Pronunciation: a-PAT-oh-RAP-tuhr
Meaning: Deceptive plunderer
Author/s: Funston and Currie (2016)
Synonyms: None Known
First Discovery: Alberta, Canada
Discovery Chart Position: #923
Apatoraptor pennatus
(Feathered deceptive plunderer)Etymology
Apatoraptor is derived from the Greek "apate" (deceptive) and the Latin "raptor" (plunderer, snatcher, robber or thief), in reference to the specimen hiding its true identity for many years.
The species epithet, pennatus, means "feathered" in Latin, and refers to the quill knobs on its upper arm which would have anchored feathers.
ZooBank registry: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:0F59974D-EAC8-449B-8562-3331EAD55DF7.
Discovery
The remains of Apatoraptor were discovered in the Horsethief Member of the Horseshoe Canyon Formation, Alberta, Canada, in 1993.
The holotype (TMP 1993.051.0001) includes a lower jaw, a full series of neck and back and vertebrae, a right shoulder girdle and arm, a breastbone (sternum), "belly ribs" (gastralia), a partial hip bone (ilium), and a partial hind limb.
