Fun Dino-mite Buitreraptor Facts For Kids

The Buitreraptor gonzalezorum, an interesting dinosaur from Argentina and Brazil, was a genus of small predatory theropod dinosaurs in history.

The name Buitreraptor means 'bird raptor' as it was initially thought to be a bird when the Buitreraptor fossil was first discovered in 2005. However, later studies showed that this bipedal carnivore had more bone features akin to those present among dromaeosaurid than modern birds, such as Velociraptors or Deinonychus.

It has been designated one of the top 10 new species by 'Discover Magazine' for 2002 because evidence suggests mature adults bore many small teeth, a trait not found previously among known raptorials.

It was one of the first dinosaurs to be discovered in South America, and it has many characteristics that are unique among its contemporaries.

The many small teeth on this small carnivore were serrated like most meat-eating dinos, and the teeth also had ridges along their back edges, showing an adaptation towards consuming plant material as well as prey or carrion as found in the fossil.

One skull fragment found also indicates downy feathers around the head and neck, while another fossilized impression showed evidence for quills from other parts of the body, including arm lengths.

This makes scientists hypothesize that they may have closely resembled modern-day birds rather than reptiles with similar adaptations seen in Velociraptor mongoliens.

The Buitreraptor is a genus of small predatory dinosaurs from the Cretaceous Period with sharp teeth. This carnivore ate fish as well as other prey like lizards, frogs, and small dinosaurs!

Find more enthralling facts about Staurikosaurus and Dacentrurus for kids!

Buitreraptor Interesting Facts

How do you pronounce 'Buitreraptor'?

It's pronounced 'bweeetrappter'. The 'buitre' part is actually just a Spanish word for 'vulture' and 'raptor' means 'thief' or 'plundered', which makes sense because this animal had many small teeth. These small teeth were used to catch small animals with and the long talons were used for grabbing food like smaller lizards and mammals!

What type of dinosaur was a Buitreraptor?

A Buitreraptor gonzalezorum was a dromaeosaurid dinosaur, one of the most fearsome predators in its habitat.

In which geological period did the Buitreraptor roam the earth?

There was a new dromaeosaur discovered a couple of years back called the Buitreraptor gonzalezorum! It lived in what is known as the Cretaceous period, which occurred from 145-165 million years ago.

When did the Buitreraptor become extinct?

Unfortunately, the Buitreraptor of genus Buitreraptor went extinct about 66 million years ago. There is a debate between palaeontologists and they cannot agree on why it became extinct or where exactly it lived in South America for most of its life.

Where did a Buitreraptor live?

The Buitreraptor was a dromaeosaur that explored and lived in forests and open lands in search of food like small animals.

What was a Buitreraptor's habitat?

The Buitreraptor lived in a variety of habitats throughout South America including forests, mountainside grasslands, and open areas.

Who did a Buitreraptor live with?

In the Triassic period, the Buitreraptor lived with many other dinosaurs. One of them was their cousin Coelophysis, with who they would socialize and hunt during the night.

How long did a Buitreraptor live?

This is a question that many palaeontologists have been interested in. The Buitreraptor lived for 40 years, meaning palaeontologists had to find fossils from different ages of the dinosaur's life if we wanted to know how long it actually lived.

How did they reproduce?

Buitreraptors reproduced by laying eggs on the ground. Since there are no fossils found of Buitreraptor nests, it is unknown how they raised their young or if they cared for them at all after hatching.

Buitreraptor Fun Facts

What did a Buitreraptor look like?

The Buitreraptor was a small dinosaur that had short arms with three-fingered hands. Its long, thin legs could have been used for running and speed, as seen in the Buitreraptor skeleton.

It is believed to be related to the birds of today because it has many avian features such as feathers on its tail instead of scales like other raptors and the peculiar Buitreraptor vertebrae.

The Buitreraptor looked like a mixture of many different animals.

It had the wings and tail of an eagle, but its head was like a bird with big eyes located near to each other on either side, like owls.

The Buitreraptor also had very long legs for running around in search of prey, as well as sharp claws at the end, which were made specifically so it could get into small crevices when hunting rodents or insects.

How many bones did a Buitreraptor have?

The Buitreraptor is a therapod dinosaur that lived in the Cretaceous period. All dinosaurs had many bones and this one had 220!

How did they communicate?

The Buitreraptor communicated with each other using their feathers to attract mates. Buitreraptors also used the iridescence nature of their plumage for sexual displays, a similar recognition that modern-day birds use. This reveals a deep evolutionary link between these two groups.

How big was a Buitreraptor?

Buitreraptor dinosaurs were raptors, and based on the description they lived during the Cretaceous period. The Buitreraptor size was about 5 ft (1.5 m) long and 1.5 ft (0.5 m) tall, which was considered to be moderate for that time.

How fast could a Buitreraptor move?

A study found that out of all raptors, this particular species moved at speeds between 9 mph (14.5 kph) and had peculiar Buitreraptor teeth serrations.

How much did a Buitreraptor weigh?

The Buitreraptor weighed around 5-6 lb (2.3-2.7 kg).

What were the male and female names of the species?

Both females and males are known by the name Buitreraptor gonzalezorum.

What would you call a baby Buitreraptor?

These babies are known as baby buitreraptor.

What did they eat?

The Late Cretaceous Buitreraptor, a fierce raptorial dinosaur that lived between 70-80 million years ago, may have been an omnivore.

This finding of the Buitreraptor diet comes from the study of its fossilized stomach contents containing fish scales, bones with telltale grooves made by teeth during feeding, bird feathers, lizard ribs or vertebrae (backbones), smaller dinosaurs, and small animals such as the Gasosaurus whose fossils were found at the site where Buitreraptor's remains have also been discovered.

How aggressive were they?

The Buitreraptor was extremely aggressive, using its sickle claws to cause fatal wounds. The Buitreraptor may have hunted in packs and they likely preyed on Iguanodon, which was common at the time!

Did you know...

The Buitreraptor was named by Makovicky. Buitreroaptors were a family of dinosaurs that inhabited Argentina during the Late Cretaceous period about 100 million years ago.

When was the Buitreraptor discovered?

In 2005, palaeontologists discovered the Buitreraptor in Argentina.

Could the Buitreraptor fly?

The Buitreraptor may have been able to fly. We're not sure for certain, but it's possible that this dinosaur could take off from the ground with its wings and glide in order to catch prey or escape predators when necessary.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other creatures from our Crichtonsaurus facts or Brontosaurus facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Buitreraptor coloring pages.

Main image by Nobu Tamura

Second image by Eduard Solà