Fun Pyroraptor Facts For Kids

You must have seen this dinosaur if you are a 'Jurassic World' fanatic! The Pyroraptor is an absolutely exciting dinosaur to look at!

This dinosaur's name means ‘fire thief’. The Pyroraptor is known from a single specimen, partially derived from Provence in the year 1992.

The Pyroraptor was named in the year 2000 as ‘Pyroraptor olympius’ by Taquet and Allain. You must be wondering why this dinosaur is called so, right? The Pyroraptor got its name because the remains of this dinosaur were found after a forest fire of the year 1992.

It has been found that this dinosaur had feathers all over the body as well! The various illustrations made on this dinosaur have shown very exciting outcomes of possible reconstruction.

We are absolutely sure you will love these exciting facts on the Pyroraptor, so keep reading! You can read about fascinating facts about other dinosaurs, such as the Argyrosaurus and Fulgurotherium too.

Pyroraptor Interesting Facts

How do you pronounce 'Pyroraptor'?

The name of this dinosaur is pronounced as 'PA-ee-row-RAP-tor'.

What type of dinosaur was a Pyroraptor?

The Pyroraptor is a type of dromaeosaurid dinosaur.

In which geological period did Pyroraptor roam the Earth?

It is said that this dinosaur roamed on Earth during the Late Campanian and Early Maastrichtian stages of the Late Cretaceous, which is roughly about 70.6 million years ago.

When did the Pyroraptor become extinct?

The dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous times became extinct about 70.6 million years ago.

Where did Pyroraptor live?

The fossils of this dinosaur have been found in modern-day northern Spain and southern France. There have been claims that the remains of this raptor have been spotted in Rioja (Spain) and Aragon (Spain) as well.

What was the Pyroraptor's habitat?

This feathered specimen was said to be a ground dweller. There have been claims that this raptor lived in forests.

Who did Pyroraptor live with?

It is said that this species attacked for prey in packs. They would pierce through the flesh of animals with sharp claws on their feet.

How long did a Pyroraptor live?

We do not know the lifespan of these dinosaurs.

How did they reproduce?

Due to a lack of research and information, the reproduction of this dinosaur has not been well-studied.

Pyroraptor Fun Facts

What did Pyroraptor look like?

These dromaeosaurs had a small, bird-like anatomy. The predatory theropod was a proud owner of large curved claws present on the second toes of each long foot.

These claws were roughly 2.5 in (6.5 cm) long. They were mostly used as a defense mechanism, for grabbing their prey or for helping them climb peaks.

Only two teeth are known from the fossil remains, both of which are flattened and slightly curved towards the back. Their rear margins display finer serrations than the ones at the front. The Pyroraptor most probably developed enhanced forelimbs equipped with curved claws.

They possessed a very long but thin tail, probably aiding them in balancing their bodies. It has also been said that this dinosaur was most probably covered all over in feathers, just like their relatives - the Sinornithosaurus and the Microraptor, and also had a plumage.

MNHN BO001 is the holotype specimen of this dinosaur.

This specimen consists of the second toe claw situated on the left foot. The various assigned paratypes include the left second metatarsal, a claw of the right foot, a more complete and prominent second toe claw, two teeth, and a right ulna (a long forearm bone).

Additional remains have been collected from Spain, from the Tremp Group and Vitória Formation together, which include one manual digit, five pedal digits, a right radius, a tail vertebra, a piece of the metacarpal, and a dorsal vertebra.

It has been pointed out by paleontologists that this dinosaur had a downy feather coat on its body. The Pyroraptor may look scary, but it was much smaller than the Velociraptor, yet equally crafty.

How many bones did a Pyroraptor have?

We do not know how many bones these feathered dromaeosaurs had.

How did they communicate?

We do not know how these dinosaurs communicated exactly but it can be assumed that they used verbal communication.

How big were the Pyroraptors?

The Pyroraptor size was about 8 ft (2.34 m) in length and about 3 ft (1 m) in height. It is said that this dinosaur was twice the size of the Gasparinisaura.

How fast could a Pyroraptor move?

Having small and light bodies, we can assume that these dinosaurs of the Late Cretaceous period were quite quick and speedy in their movements. It has been said that these feathered dromaeosaurs mostly hunted in packs, just like the Velociraptor, but the exact speed of the fire thief is not known.

How much did Pyroraptors weigh?

This dinosaur, which has featured in the 'Jurassic World' mobile game, weighs about 77 lb (35 kg). Well, this makes the fire thief about five times the weight of the Velociraptor!

