Rahonavis
Rahonavis is a genus of bird-like theropods from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian, about 70 mya) of what is now northwestern Madagascar. It is known from a partial skeleton (UA 8656) found by Catherine Forster and colleagues in Maevarano Formation rocks at a quarry near Berivotra, Mahajanga Province. Rahonavis was a small predator, at about 70 centimetres (2.3 ft) long and 0.45-2.27 kg (1-5 lbs), with the typical Velociraptor-like raised sickle claw on the second toe. It was originally the first African coelurosaur until the Nqwebasaurus was discovered in 2000.
| Rahonavis Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, | |
|---|---|
| Reconstructed skeleton, Royal Ontario Museum | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Clade: | Paraves |
| Genus: | †Rahonavis Forster et al., 1998b |
| Type species | |
| †Rahonavis ostromi | |
| Synonyms | |
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The name Rahonavis means, approximately, "cloud menace bird", from Malagasy rahona (RA-hoo-na, "cloud" or "menace") + Latin avis "bird". The specific name, R. ostromi, was coined in honor of John Ostrom.