New Raptor Species Discovered

http://www.livescience.com/researchinaction/ria-100429.html


A new species of Raptor was discovered in Inner Mongolia, a province in China. The discovery was made by Jonah Choiniere and Michael Pittman. While traveling the the dry, sandy area they noticed a claw sticking out of the ground. They continued to expose the rest of the bones. They didn't know it was a new species yet until it was brought back and examined. The new species was named Linheraptor exquisitus. It has the raptor's trademark claw on the second toe. Most dromaeosaurids (scientific name of raptors) found do not have a complete skeleton. This new raptor discovered has nearly every bone. This helps researchers trace similarities to other dromaeosaurids and birds.