If you couldn't tell by my user name, dromaeosaurs are my favorite among the dinosaurs. The raptors may not have been as big (or as scaly!) as the Velociraptor of Jurassic Park fame, but they were fast and effective hunters which survived over fifty million years.
So I'm excited about the discovery of yet another new dromaeosaur from the Cretaceous of Inner Mongolia, China, Linheraptor exquisitus. It was described a few days ago by a team including fellow paleo-blogger, David Hone of Archosaur Musings. At two meters long (this is a bit larger than six feet, I believe), it ranks similarly in size to the related Velociraptor. It lived about 75 million years ago in the Maastrichtian. If I had to guess, it is part of the Velociraptorinae, since Tsaagan and Velociraptor seem to be its closest relatives.
The specimen shown at the top is very well preserved, though sadly the tail doesn't seem to be visible in the picture.
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