Unguinychus

Unguinychus
Temporal range: Late Triassic, mid-Norian
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Drepanosauromorpha
Family: Drepanosauridae
Genus: Unguinychus
Pugh et al., 2024
Species:
U. onyx
Binomial name
Unguinychus onyx
Pugh et al., 2024

Unguinychus (meaning "claw claw") is an extinct genus of drepanosaurid reptiles from the Late Triassic Garita Creek Formation of New Mexico, United States. The genus contains a single species, U. onyx, known from several partial claws. In contrast to some of its relatives that may have been arboreal, Unguinychus may have been a more fossorial species.[1] Based on the morphology of the claws, Unguinychus appears to be most similar to Skybalonyx, another possibly fossorial drepanosaur from the Chinle Formation of Arizona.[2]

  1. ^ Pugh, Isaac; Nesbitt, Sterling J.; Heckert, Andrew B.; Lauer, René; Lauer, Bruce (2024-07-04). "A new drepanosauromorph (Diapsida) from East–Central New Mexico and diversity of drepanosaur morphology and ecology at the Upper Triassic Homestead Site at Garita Creek (Triassic: mid-Norian)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. doi:10.1080/02724634.2024.2363202. ISSN 0272-4634.
  2. ^ Jenkins, X.A.; Pritchard, A.C.; Marsh, A.D.; Kligman, B.T.; Sidor, C.A.; Reed, K.E. (2020). "Using manual ungual morphology to predict substrate use in the Drepanosauromorpha and the description of a new species". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 40 (5): e1810058. Bibcode:2020JVPal..40E0058J. doi:10.1080/02724634.2020.1810058.