Patagonykus
Name:
Patagonykus
(Patagonian claw).
Phonetic: Pat-ah-go-ne-kus.
Named By: Novas - 1996.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Saurischia, Theropoda, Coelurosauria, Maniraptoriformes,
Alvarezsauroidea, Alvarezsauridae, Patagonykinae.
Species: P. puertai (type).
Diet: Insectivore.
Size: Roughly estimated around 2 meters long, but
estimates vary widely.
Known locations: Argentina, Neuquen Province -
Neuquen Formation, Portezuelo Member.
Time period: Turonian to Coniacian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Partial post cranial remains.
Although
only known from partial remains, Patagonykus is
confirmed to have
been an alvarezsaur,
small bipedal dinosaurs that are thought to have
specialised in hunting insects. Dinosaurs like Patagonykus
were once
thought to have been restricted to the lower stages of the upper
Cretaceous, however the discovery of Bonapartenykus
in 2012 has
revealed these forms of alvarezsaur survived in South America until the
last stages of the Cretaceous.
Patagonykus
likely shared its ecosystem with dinosaurs such as Megaraptor,
Unenlagia,
Rinconsaurus
and Antarctosaurus
which have all been discovered
in the Neuquen Formation.
Further reading
Patagonykus puertai n. gen. et sp., and the
phylogenetic relationships
of the Alvarezsauridae (Theropoda, Maniraptora), by F. E. Novas. - In,
VI Congreso Argentino de Paleontolog�a y Bioestratigraf�a, R. C�neo
(ed.), Museo Paleontol�gico Egidio Feruglio, Trelew Abstracts. - 1994.
- Anatomy of Patagonykus puertai (Theropoda,
Avialae, Alvarezsauridae),
from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia. - Journal of Vertebrate
Paleontology 17(1); 137–166. - F. E. Novas - 1997.
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