Leptorhynchos
Name:
Leptorhynchos
(Thin snout).
Phonetic: Lep-tpe-rin-kos.
Named By: Nicholas R. Longrich, Ken Barnes,
Scott Clark & Larry Millar - 2013.
Synonyms: Ornithomimus elegans.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Saurischia, Theropoda, Oviraptorosauria, Caenagnathoidea,
Caenagnathidae, Caenagnathinae.
Species: L. gaddisi
(type).
Diet: Ominvore?
Size: Details unavailable.
Known locations: Canada, Alberta - Dinosaur
Park Formation. USA, Texas - Aguja Formation.
Time period: Campanian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Remains of a few individuals.
Leptorhynchos
is based upon the description of caenagnathid oviraptorid
dinosaur
remains discovered in the
Aguaja Formation of Texas, establishing the type species L.
gaddisi.
At the same time as this description, fossils from the Dinosaur Park
Formation of Alberta and originally attributed as a species of
Ornithomimus,
O. elegans, have also been re-described as a
species as the second species of Leptorhynchos, L.
elegans. However, L. elegans has since
been moved into the
Citipes
genus.
Like
with other oviraptosaurs,
Leptorhynchos would
have been a bipedal
theropod, probably with feathers. Rather than a mouth full of sharp
teeth, Leptorhynchos would have had a toothless
beak which could have
been used in eating either plants or small animals, making the exact
dietary preference (if any) of Leptorhynchos
near impossible to
determine at this time. Leptorhynchos is noted
for its small size,
a beak that upturns slightly at the tip and the deepness of the
mandible (lower jaw).
In
the 2013 description, Longrich et al. used the paper to further
point out the probability that dinosaurs like Leptorhynchos
which
displayed subtle differences between species and genera were probably
niche specialists rather than being generalists in their ecosystems.
Further reading
- Caenagnathidae from the Upper Campanian Aguja Formation of West
Texas, and a Revision of the Caenagnathinae, Nicholas R.
Longrich, Ken Barnes, Scott Clark & Larry Millar -
2013.
-
Caenagnathids of the Dinosaur Park Formation (Campanian) of Alberta,
Canada: anatomy, osteohistology, taxonomy, and evolution. - Vertebrate
Anatomy Morphology Palaeontology. 8: 105–153. - Gregory Funston - 2020.
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