As per a study appeared on July 20, 2016 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE, a latest species of megaraptorid dinosaur found in Patagonia could be helpful in distinguishing between the evolutionary origins of the megaraptorid clade.

In the past, the Patagonian area of Argentina has proven to be affluent in fossils from the Late Cretaceous era, like numerous megaraptorids, a clade whose carnivorous diet led to their name, which means 'giant thieves'.

The medium-sized theropod dinosaurs such as South American genera Megaraptor, Orkoraptor, and Aerosteon and genera from Australia and Japan have notably huge claws and birdlike bones filled with air.

In the study, lead by Rodolfo Coria from the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas Técnicas, Argentina, and Phillip Currie from the University of Alberta, Canada, the researchers have examined the fossilized partial skeleton of a megaraptorid dinosaur, found in Sierra Barrosa. The dinosaur’s discovery has represented one of the most intact megaraptorids found, with a strangely undamaged braincase.

The dinosaur with strange skull features has been dubbed Murusraptor barrosaensis, and it is a new species in the megaraptorid clade. The specimen apparently has an immature outlook, but the authors said that the species was bigger and slenderer in comparison to Megaraptor and has nearly same size as that of Aerosteon and Orkoraptor.

Besides sharing numerous features with the other species, Musuraptor possesses different facial features that haven’t been seen earlier amongst megaraptorids. The new species also have strangely shaped hip bones.

The phylogenetic study may not clearly find out evolutionary relationships, the authors noted that the fossils have shed light on fresh anatomical data, which might be helpful in resolving the existing debates over whether the ‘megaraptorids are a clade of the allosauroid or the coelurosaurid theropods’.

A report published in Ctv News revealed, "The study, published in PLOS ONE by Phillip Currie from the U of A, and Rodolfo Coria from the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas in Argentina on July 20, sheds light on the new species of megaraptorid dinosaur."

“This is a super-cool specimen from a very enigmatic family of big dinosaurs,” Currie said in a statement. “Because we have most of the skeleton in a single entity, it really helps consolidate their relationships to other animals.”

It’s believed the specimen was not yet an adult, was about eight metres long when it was alive and it was still growing. Currie has been doing fieldwork in Argentina for the last two decades, working with Coria, found the specimen in 2000, in Sierra Barrosa, near the town of Plaza Huincul in Argentina.

According to a report in Reuters by Will Dunham, "Scientists said on Wednesday the creature, called Murusraptor barrosaensis, lived about 80 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period, measured about 21 feet (6.5 meters) long and was a pursuit hunter more lightly built than some other predatory dinosaurs."

"Most of the different species known from this clade are based on rather fragmentary specimens. The Murusraptor specimen preserved the complete posterior half of the skull, several vertebrae and pelvis bones, unveiling unknown areas of the skeleton of this group," said paleontologist Rodolfo Coria of Argentina's Universidad Nacional de Río Negro.

Other scientists last week announced the discovery of fossils of another Argentine carnivorous dinosaur, called Gualicho, a bit larger than Murusraptor that had feeble arms, akin in size to a human child's. In contrast, megaraptors possessed strong arms that wielded sickle-like claws that could inflict fatal wounds on prey, along with a more lightly built skull and jaws studded with smaller teeth. They also had air-filled, bird-like bones.