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Parvicursorinae

Karhu & Rautian, 1996 Type genus Parvicursor

Its genera lived 93.9–66.0 million years ago Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous stages

Parvicursorinae is the derived subfamily of alvarezsaurids that dominated the Late Cretaceous of Asia, with a few members in North America. It contains the smallest, most specialized alvarezsaurs, in which the forelimb is reduced to a stout, single-clawed digging or probing tool and the hindlimb is elongate and extensively fused. Defined as the most inclusive clade containing Parvicursor but not Patagonykus (Xu and colleagues, 2010), it takes priority over Mononykinae as originally defined, though Agnolín and colleagues (2012) rename that group Mononykini, as a smaller clade within it; its internal relationships are poorly resolved and largely form a polytomy (Fowler and colleagues, 2020).

Diagnosis

  1. Absence of pleurocoels in the cervical vertebrae
  2. Absent or reduced, laterally facing fibular facet of the astragalus
  3. Broad ascending process of the astragalus covering most of the anterior surface of the distal tibia
  4. Notch on the medial edge of the ascending process of the astragalus
  5. Metatarsal III not reaching the proximal end of the metatarsus
  6. Penultimate manual phalanges with a straight shaft

Genera placed directly in Parvicursorinae

  • Albinykus Nesbitt et al., 2011 Santonian–Campanian (85.7–72.2 Ma)Mongolia
  • Ceratonykus Disputed Alifanov & Barsbold, 2009 Santonian (85.7–83.6 Ma)Mongolia
  • Dzharaonyx Averianov & Sues, 2022 Turonian (93.9–89.8 Ma)Uzbekistan
  • Jaculinykus Kubo et al., 2023 Campanian (83.6–72.2 Ma)Mongolia
  • Khulsanurus Averianov & Lopatin, 2021 Campanian (83.6–72.2 Ma)Mongolia
  • Linhenykus Xu et al., 2011 Campanian (83.6–72.2 Ma)China
  • Manipulonyx Averianov et al., 2025 Maastrichtian (72.2–66.0 Ma)Mongolia
  • Mononykus Perle et al., 1993 Maastrichtian (72.2–66.0 Ma)Mongolia
  • Ondogurvel Averianov & Lopatin, 2022 Campanian (83.6–72.2 Ma)Mongolia
  • Parvicursor Karhu & Rautian, 1996 Campanian–Maastrichtian (83.6–66.0 Ma)Mongolia
  • Shuvuuia Chiappe et al., 1998 Campanian (83.6–72.2 Ma)Mongolia
  • Trierarchuncus Fowler et al., 2020 Maastrichtian (72.2–66.0 Ma)United States
  • Xixianykus Xu et al., 2010 Coniacian–Santonian (89.8–83.6 Ma)China

References

  1. Karhu, A. A.; Rautian, A. S. (1996). A new family of Maniraptora (Dinosauria: Saurischia) from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia. Paleontological Journal 30(5): 583-592. karhu1996a
  2. Xu, X.; Wang, De-Y.; Sullivan, C.; Hone, D. W. E.; Han, F. L.; Yan, R. H.; Du, F. M. (2010). A basal parvicursorine (Theropoda: Alvarezsauridae) from the Upper Cretaceous of China. Zootaxa 2413(1). Magnolia Press. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2413.1.1

    Described Xixianykus as a basal parvicursorine and defined Parvicursorinae as all taxa closer to Parvicursor than to Patagonykus.

    xu2010a
  3. Agnolín, F. L.; Powell, J. E.; Novas, F. E.; Kundrát, M. (2012). New alvarezsaurid (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from uppermost Cretaceous of north-western Patagonia with associated eggs. Cretaceous Research 35: 33-56. Elsevier BV. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2011.11.014

    Noted that Mononykinae, as first defined, is a junior synonym of Parvicursorinae, and renamed the smaller group Mononykini.

    agnolín2012a
  4. Fowler, D. W.; Wilson, J. P.; Freedman Fowler, E. A.; Noto, C. R.; Anduza, D.; Horner, J. R. (2020). Trierarchuncus prairiensis gen. et sp. nov., the last alvarezsaurid: Hell Creek Formation (uppermost Maastrichtian), Montana. Cretaceous Research 116. Elsevier BV. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104560

    Recovered Trierarchuncus within a polytomy of parvicursorines.

    fowler2020b