Rahonavis
| Rahonavis Temporal range: Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian)
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| Reconstructed skeleton, Royal Ontario Museum | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Clade: | Paraves |
| Clade: | incertae sedis |
| Genus: | †Rahonavis Forster et al., 1998b |
| Type species | |
| †Rahonavis ostromi | |
| Synonyms | |
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Rahonavis is a genus of bird-like theropod from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian, from about 70 to 66 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 dromaesaurid-like raised sickle claw on the second toe. It was the first coelurosaur discovered in Africa, with Nqwebasaurus being the second.
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.