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Mononykini
Alvarezsauridae is a family of small, long-legged dinosaurs. Although originally thought to represent the earliest known flightless birds, they are now thought to be an early diverging branch of maniraptoran theropods. Alvarezsaurids were highly specialized. They had tiny but stout forelimbs, with compact, bird-like hands. Their skeletons suggest that they had massive breast and arm muscles, possibly adapted for digging or tearing. They had long, tube-shaped snouts filled with tiny teeth. They have been interpreted as myrmecophagous, adapted to prey on colonial insects such as termites, with the short arms acting as effective digging instruments to break into nests. '' Alvarezsaurus'', the type genus of the family, was named for the historian Gregorio Álvarez. History of study Bonaparte (1991) described the first alvarezsaurid, '' Alvarezsaurus calvoi'', from an incomplete skeleton found in Patagonia, Argentina. Bonaparte also named a family, Alvarezsauridae, to contain it. H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bonapartenykus
''Bonapartenykus'' (meaning "José Bonaparte, José F. Bonaparte's claw") is a monospecific genus of alvarezsauroidea, alvarezsauroid dinosaur from Argentina that lived during the Late Cretaceous (Campanian-Maastrichtian) in what is now the upper Allen Formation of the Río Negro Province. The type and only species, ''Bonapartenykus ultimus'', is known from a nearly articulated but partial skeleton that was found in close association to two incomplete egg, eggs and several clusters of eggshells belonging to the egg fossils, oogenus ''Arriagadoolithus''. ''Bonapartenykus'' was named in 2012 in paleontology, 2012. It has an estimated length of and weight of , making it the largest member of the clade Alvarezsauroidea. Discovery and naming A partial skeleton of a theropod with eggs was collected in a surface of approximately 30 m2 in fluvial processes, fluvial sandstone, sandstones of the upper Allen Formation in northwestern Patagonia, Argentina. The locality has also produced s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ceratonykus
''Ceratonykus'' (meaning "horned claw") is a monospecific genus of alvarezsaurid dinosaur from Mongolia that lived during the Late Cretaceous (late Campanian stage, 72.1 Ma) in what is now the Barun Goyot Formation. The type and only species, ''Ceratonykus oculatus'', is known from a fragmentary skeleton, including an incomplete skull, of an adult individual. It was named and described in 2009 by Vladimir Alifanov and Rinchen Barsbold. Its describers questioned the traditional placement of alvarezsaurs in Theropoda, instead suggesting they were ornithischians, but this has not been accepted since. ''Ceratonykus'' has an estimated length of and weight of . It has been considered as a possible junior synonym of '' Parvicursor''. Discovery and naming In 2003, a partial skeleton of an alvarezsaurid was discovered in the Barun Goyot Formation of the Khermiin Tsav locality, Mongolia by the Paleontological Center of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences (MPC) preparator Otkhoon Zhargal. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albertonykus
''Albertonykus'' (meaning "Alberta claw") is an alvarezsaurid dinosaur from the Maastrichtian-age (Upper Cretaceous) rocks of the Horseshoe Canyon Formation of Alberta, Canada. It is known from forelimb and hindlimb remains from multiple individuals. All but two of the specimens come from a bonebed dominated by ''Albertosaurus'', located at the top of Unit 4 of the Horseshoe Canyon Formation,Larson, D. W., Brinkman, D. B., & Bell, P. R. (2010). Faunal assemblages from the upper Horseshoe Canyon Formation, an early Maastrichtian cool-climate assemblage from Alberta, with special reference to the Albertosaurus sarcophagus bonebed This article is one of a series of papers published in this Special Issue on the theme Albertosaurus. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 47(9), 1159-1181. dating to ~68.5 million years ago. ''Albertonykus'' is interpreted as having fed on wood-nesting termites because the forelimbs appear specialized for digging, but are too short for burrowing. ''Albert ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dzharaonyx
