In 1996, a hidden dinosaur in Patagonia became the Southern Hemisphere's first known raptor that roamed 90 million years ago , changing what scientists knew about the history of raptor dinosaurs. Fossils discovered in Patagonia, located in southern Argentina, belonged to Neuquenraptor argentinus, a meat-eating dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous period. The fossil remains became the first confirmed evidence of a raptor from the Southern Hemisphere. Researchers studied the fossils for years before confirming their importance. The discovery also helped scientists understand how ancient continents were connected and how dinosaur ancestors spread across Earth before the continents separated.
