'Death shadow' dinosaur unearthed in Argentina
Argentine palaeontologists have announced the discovery of an apex-predator dinosaur that measured three stories from nose to tail and eviscerated its prey with sharp, curved claws.
The six-ton giant, the largest megaraptor unearthed to date, fed on smaller dinosaurs that it ripped to shreds with its talons before digging into their intestines, palaeontologist Mauro Aranciaga said.
It would have been the "apex predator" of its time, said Aranciaga -- well deserving of its chilling scientific name "Maip macro thorax."
The first part, "Maip," is derived from an "evil" mythological figure of Patagonia's indigenous Aonikenk people.
The character was associated with "the shadow of the death" that "kills with cold wind" in the Andes mountains, according to a study reporting the find in the Nature journal Scientific Reports.
The second part, "macro thorax," refers to the enormous expanse of the creature's chest cavity -- some 1.2 metres wide.
The newly-identified monster measured nine to 10 metres in length, larger than any previously discovered type of megaraptor -- a group of flesh-eating giants that once roamed what is now South America, according to Aranciaga's team.
