Name: There is no official name yet, but the specimen has been given the informal name “Lightning Claw”.
Meaning: The nickname comes from Lightning Ridge, where the bones were found, and the large claws that help distinguish the lineage this dinosaur belonged to.
Age: Around 110 million years ago.
Where in the world?: New South Wales, Australia.
What sort of critter?: One of the theropod dinosaurs known as megaraptorids, famous for their enlarged hand claws.
Size: Estimated at over 20 feet long.
How much of the creature’s body is known?: Natural casts of a fragmentary skeleton including elements of the lower arm, claws, lower leg, part of the hip, and pieces of ribs.
Claim to fame: No two dinosaurs look alike. This is as true in death as in life. Aside from biological differences – in species, in age, in size, and so on – the way bone becomes preserved in stone gives each skeleton its own character. In the case of a skeleton recently uncovered in the Cretaceous rock of Australia’s Lightning Ridge, the bones of a very sharp dinosaur has come down to us as a set of natural casts of opal.
The dinosaur, described by paleontologist Phil Bell and colleagues, doesn’t have a scientific name. There’s too little of the skeleton to raise the banner of a new genus or species just yet. But there’s enough of the fossil to tell that the dinosaur was one of the megaraptorids – large, predatory dinosaurs that bore extra-long claws on their hands.
Megaraptors are still mystery dinosaurs. No one’s quite sure what group of theropod dinosaur they group most closely to. But, as far as Australia goes, the “Lightning Claw” was found in rock about 12 million years older than the next megaraptor found in the country. It likely represents something new, making the fact that some of its skeleton might have been lost during opal-mining operations all the more frustrating.
Still, Bell and coauthors write, the fact that a megaraptor was found earlier in the Cretaceous than its next closest neighbor suggests that Australia may not have been the evolutionary backwater for dinosaurs that paleontologists have often thought. Cretaceous Australia has often been characterized as a place where members of different dinosaur lineages, which originated elsewhere, eventually wound up. The “Lightning Claw” might indicate that the megaraptors, at least, originated in Australia, or that the area was a critical place for their evolution before they spread elsewhere throughout the southern group of continents called Gondwana. With any luck, future finds will help explain what these dinosaurs were and how they terrorized the southern hemisphere.
Reference:
Bell, P., Cau, A., Fanti, F., Smith, E. 2015. A large-clawed theropod (Dinosauria: Tetanurae) from the Lower Cretaceous of Australia and the Gondwanan origin of megaraptorid theropods. Gondwana Research. doi: 10.1016/j.gr.2015.08.004
Previous Paleo Profiles:
Atychodracon megacephalus
Sefapanosaurus zastronensis
Huanansaurus ganzhouensis
Zhenyuanlong suni
Lepidus praecisio
Nothronychus graffami
Ganguroo robustiter
Vulpes mathisoni
Ichibengops munyamadziensis
Pulanesaura eocollum
Go Further
Animals
- How can we protect grizzlies from their biggest threat—trains?How can we protect grizzlies from their biggest threat—trains?
- This ‘saber-toothed’ salmon wasn’t quite what we thoughtThis ‘saber-toothed’ salmon wasn’t quite what we thought
- Why this rhino-zebra friendship makes perfect senseWhy this rhino-zebra friendship makes perfect sense
- When did bioluminescence evolve? It’s older than we thought.When did bioluminescence evolve? It’s older than we thought.
- Soy, skim … spider. Are any of these technically milk?Soy, skim … spider. Are any of these technically milk?
Environment
- Are the Great Lakes the key to solving America’s emissions conundrum?Are the Great Lakes the key to solving America’s emissions conundrum?
- The world’s historic sites face climate change. Can Petra lead the way?The world’s historic sites face climate change. Can Petra lead the way?
- This pristine piece of the Amazon shows nature’s resilienceThis pristine piece of the Amazon shows nature’s resilience
- Listen to 30 years of climate change transformed into haunting musicListen to 30 years of climate change transformed into haunting music
History & Culture
- Meet the original members of the tortured poets departmentMeet the original members of the tortured poets department
- Séances at the White House? Why these first ladies turned to the occultSéances at the White House? Why these first ladies turned to the occult
- Gambling is everywhere now. When is that a problem?Gambling is everywhere now. When is that a problem?
- Beauty is pain—at least it was in 17th-century SpainBeauty is pain—at least it was in 17th-century Spain
Science
- Here's how astronomers found one of the rarest phenomenons in spaceHere's how astronomers found one of the rarest phenomenons in space
- Not an extrovert or introvert? There’s a word for that.Not an extrovert or introvert? There’s a word for that.
- NASA has a plan to clean up space junk—but is going green enough?NASA has a plan to clean up space junk—but is going green enough?
- Soy, skim … spider. Are any of these technically milk?Soy, skim … spider. Are any of these technically milk?
Travel
- Could Mexico's Chepe Express be the ultimate slow rail adventure?Could Mexico's Chepe Express be the ultimate slow rail adventure?
- What it's like to hike the Camino del Mayab in MexicoWhat it's like to hike the Camino del Mayab in Mexico