In Depth Mononykus has a close relationship with another genus of alvarezsaur named Shuvuuia in that many of the fossils once attributed to Mononykus olecranus were found to be of a distinct genus, and these were moved to their own genus named Shuvuuia. Hence many of the older reconstruction and information resources about Mononykus are … Read more
In Depth Although based upon incomplete remains, Ceratonykus is known to have been one of the alvarezsaurs. Other alvarezsaurs from the same formation include Parvicursor and possibly Mononykus. Further Reading - Ceratonykus oculatus gen. et sp. nov., a new dinosaur (? Theropoda, Alvarezsauria) from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia. - Paleontological Journal 43(1):94-106. - V. … Read more
In Depth Qiupanykus is a genus of alvarezasurid dinosaur that lived in Asia towards the end of the Cretaceous. Eggs of oviraptorid dinosaurs found near the holotype skeleton of Qiupanykus have led the describers of the genus that maybe Qiupanykus, and perhaps other alvarezsaurs, used the stout claws on their forelimbs to punch holes in … Read more
In Depth Xiyunykus is a genus of alvarezsaurid dinosaur that lived in China during the early Cretaceous. In terms of alvarezsaur evolution, Xiyunykus shows an intermediate development between primitive ancestors and more developed descendents. Care should be taken not to confuse the Xiyunykus with the similarly named alvarezsaur Xixianykus. Further Reading - Two early Cretaceous … Read more
In Depth Nemegtonykus is a genus of alvarezsaurid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the late Cretaceous. Further Reading - A new alvarezsaurid dinosaur from the Nemegt Formation of Mongolia”. Scientific Reports. 9 (1). - Sungjin Lee, Jin-Young Park, Yuong-Nam Lee, Su-Hwan Kim, Junchang L�, Rinchen Barsbold & Khishigjav Tsogtbaatar - 2019.
In Depth So far at the time of writing the only known fossils of Kol are of a complete foot. This foot however is enough to identify Kol as an alvarezsaurid dinosaur, and one that was fairly big. The foot of the Kol holotype specimen is about twice the size of the foot of Shuvuuia, … Read more
In Depth Parvicursor is a genus of alvarezsaur known to have lived in Mongolia during the Late Cretaceous. Like with some relatives, Parvicursor had hands reduced to a single stubby horn which was likely used to punch holes into termite mounds so that an individual Parvicursor could feed upon the termites within. Further Reading - … Read more
In Depth At just over half a meter in length, Shuvuuia is not just one of the smallest alvarezsaurs, it is among the smallest known dinosaurs. It is thanks to this small size that the Shuvuuia holotype was so well preserved because it could be buried much more quickly than a larger dinosaur (larger dinosaurs … Read more