A U. S. paleontologist has said that a new relative of the Velociraptor discovered in China could provide clues to the evolution of the entire Dromaeosauridae family.

George Washington University doctoral candidate Jonah Choiniere and Michael Pittman, a graduate student at University College London discovered Linheraptor exquisitus in 2008 in Inner Mongolia.

Choiniere said in a release on Friday that the nearly complete skeleton was found in 75 million-year-old red sandstone rock.

Choiniere further said, "I only saw the tip of the claw sticking out of a cliff face, and it was a total surprise that the whole skeleton was buried deeper in the rock."

He also said that the 8-foot-long skeleton could help reconstruct the series of evolutionary changes within the Dromaeosauridae family.

It was also believed by the researchers that Linheraptor was a quick and agile predator who stalked small horned dinosaurs related to Triceratops. (With Inputs from Agencies)