Arkansaurus
From Arkansas (the U.S. state where fossils were found) + Greek sauros (σαῦρος) meaning 'lizard'; overall meaning 'Arkansas lizard'.
Early Cretaceous stages
Arkansaurus is an extinct genus of ornithomimosaurian theropod dinosaur that lived during the Aptian and Albian stages of the Early Cretaceous in what is now North America. The type and only species is Arkansaurus fridayi.
Diagnosis
- Third metatarsal laterally compressed proximally but visible along its entire extensor surface (subarctometatarsalian condition)
- Proximal articular facets of the metatarsals ovoid in shape when articulated
- Pedal unguals more strongly ventrally curved distally than any other ornithomimosaur
- Distal ungual with a very weak flexor tubercle, curved rather than flat, lacking mediolateral spurs
Species
Arkansaurus fridayi Hunt & Quinn, 2018
Type species
Named for Joe B. Friday, who discovered the fossilized foot on Friday's land in Arkansas in 1972.
- Holotype
- UAM 74-16 , University of Alaska Museum, Earth Science Collections
- Material
- Nearly complete right foot: metatarsals II, III, and IV; pedal phalanges II-1, III-1, III-2, and IV-1; and three pedal unguals
- Horizon
- Trinity Group, Albian, Early Cretaceous , 113.2–100.5 million years ago
- Locality
- Lockesburg, Arkansas, United States
References
- Hunt, R. K.; Quinn, J. H. (2018). A new ornithomimosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Trinity Group of Arkansas. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 38(1): e1421209. Informa UK Limited. doi:10.1080/02724634.2017.1421209 hunt2018a