Buitreraptor gonzalesorummangas. Original artwork from Feathered Dinosaurs.

2006.
Watercolour and gouache on Arches paper 420 x 655 mm, unframed, signed and dated by artist.

Buitreraptor gonzalesorummangas. Original artwork from Feathered Dinosaurs. The vulture roost robber named after the Gonzales brothers.

The fossil remains of this turkey-sized dinosaur were found by two brothers, Fabian and Jorges Gonzales, in northern Argentina at the same site where the gargantuan predator Gigonotosaurus had been found. It was an exciting find as it represents the oldest member of the dromaeosaurid family known from South America, and it helps us understand the early evolution of the group. Buitreraptor is a distinctive looking dromaeosaurid, characterised by its slender, elongated snout with many small teeth that are widely spaced and lack the serrations seen in other raptor teeth. Its long legs and arms, coupled with a powerful shoulder region, imply it was a fast runner that could reach out and grasp agile small prey animals, such as frogs and small lizards. It has been suggested it lived a similar lifestyle to the modern secretary birds.

Artist's note: This very bird-like predator has been illustrated with mouth agape to emphasise its exceptionally long, slender snout and lower jaw. Buitreraptor was armed with a battery of tiny teeth, not dissimilar to those of the ornithomimosaur, Pelecanimimus. These teeth were well suited for gripping slippery prey, such as amphibians, and it is not unreasonable to assume that Buitreraptor, like Pelecanimimus, sourced its food from marshy environs.

Infraorder: Coelurosauria
Family: Dromaeosauridae
SubFamily: Unenlagiinae
Age: Middle Cretaceous
Locality: Argentina.