Drag to rotate the Dakotaraptor, scroll or pinch to zoom, and click a body part - the head, tail, an arm, or a leg - to read what fossils tell us about it. The panel beside the model carries the real figures.
Dakotaraptor stretched roughly 4.35 to 6 m from snout to tail - often cited around 5.5 m - putting it in the same size class as the already-shipped Utahraptor, though built more lightly. Turn on the human figure to see how the two giant raptors compare against a person.
The colors and skin here are an artistic reconstruction; fossils preserve bone, not soft tissue or color, and this model does not render feathers even though Dakotaraptor is one of the few raptors with direct fossil evidence (quill knobs on the forearm) rather than feathers only inferred from relatives. No skull fossil has been found for Dakotaraptor either, so the head follows closely related raptors rather than a Dakotaraptor fossil - and the measurements in the panel are the ones actually published.
Dakotaraptor 3D Viewer
freetoolonline.com editorial team
This page renders a Dakotaraptor as a 3D model you can spin in the browser - drag to rotate, scroll or pinch to zoom, toggle a 1.8 m person beside it for scale, and click the head, tail, an arm, or a leg to read a fact about that part.
Dakotaraptor lived in the Late Cretaceous, roughly 68 to 66 million years ago, and its fossils come from the Hell Creek Formation in Harding County, South Dakota, USA - found less than 20 m below the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary, making it one of the youngest dinosaur species known before the mass extinction. Published figures put an adult at about 4.35 to 6 m long, often cited around 5.5 m, putting it in the same size class as the already-shipped Utahraptor - though weight estimates of about 220 to 350 kg suggest a lighter build for its length. A sickle-shaped foot claw reaching about 24 cm along its outer curve tipped the second toe of each foot, among the largest recorded for any dromaeosaurid ("raptor"). A row of quill knobs on the forearm bone (ulna) is direct fossil evidence of wing feathers - unlike most raptors on this site, where feathering is only inferred from close relatives. As a carnivore sharing its Hell Creek habitat with Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops, it likely filled an ecological niche between small predators and the giant tyrannosaurs, possibly avoiding direct competition by hunting different prey or using a different strategy.
Robert DePalma, David Burnham, Larry Martin, Peter Larson, and Robert Bakker named the genus in 2015; the species "steini" honors Walter "Bill" Stein of PaleoAdventures, who helped recover the fossils. No skull material has been found for Dakotaraptor, so its head shape is reconstructed from closely related raptors rather than direct fossil evidence. A handful of bones in the original type material that were first identified as wishbones (furculae) were later reidentified by other researchers as fragments of turtle shell, a reminder that sorting out which bones belong to which animal at a bonebed site like this can take more than one study.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Length | about 4.35-6 m (often cited around 5.5 m) |
| Hip height | roughly 1.4 m (estimated from body proportions; no separate figure has been published) |
| Weight | about 220-350 kg |
| When it lived | 68-66 million years ago (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian) |
| Diet | Carnivore - likely avoided direct competition with adult tyrannosaurs by hunting different prey |
| Described | 2015 by Robert DePalma, David Burnham, Larry Martin, Peter Larson, and Robert Bakker; Hell Creek Formation (Harding County, South Dakota, USA) |
Everything runs on your device with WebGL, so the model works without an account and without sending anything to a server. The skin tone and pattern are an artistic reconstruction, because fossils do not preserve color or soft tissue, and this model is not a fossil-accurate skeleton; no feathers are rendered here even though quill knobs are real evidence Dakotaraptor had them, and no skull fossil is known so the head follows related raptors rather than this animal's own remains. The numbers above are real published values, and ranges are shown because sources and estimation methods vary.
Frequently Asked Questions
How big was Dakotaraptor?
About 4.35 to 6 m long, often cited around 5.5 m - roughly the same size class as the already-shipped Utahraptor, though weight estimates of about 220 to 350 kg point to a lighter build. Turn on the human figure in the viewer to see the scale against a 1.8 m person.
Did Dakotaraptor really have feathers?
A row of quill knobs on its forearm bone (the ulna) is direct fossil evidence of wing feathers - unlike most raptors on this site, where feathering is only inferred from close relatives. The 3D model here still does not render feathers, since no feather impressions themselves were preserved, only the knobs that anchored them.
Where and when did Dakotaraptor live?
Its fossils come from the Hell Creek Formation in Harding County, South Dakota, USA, from rock less than 20 m below the boundary that marks the mass extinction 66 million years ago - making it one of the youngest dinosaur species known. It shared that world with Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops.
What did Dakotaraptor eat, and did it compete with Tyrannosaurus?
It was a carnivore. Living alongside adult tyrannosaurs, it likely avoided direct competition by hunting smaller or different prey rather than going after the same animals.
Where does the name Dakotaraptor come from?
The genus name combines "Dakota", for the state where it was found, with "raptor" ("seizer" or "thief" in Latin). Robert DePalma, David Burnham, Larry Martin, Peter Larson, and Robert Bakker named it in 2015; the species "steini" honors Walter "Bill" Stein of PaleoAdventures, who helped recover the fossils.
Is the model scientifically accurate?
The proportions follow published fossil figures, but the skin color and texture are an artistic reconstruction - fossils preserve bone, not soft tissue or color. No skull fossil has been found for Dakotaraptor, so the head follows closely related raptors rather than this animal's own remains, and no feathers are rendered even though quill knobs are real evidence it had them. The length, weight, and age figures shown are real published values, with ranges cited because sources and estimation methods vary.