Gigantoraptor

In 2005, a Chinese palaeontologist filming sauropod bones in Mongolia came across an unidentified thigh bone. It was a fortunate discovery. The bone belonged to a creature that may have been eight metres in length and more than two tons in weight. Gigantoraptor, as it was subsequently named, is the largest feathered dinosaur discovered to date.

It is 35 times bigger than the next largest species of Oviraptorid. The toothless skull of this bird-like dinosaur was more than half a metre long with a horny beak. It had long hind legs and large claws and would have been fast enough to outrun most predators around 70 million years ago. It seems certain that Gigantoraptor's feathers were for display rather than for flight or insulation.