What were the male and female names of the species?

The male and female specimens of this genus have no name assigned.

What would you call a baby Pyroraptor?

There is no specific name for a baby Pyroraptor.

What did they eat?

The Pyroraptor is known to have a carnivorous diet. It is said to have a long, narrow skull, which came into use for plucking smaller prey or biting deep into the flesh while attacking in groups. Probably, it jumped on top of small prey and pierced into its flesh with sharp claws.

How aggressive were they?

Unfortunately, we do not know how aggressive these dinosaurs of the Late Cretaceous period were! They did look quite scary in the 'Jurassic World' game!

Did you know...

The first fossil remains of the Pyroraptor dinosaur were unearthed in Southeastern France. The exact location is the Arc Basin in Provence, at the La Boucharde locality. Finding the remains of dromaeosaurid dinosaurs is quite rare in Europe, and these remain usually provide very minimal taxonomic information.

The very first dromaeosaurid fossils found in the country of France belonged to the Variraptor. However, these bones were earlier referred to as a newly introduced species of the Megalosaurus.

This dinosaur was featured in an episode of ‘Dinosaur Planet’, a television program. In this episode, a single Pyroraptor, going by the name ‘Pod’ was swept onto a faraway island. This island was dominated by many dwarfs of familiar dino clans.

The Pyroraptor has also made a debut as a rare carnivore in the ‘Jurassic World: The Game’. Here, you can spot these dinosaurs possessing long feathers.

You can also check out the Pyroraptor in the ‘Jurassic World: Alive’ mobile game.

Some of the dinosaur fossils found in France include Ampelosaurus, Compsognathus, Dacentrurus, Dubreuillosaurus, Liliensternus, Lophostropheus, Plateosaurus, Poekilopleuron, Rhabdodon, Struthiosaurus, Telmatosaurus.

Want to know which all dinosaurs existed around the same time as the Pyroraptor?

Here we have a list of some dinosaurs which existed during the Late Cretaceous period: Abelisaurus, Achelousaurus, Achillobator, Aegyptosaurus, Alamosaurus, Albertaceratops, Albertosaurus, Alectrosaurus, Alioramus, Alvarezsaurus, Ampelosaurus, Anchiceratops, Ankylosaurus, Anserimimus, Antarctosaurus, Aralosaurus, Archaeornitho-mimus, Argentinosaurus, Arrhinoceratops, Aucasaurus, Avaceratops, Avimimus, Bactrosaurus, Bagaceratops, Bambiraptor, Borogovia, Brachylopho-saurus, Buitreraptor, Carcharodonto-saurus, Carnotaurus, Centrosaurus, and Chasmosaurus.

Another species known to have similar features to the Pyroraptors was the Pterosaurus.

The fellow genus, Velociraptor, is said to have walked around on two legs. Just like the Pyroraptor, the Velociraptor was also a carnivore. It was a small raptor known to have weighed just about 15 lb (7 kg). It grew up to a height of 5.9 feet (1.8 m). The remains of this dino were found in Mongolia.

Philippe Taquet was chosen for the position of the president of the French National Museum of Natural History between the years 1985 to 1990. He has focused his interests mainly on searching, studying, and describing various dinosaurs from the land of Africa. His main works are on the Aptian site of Gadoufaoua in the country of Niger, Africa.

The Tremp Group, also called the Tremp Formation, has been a bingo spot for dinosaur researchers. It has provided multiple fossil remains of dinosaur eggs. It has been said that the Tremp Formation was one of the main nesting sites for Sauropods.

Why are they called Pyroraptors?

This dromaeosaur was first described in the year 2000 by French paleontologists, Philippe Taquet and Ronan Allain. The type species of this genus is Pyroraptor olympius.

The genus name, ‘Pyroraptor’, has Greek reference. This name means ‘fire thief’, and the fossil remains of this fire thief were discovered in the year 1992 following a forest fire.

The species name, ‘olympius,’ is from Mont Olympe. Mont Olympe is a mountain in Provence, France, and it was at the foot of this mountain that the Pyroraptor fossil remains of the dinosaur were obtained.

How many specimens of Pyroraptor were discovered?

Only one specimen of Pyroraptor has been discovered by paleontologists. This specimen was found in Europe, in the country of France. Only one species comes under this dino - Pyroraptor olympius.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these Dysalotosaurus facts and Abydosaurus facts for kids.

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

Main image by AstoriaMT.

Secondary image by The Nameless Horror From the Ocean Depths.