Bonapartenykus

Bonapartenykus (meaning "Bonaparte's claw", named after José Bonaparte)[2] is a genus of alvarezsaurid theropod dinosaurs known from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian/Maastrichtian stage) Allen Formation of northwestern Patagonia, Argentina. The type species is B. ultimus.[3] An adult female of B. ultimus has been discovered with two eggs that may have still been inside its oviducts,[1][2] although some evidence suggests that the eggs may have been incubated in a nest.[4] The size of the adult female has been estimated as at least 8.5 feet (2.6 m),[5][2] and the weight of Bonapartenykus has been estimated as 100 pounds (45 kg).[1] Its diet probably consisted of insects.[1] Paleontologist Fernando Novas compared its bones to those of the ñandú, a modern-day Patagonian flightless bird.[6]

Bonapartenykus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 70 Ma[1]
↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Theropoda
Family: †Alvarezsauridae
Genus: †Bonapartenykus
Agnolin et al. 2012
Species:
†B. ultimus
Binomial name
†Bonapartenykus ultimus
Agnolin et al. 2012

The eggs of Bonapartenykus were considered unique enough for them to be given a new parataxonomic name, Arriagadoolithus, which was classified in a new oofamily, the Arriagadoolithidae, so named for the owner of the site where the discovery was made.[3][4]

References
  1. Bob Strauss. "Bonapartenykus". About.com. The New York Times Company. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
  2. Jennifer Viegas (April 11, 2012). "Dinosaur Mom Died with Eggs Still Inside Her". Discovery News. Discovery Communications. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
  3. Federico L. Agnolin; Jaime E. Powell; Fernando E. Novas & Martin Kundrát (June 2012). "New alvarezsaurid (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from uppermost Cretaceous of north-western Patagonia with associated eggs". Cretaceous Research. 35: 33–56. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2011.11.014.
  4. Nola Doyle-Burr (April 11, 2012). "Which came last, the dinosaur or the egg?". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
  5. Holtz, Thomas R. Jr.; Rey, Luis V. (2007). Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages (). New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-375-82419-7.
  6. "Bird-like dinosaur found with eggs in Patagonia". BBC News. BBC. April 12, 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2012.


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