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Sun filters through dense stands of cycads and conifers of Gondwana, where a lithe, bipedal predator slowly moves through the Upper Triassic undergrowth. Standing just over a meter tall and measuring about two meters from snout to tail, Maleriraptor kuttyi navigates the terrain with calculated precision. Nearby, early sauropods graze in loose herds, towering only slightly over the small predator as it comes to a halt between concealing ferns—observant, watchful, waiting.

The sudden motion of a small furry shrew-like creature, scuttling between the roots of ginkgos, triggers the raptor's strong hind limbs to propel its slender frame forward as head, jaws and teeth snap into action—just in time for a quick snack or the narrowest of escapes.

In a multinational collaboration led by the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales in Buenos Aires, researchers have identified a new herrerasaurian dinosaur species, Maleriraptor kuttyi, from the Upper Maleri Formation in south-central India.

Some of the earliest known dinosaurs are documented in the Upper Triassic–Lower Jurassic formations of the Pranhita-Godavari Valley in India. The Upper Maleri Formation preserves an early-middle Norian dinosaur assemblage, primarily composed of sauropodomorph dinosaurs. A preliminary report of a herrerasaurian specimen suggested that this region of Gondwana might have been more taxonomically diverse than previously recognized.

Herrerasaurians represent one of the early lineages of predatory dinosaurs, characterized by a bipedal stance and a suite of skeletal traits that distinguish them from later saurischians. Initially restricted to South America, herrerasaurian discoveries were later reported from other regions, including North America and potentially India, based on fragmentary remains.

Taxonomic position of these early saurischians has been debated, with some analyses placing them as basal theropods, early predatory dinosaurs that exhibited traits later seen in formidable hunters such as early Jurassic Dilophosaurus, while others position them outside the main clades of Theropoda and Sauropodomorpha.

In the study, "A new herrerasaurian dinosaur from the Upper Triassic Upper Maleri Formation of south-central India," in Royal Society Open Science, researchers conducted anatomical comparisons and quantitative phylogenetic analyses to assess the taxonomic position and evolutionary relationships of the newly identified specimen, Maleriraptor kuttyi.

Fossil specimen ISIR 282 was recovered from the Upper Maleri Formation in the Pranhita-Godavari Basin of south-central India. Dating to the early Norian stage of the Late Triassic, the formation preserves faunal transitions following the extinction of rhynchosaurs.

Identified skeletal elements include a first primordial sacral vertebra with its right rib and the base of the left rib, a caudosacral (or first caudal) vertebra, an anterior caudal vertebra, the right ilium, the proximal and distal ends of the right pubis, the proximal end of the left pubis, and the distalmost portion of a right second sacral rib.

Researchers employed two phylogenetic datasets to conduct quantitative analyses. One dataset, a modification of the matrix originally developed by Nesbitt et al., included 389 characters scored across 61 active terminals, focusing on early saurischian relationships. Another dataset, modified by Garcia et al., comprised 292 characters scored across 77 active terminals, emphasizing herrerasaurian interrelationships.

Quantitative analyses recover Maleriraptor kuttyi as intermediate in Herrerasauria—more derived than the earliest North American herrerasaurians (e.g. Tawa, Chindesaurus), yet still outside the South American Herrerasauridae. It even shares some features with the South American group (reflecting its derived position), but lacks their defining robust pubic boot and broad supraacetabular crest.

At the same time, classic herrerasaurian characters—a short iliac postacetabular process and a vertically oriented pubic shaft—secure its place in the broader clade.

Identification of Maleriraptor kuttyi in the Upper Maleri Formation extends the known temporal range of herrerasaurs, suggesting survival through the faunal turnover following the extinction of rhynchosaurs, challenging assumptions of their restriction to South America during this interval.

The genus name "Maleri" refers to the formation in which the specimen was collected. "Raptor," derived from Greek, means thief, a suffix often applied to predatory dinosaurs. The species "kuttyi" commemorates the late T. S. Kutty, who discovered the holotype and co-authored its preliminary description.

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