Open Paleo

Patagonykus

Novas, 1996 pat-a-GON-i-kus

Named for Patagonia, the region of Argentina where it was found, combined with Greek 'onyx' meaning 'claw'; translates as 'Patagonian claw'.

93.9–85.7 million years ago Turonian–Coniacian, Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous stages

Patagonykus is a genus of alvarezsauroid theropod dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of Argentina. It was discovered in exposures of the Portezuelo Formation (Turonian-Coniacian) of the Rio Neuquén Subgroup in the Neuquén Basin, Neuquén Province. The holotype consists of an incomplete but well-preserved skeleton, lacking a skull, but including many vertebrae, the coracoids, a partial forelimb, pelvic girdle, and hindlimbs. Patagonykus has been classed with the Alvarezsauridae, a family which includes such taxa as the Mongolian Mononykus and the also Argentinian Alvarezsaurus. In 2010, Gregory S. Paul estimated its length at 1 meter (3.3 ft) and its weight at 3.5 kilograms (7.7 lb).

Diagnosis

  1. Postzygapophyses of the dorsal vertebrae with a ventrally curved, tongue-shaped lateral margin
  2. Dorsal, sacral and caudal vertebrae with a bulge on the caudal base of the neural arch
  3. Coracoid with a transversely narrow humeral articular facet
  4. Internal tuberosity of the humerus subcylindrical, wider at its extremity than at its base
  5. Humeral entepicondyle conical and strongly projecting medially
  6. First phalanx of manual digit I with proximomedial hook-like processes
  7. Ectocondylar tuber of the femur rectangular in distal view

Species

Patagonykus puertai Novas, 1996

Type species

Named in honor of Pablo Puerta, Argentine fossil hunter and preparator.

Holotype
MCF-PVPH 37 , Museo ‘Carmen Funes’, Plaza Huincul
Material
Partial postcranial skeleton comprising dorsal, sacral and caudal vertebrae, both coracoids and humeri, forelimb elements including manual digit I, pelvic fragments, and partial hind limbs.
Horizon
Portezuelo Formation, Turonian–Coniacian, Late Cretaceous , 93.9–85.7 million years ago
Locality
Sierra del Portezuelo, Neuquén, Argentina

References

  1. Novas, F. E. (1996). Alvarezsauridae, Cretaceous basal birds from Patagonia and Mongolia. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 39(3): 675-702.

    Erects Patagonykus puertai with a diagnosis, designated holotype and type horizon. A 1994 congress abstract used the name earlier; Novas credits this paper, both in this work and again in 1997.

    novas1996a
  2. Novas, F. E. (1997). Anatomy of Patagonykus puertai (Theropoda, Avialae, Alvarezsauridae), from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 17(1): 137-166. Informa UK Limited. doi:10.1080/02724634.1997.10010959

    Full anatomical description. Places the quarry 500 m northwest of National Route 22, and ranks Portezuelo a member of the Rio Neuquen Formation, the scheme Leanza and colleagues later revised.

    novas1997b
  3. Leanza, H. A.; Apesteguía, S.; Novas, F. E.; de la Fuente, M. S. (2004). Cretaceous terrestrial beds from the Neuquén Basin (Argentina) and their tetrapod assemblages. Cretaceous Research 25(1): 61-87. Elsevier BV.

    Source of the formation rank followed for the Portezuelo, a formation within the Rio Neuquen Subgroup; names Patagonykus puertai from it directly.

    leanza2004a