Patagonykus

Patagonykus (meaning "Patagonian claw") is a genus of theropod dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of Argentina. This alvarezsaur 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), while in 2016 Molina-Pérez and Larramendi gave a larger size of 2.8 meters (9.2 ft) and 30 kg (66 lbs).[1][2]

Patagonykus
Temporal range: Turonian-Early Coniacian
~94–86 Ma
Reconstructed skeleton
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Theropoda
Family: †Alvarezsauridae
Genus: †Patagonykus
Novas 1996
Species:
†P. puertai
Binomial name
†Patagonykus puertai
Novas 1996
Reconstruction

References
  1. Paul, Gregory S. (2010). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. 127.
  2. Molina-Pérez & Larramendi (2016). Récords y curiosidades de los dinosaurios Terópodos y otros dinosauromorfos. Spain: Larousse. p. 269.

Further reading
  • F. E. Novas. 1994. Patagonykus puertai n. gen. et sp., and the phylogenetic relationships of the Alvarezsauridae (Theropoda, Maniraptora). VI Congreso Argentino de Paleontología y Bioestratigrafía, R. Cúneo (ed), Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio, Trelew.
  • Novas, F. E. 1997. Anatomy of Patagonykus puertai (Theropoda, Avialae, Alvarezsauridae), from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 17(1); 137–166.
  • Novas, F. E. and Molnar, R. E. (eds.) 1996. Alvarezsauridae, Cretaceous basal birds from Patagonia and Mongolia. Proceedings of the Gondwanan Dinosaur Symposium, Brisbane. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 39(3):iv + 489-731; 675–702.


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