Ceratonykus

Ceratonykus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 72.1 Ma
Life restoration
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Theropoda
Family: Alvarezsauridae
Genus: Ceratonykus
Alifanov & Barsbold, 2009
Species:
C. oculatus
Binomial name
Ceratonykus oculatus
Alifanov & Barsbold, 2009

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 75 centimetres (2.46 feet) and weight of 760 grams (1.68 pounds). It has been considered as a possible junior synonym of Parvicursor.