''Dzharaonyx'' (meaning "Dzharakuduk claw", named after the type locality) is a genus of alvarezsaurid theropod from the Late Cretaceous Bissekty Formation of Uzbekistan. The type species, type and only species is ''D. eski''. The specific epithet ''"eski"'' is an Uzbek language, Uzbek word for "old". Discovery and naming All remains of ''Dzharaonyx'' were discovered at a single locality called Dzharakuduk, which is in the Kyzylkum Desert of Uzbekistan. The first remains belonging to alvarezsaurid dinosaurs, which would later be referred to ''Dzharaonyx'' were discovered by Lev Nesov during the period between 1977-1994 who was a paleontologist employed by the Soviet Union. Additional remains would be found in the period between 1997-2006 by the so-called "URBAC joint-paleontological expedition", so named because it involved the collaboration of five countries — Uzbekistan, Russia, UK, Britain, United States, America, and Canada. During both of these periods of expedition, re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patagonykus
''Patagonykus'' (meaning "Patagonian claw") is a genus of theropod dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of Argentina. This alvarezsauroid was discovered in exposures of the Portezuelo Formation (Turonian-Coniacian) of the Rio Neuquén Subgroup in the Neuquén Basin, Neuquen Province of Patagonia, Argentina. The holotype consists of an incomplete but well-preserved skeleton, lacking a skull, but including many vertebrae, the coracoids, a partial forelimb, pelvic girdle, and hindlimbs. ''Patagonykus'' has been classed with the Alvarezsauridae, a family which includes such taxa as the Mongolian '' Mononykus'' and the Argentinian '' Alvarezsaurus''. In 2010 Gregory S. Paul estimated its length at 1 meter (3.3 ft) and its weight at 3.5 kg (7.7 lbs). Classification Agnolin ''et al.'' (2012) originally placed ''Patagonykus'' within Alvarezsauridae, within the clade Patagonykinae as sister taxon to ''Bonapartenykus''. Makovicky, Apesteguía and Gianechini (2012) found it to be in a polyto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qiupanykus
''Qiupanykus'' (IPA: , meaning "claw from the Qiupa Formation") is an extinct genus of alvarezsaurid theropod from the Late Cretaceous Qiupa Formation of Henan Province, China. The type and only species is ''Q. zhangi'', named for Shuancheng Zhang, who assisted in finding the fossils of ''Qiupanykus''. Discovery The Qiupa Formation is located in the Tantou Basin which is in Luanchuan County of the Henan province in China. Lithological correlation of the local strata has dated the Qiupa Formation to the Late Cretaceous. More specific analyses have suggested that the formation dates to the end of the Maastrichtian stage, which was the final stage of the Mesozoic Era. This would make ''Qiupanykus'' and its contemporaries were among the last-surviving non-avian dinosaurs. The Qiupa Formation preserves a wide variety of dinosaur eggs, many of which have been named as ootaxa, as well as body fossils. Alvarezsaurid remains were found near the village of Guanping in Luanchuan Cou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the more recent of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', the Latin word for the white limestone known as chalk. The chalk of northern France and the white cliffs of south-eastern England date from the Cretaceous Period. Climate During the Late Cretaceous, the climate was warmer than present, although throughout the period a cooling trend is evident. The tropics became restricted to equatorial regions and northern latitudes experienced markedly more seasonal climatic conditions. Geography Due to plate tectonics, the Americas were gradually moving westward, causing the Atlantic Ocean to expand. The Western Interior Seaway divided North America into eastern and western halves; Appalachia and Laramidia. India maintained a northward course towards Asia. In the Southern Hemisphere, Aus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albinykus
''Albinykus'' (meaning " Albin claw", after a term used by Mongolian shamans to describe light phenomena in the Gobi Desert) is a genus of alvarezsaurid dinosaur. Fossils have been found from Late Cretaceous-age (Santonian) Javkhlant Formation in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. The type species ''A. baatar'' was named by Sterling J. Nesbitt, Julia A. Clarke, Alan H. Turner and Mark A. Norell in 2011. Estimated at under in weight, ''Albinykus'' was one of the smallest alvarezsaurs and among the smallest non avian dinosaurs. The body size of alvarezsaurs decreased throughout their evolutionary history, and ''Albinykus'' represents a particularly derived form. One distinguishing feature of ''Albinykus'' not seen in other alvarezsaurids is the complete fusion of the tarsals to other bones of the leg; the proximal tarsals are fused to the tibia bone of the lower leg and the distal tarsals are fused to the metatarsal bones of the foot. The holotype skeleton of ''Albinykus'', specimen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xixianykus
