Open Paleo

Kinnareemimus

Buffetaut et al., 2009 KIN-ah-ree-MIEM-us /ˌkɪnəriˈmɑːiməs/

Named after Kinnaree, a half-human half-bird figure from Thai folklore, combined with Latin mimus (mimic); meaning "Kinnaree mimic"

137.1–125.8 million years ago Valanginian–Hauterivian, Early Cretaceous
Early Cretaceous stages

Kinnareemimus is an extinct genus of ornithomimosaurian theropod dinosaur that was discovered in the Early Cretaceous Sao Khua Formation in what is now Thailand. The genus contains only the type species, K. khonkaenensis. The specific epithet is after Khon Kaen Province, which is in northeastern Thailand, where the remains of the animal were discovered.

Under dispute

Kinnareemimus is a fragmentary taxon whose position is unstable. It was described as an ornithomimosaur (Buffetaut and colleagues, 2009) and is generally regarded as a basal member of the clade, but analyses vary widely: Hartman and colleagues (2019) recovered it as a tyrannosauroid in their shortest trees, and it behaves as a wildcard in recent ornithomimosaur matrices (Averianov and Sues, 2024). It is placed conservatively as a basal ornithomimosaur.

Diagnosis

  1. Metatarsal III visible in cranial view between proximal ends of metatarsals II and IV, becoming rod-like distally with triangular cross-section
  2. Metatarsal III more derived than Garudimimus and Harpymimus but less derived than Archaeornithomimus in its proximal-to-distal morphological progression
  3. Cnemial crest on tibia markedly concave on lateral margin forming distinct notch between fibular condyle and crest
  4. Medial expansion of metatarsal III shaft occurs closer to distal end than in Garudimimus and Harpymimus, approximating arctometatarsalian condition of derived ornithomimids

Species

Kinnareemimus khonkaenensis Buffetaut et al., 2009

Type species

Named for Khon Kaen Province in northeastern Thailand, where the fossil remains were discovered.

Holotype
PW5A-100 , Department of Mineral Resources
Material
Incomplete left third metatarsal with distal end and part of shaft.
Horizon
Sao Khua Formation, Valanginian–Hauterivian, Early Cretaceous , 137.1–125.8 million years ago
Locality
Phu Wiang 5A, Khon Kaen, Thailand

Synonyms of the genus

Name Type Reason
Ginnareemimus nomen nudum Informal name used in early publications for the Thai ornithomimosaur later formally described as Kinnareemimus.

References

  1. Buffetaut, E.; Suteethorn, V.; Tong, H. (2009). An early 'ostrich dinosaur' (Theropoda: Ornithomimosauria) from the Early Cretaceous Sao Khua Formation of NE Thailand. Geological Society, London, Special Publications 315(1): 229-243. Geological Society of London. doi:10.1144/sp315.16 buffetaut2009a
  2. Hartman, S.; Mortimer, M.; Wahl, W. R.; Lomax, D. R.; Lippincott, J.; Lovelace, D. M. (2019). A new paravian dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of North America supports a late acquisition of avian flight. PeerJ 7: e7247. PeerJ. doi:10.7717/peerj.7247

    Recovered Kinnareemimus as a tyrannosauroid in shortest paravian trees.

    hartman2019a
  3. Averianov, A. O.; Sues, H. D. (2024). A new ornithomimid theropod from the Upper Cretaceous Bissekty Formation of Uzbekistan. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 44(3). Informa UK Limited. doi:10.1080/02724634.2024.2433759

    Analysis found Kinnareemimus an unstable wildcard taxon within ornithomimid phylogenetic matrices.

    averianov2024b