New Dinosaur Discovered in Argentina with Crocodile Bone in Its Jaw

Scientists announced Tuesday the find of a caller dinosaur successful Patagonia, Argentina, with a crocodile bony successful its jaw. Credit: Kabacchi – CC BY 2.0 via Flickr.

Scientists announced Tuesday the find of a caller dinosaur successful Patagonia, Argentina, with a crocodile bony successful the jaw of its skeleton. The find is labelled arsenic 1 of the astir implicit specimens yet recovered of the enigmatic megaraptoran group, whose fossil was recovered with the forelimb bony of a crocodile-like reptile pressed against its jaws. Researchers accidental the find that offers caller clues astir however these predators fed successful the last section of the property of dinosaurs.

The specimen, named Joaquinraptor casali, was recovered from the Lago Colhué Huapi Formation successful Chubut Province, Argentina, and is estimated to beryllium astir 7.0 meters (23 ft) long, researchers reported connected Tuesday successful the diary Nature Communications. The partial skeleton includes portions of the skull, vertebrae, ribs, and limb bones and represents 1 of the best-preserved megaraptoran skeletons discovered successful South America, the squad said.

“This fills a large spread by providing 1 of the astir implicit skeletons yet,” said Federico Agnolin of the Argentine Museum of Natural Science Bernardino Rivadavia, who commented connected the study, adjacent though helium was not portion of the probe team. Lucio Ibiricu of the Patagonian Institute of Geology and Paleontology, a subordinate of the find team, noted that megaraptorans are celebrated for their agelong skulls and “huge and precise almighty claws.”

The dinosaur lived successful Argentina 70 cardinal years ago

The dinosaur lived astir 66 cardinal to 70 cardinal years ago, adjacent the extremity of the Cretaceous period, and growth-line investigation of limb bones indicates it was astatine slightest 19 years aged erstwhile it died. Among the preserved elements, the researchers highlighted a femur measuring 685 millimeters (27.0 inches). They estimated the animal’s wide astatine much than 1,000 kilograms (2,205 lb), making Joaquinraptor 1 of the largest and best-represented Patagonian megaraptorids yet.

Researchers were amazed by the beingness of a fossilized crocodile-relative humerus pressed against the predator’s jaws. “The humerus betwixt the jaws is nonstop grounds that the dinosaur was feeding connected ample reptiles,” the squad wrote, adding that the relation suggests megaraptorans whitethorn person preyed on, oregon scavenged, different important vertebrates connected the humid flood plains they inhabited.

DINONEWS!!!!

Meet Joaquinraptor casali a caller Megaraptorid from Argentina that amusement america much astir the anatomy of this peculiar group. So excited to spot we person much cranial worldly from Megaraptor and its relatives.

Article: https://t.co/a9VGkbTKNP#dinosaurs #Argentina pic.twitter.com/7mqJqmTKyu

— The Darknix (@TheDarknix) September 23, 2025

Megaraptorans stay enigmatic. Paleontologists disagree astir their spot connected the dinosaur household tree, however. Some nexus them to ample allosauroid predators specified arsenic Giganotosaurus, portion others reason they are person to aboriginal coelurosaurian theropods related to tyrannosauroids. The Joaquinraptor’s recently recovered skull and forelimb bones assistance capable long-standing gaps successful the group’s anatomy and whitethorn assistance those debates, the researchers said.

Crocodile bone: dinosaur repast oregon coincidence?

The find was made by a multidisciplinary squad from Argentina’s CONICET and respective universities, moving with colleagues from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History successful the United States. The sanction honors the lad of the pb author, Ibiricu, and the vale wherever the specimen was found. The taxon sanction recognizes Argentine geologist Gabriel Andrés Casal for his contributions to determination Cretaceous geology.

Researchers said further survey of the bones, including microstructural and comparative analyses, volition beryllium important to find whether the crocodile humerus was portion of the dinosaur’s last repast oregon a coincidental association. They besides noted that the forearm’s features suggest specialized adaptations that whitethorn person contributed to the group’s evolutionary occurrence successful South America during the extremity stages of the Mesozoic.

Joaquinraptor, the latest megaraptorid to articulation the world. 7 meters and a ton successful weight. It’s 1 of the geologically youngest and seems to person had a sensation for crocs!

Art by Andrew McAfee astatine the Carnegie pic.twitter.com/TtTsmNwjY0

— Taylor McCoy 🦖 (@TM9380) September 23, 2025

“Joaquinraptor complements what we cognize astir megaraptorids and pushes the fossil grounds of these predators person to the wide extinction event,” said Fernando Novas, a paleontologist not progressive with the study. “But galore questions stay astir their relationships and ecology that further discoveries volition request to answer.”