''Xixianykus'' is a genus of alvarezsaurid theropod dinosaur from the late Cretaceous period of China. Known from a slab of rock which contains a partial postcranial skeleton unearthed in the Late Cretaceous ( Coniacian-Santonian) Majiacun Formation of the Xixia Basin in Henan, China. Discovery and naming The fossil, holotype XMDFEC V0011, was found in the Majiacun Formation in Henan Province, China. The fossil consists of a partial skeleton, without the skull. Parts of the hind legs, pelvis and spine has also been recovered. ''Xixianykus'' is among the oldest of the derived alvarezsauroids, the parvicursorines, dated to the Santonian– Coniacian, as opposed to other parvicursorines, which are either Campanian or Maastrichtian.Hone, D. (2010)''Xixianykus zhangi'' - A New AlvarezsaurDave Hone's Archosaur Musings, April 23, 2011. The type species is ''Xixianykus zhangi'' described in 2010 by Xu Xing. The genus name refers to Xixia County and to the Greek word for claw ("''o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Linhenykus
''Linhenykus'' is an extinct genus of alvarezsaurid theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Inner Mongolia, China. It is the most basal known member of the Parvicursorinae. The genus gets its name from Linhe, a city near the site where the fossil was first found and Greek ''nykus'', "claw". The specific name is derived from Greek ''monos'', "single", and ''daktylos'', "finger", a reference to the fact that it is the only known non-avian dinosaur to have had but a single digit. Description ''Linhenykus'' was a small dinosaur, measuring long and weighing . Its femur length is . Alvarezsauroids are known for their short forelimbs, each with a single greatly enlarged second digit. Although alvarezsaurids were once thought to have only a single digit on each forelimb, more recent evidence has shown that most species have reduced third and fourth digits. ''Linhenykus'' is the first known alvarezsaurid to have only a single, second digit. Although a reduced third metacarpal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shuvuuia
''Shuvuuia'' is a genus of bird-like theropod dinosaur from the late Cretaceous period of Mongolia. It is a member of the family Alvarezsauridae, small coelurosaurian dinosaurs which are characterized by short but powerful forelimbs specialized for digging. The type (and only known) species is ''Shuvuuia deserti'', or "desert bird". The name ''Shuvuuia'' is derived from the Mongolian word ''shuvuu'' (шувуу) meaning "bird". Description ''Shuvuuia'' was a small and lightly built animal. At in length and in body mass, it is one of the smallest known non-avian dinosaurs. The skull is lightly built with long and slender jaws and minute teeth. ''Shuvuuia'' is unique among non-avian theropods in the skull's ability to perform prokinesis; that is, it could flex its upper jaw independently of its braincase. The hindlimbs of ''Shuvuuia'' were long, slender, and short-toed, which may indicate significant running capabilities. The forelimbs, however, were unusually short and power ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colin Harrison (ornithologist)
Colin James Oliver Harrison (18 August 1926 – 17 November 2003) was an English ornithologist. Harrison was born in London. He got a scholarship to grammar school, and then worked as a librarian and a teacher. He had been interested in birds since childhood, and joined an expedition to study autumn migration in Norway. He became a professional ornithologist at the age of 34 and became responsible for the care of the national collection of birds' nests and eggs in the Bird Room at the Natural History Museum at Tring, Hertfordshire. In 1966 he led the fourth of the series of Harold Hall Australian ornithological collecting expeditions. Harrison later became interested in biogeography Biogeography is the study of the species distribution, distribution of species and ecosystems in geography, geographic space and through evolutionary history of life, geological time. Organisms and biological community (ecology), communities o ... and the museum's avian paleontological collect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
