Patagonykus

Patagonykus
Temporal range: Turonian-Early Coniacian
~90.5–88.5 Ma
Reconstructed skeleton
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Theropoda
Clade: Patagonykinae
Genus: Patagonykus
Novas, 1996
Species:
P. puertai
Binomial name
Patagonykus puertai
Novas, 1996
Reconstruction

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).[1]

  1. ^ Paul, Gregory S. (2010). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. 127.