Bambiraptor

Bambiraptor
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous,
Restored skeleton of the juvenile specimen
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Theropoda
Family: Dromaeosauridae
Clade: Eudromaeosauria
Subfamily: Saurornitholestinae
Genus: Bambiraptor
Burnham et al., 2000
Type species
Bambiraptor feinbergi
Burnham et al., 2000

Bambiraptor is a genus of bird-like dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous (about 72 million years ago) of Montana. It was described by scientists at the University of Kansas, Yale University, and the University of New Orleans. The holotype fossil is less than 1 m (3.3 ft) long, although this specimen appears to be a juvenile, and it is possible that Bambiraptor is a juvenile Saurornitholestes. It is even suspected that the type specimen is a chimera, based on the fact that "there are elements of three different similarly sized lower legs included in the holotype." Because of its small size, it was named Bambiraptor feinbergi, after the popular Disney movie character (the name literally translates to "Bambi thief") and the surname of the wealthy family who bought and lent the specimen to the new Graves Museum of Natural History in Florida.