more bones discovered of this elusive predator proved that this was, in fact, a type of theropod that was closely related to the more well-known Megaraptor. This is very similar to what happened with *Fukuiraptor's* close relatives *Megaraptor* and Aoniraptor The paleontologists believed that the huge claws of this narrow predator was a toe-claw iconic to the raptor family. However, based on the small size of this megaraptoran it's been debated whether or not it was a juvenile, but a few years later several more specimens were found that were even smaller than the first specimen, so it's beginning to look like they didn't get very big. This is a very significant find in paleontology history because until then, we did not know that large carnivores were capable of living on the small island of Japan.

## Description

*Fukuiraptor* was quite small in terms of megaraptorans, growing to be only about 14 feet (4.2 meters) long and weighing only about 450 lbs (200 kilograms).

However, it was likely the biggest predator in its environment and was quite capable of eating about anything it could catch. Probably the most likely reason for its smallness is because of island-dwarfism, which is caused when an animal is trapped on a small island and throughout time it gets smaller and smaller to be able to survive by not having to eat or drink as much as it would being much larger. This is especially likely since Japan is such a small island and, because the sea-levels were much higher back then, would've minimized its size even more. It's not quite known what *Fukuiraptor's* main prey item would've been, but considering how short food supply was on the island it likely mostly survived on lizards, passing-by pterosaurs, or possibly even fish. Some people believe that the Fukuiraptor might've hunted down a possible rival, the Fukuisaurus, a Hadrosaur.

What's unusual about this relatively unknown megaraptoran is that it had relatively long arms with such large claws in relative to its body size, this could indicate that it was a skillful fisher and that may have been its main food source. Like other carnosaurs, *Fukuiraptor* was bipedal, and walked on two back legs with three toes with sharp talons on the ends. It had a long tail that was designed to help it walk more balanced and it had sharp, blade-like teeth that were designed to tear through the flesh of its unlucky victims.

## Classification

Initially considered a member of the Dromaeosauridae when first discovered, its initial describers considered it a carnosaur, related to *Allosaurus*. More recent studies consider it a megaraptoran, an enigmatic group which may have been part of the family Neovenatoridae. However, more recently, another analysis has proposed that all megaraptorans are actually tyrannosauroids, which would reclassify *Fukuiraptor* as a tyrannosauroid coelurosaur. Recent cladistic analysis of the theropod *Gualicho* has suggested that *Fukuiraptor* and other megaraptorans are either allosauroids, or non-tyrannosauroid basal coelurosaurs.

Below is a cladogram reconstructing the position of *Fukuiraptor* in the Megaraptora as per Delcourt and Grillo, 2018.

## Paleoecology

In the Kitadani Formation, where fossils of *Fukuiraptor* have been recovered, fossils of other vertebrates have been preserved. Among the species that have been properly described and named are *Fukuisaurus tetoriensis*, a styracostern ornithischian, *Fukuititan nipponensis*, a titanosauriform sauropod, *Koshisaurus katsuyama*, a hadrosauroid ornithischian, *Fukuivenator paradoxus*, a mairaptoriform theropod, and *Fukuipteryx prima*, an avialan as defined by the authors.

## JPInstitute.com Description

Fukuiraptor was a medium-sized meat-eater that lived in what is now Japan. Scientists first thought it was a member of the raptor family, but after studying the fossils they now believe it was related to Allosaurus. It is thought that this specimen was not mature and that an adult would be considerably larger.

This specimen caused some confusion upon its initial discovery because its hand claw was mistaken for the killer claw on the foot of a dromaeosaur. It is now considered to be a basal member of the allosaur family and possibly a species of Allosaurus similar or identical to the Australian species.

## Appearance in other media

### *Jurassic Park*

* Fukuiraptor appears in *Jurassic World: Alive* as a Omega.

## Links

http://web.archive.org/web/20040214172357fw\_/http://www.jpinstitute.com/dinopedia/dinocards/dc\_fuku.html