Venezuelaraptor

Venezuelaraptor is an extinct species of large non-avian theropod dinosaur part of the Troodont family. The fossils of Venezuelaraptor where discovered in Venarctos Formation dating as far back as 7-3 million years ago in the Miocene to Pliocene. The possible bite and scratch marks on fossil shells of Glyptodonts and ground sloth bones suggests that Venezuelaraptor was likely an apex predator and the top predator of its ecosystem alongside terror birds and Thylacosmilus. It was about the size of a Utahraptor and Dakotaraptor of the Mesozoic. It was most likely a social pack-hunting carnivore as isolated fossils of Venezuelaraptors of different ages indicates, making it a sort of dinosaurian equivalent of lions of Africa and India today. It is unknown on why Venezuelaraptor became extinct, but it may have been due to competition from the newly-arriving big cats and predatory bears that hunted the same food sources.