Epic scene catching illustration by Henry Sharpe. In the early morning of the Late Cretaceous Period (Maastrichtian Age 67.2 - 66 MYA), in what will be known as Hell Creek in Montana, USA. An Acheroraptor temertyorum (underworld thief) is wandering in a flooded forest, looking for any potential prey as it quenches it's thirst. A. temertyorum is represented only by the upper and lower jaw of one individual and was named by David C. Evans, Derek W. Larson and Philip J. Currie in 2013. Classified as Saurischia, Theropoda, Dromaeosauridae, Eudromaeosauria and Velociraptorinae. Size is uncertain due to lack of fossil remains, but scaling of known elements to related genera suggest a length of about 3 meters (9.8 feet) and possibly weighing 40 kg (88 lbs).
The species name, temertyorum, honors James and Louise Temerty, for their outstanding service and contributions to the Royal Ontario Museum. A. temertyorum is a close cousin of the Velociraptor and the youngest known member of the raptor family. "Acheroraptor gives us a more complete picture of the ecosystem in North America just before the great extinction that marked the end of the Age of Dinosaurs,” says Dr David Evans from both the University of Toronto and the Royal Ontario Museum, the lead author of the paper describing Acheroraptor temertyorum in the journal Naturwissenschaften. "The close evolutionary relationship of Acheroraptor to a small group of late-occurring Asian species that includes Velociraptor suggests migration from Asia continued to shape North American dinosaur communities right up until the end of the Cretaceous period." Second image is the jawbones of Acheroraptor in the Royal Ontario Museum.
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