Parvicursor
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| Parvicursor Fossil range: Late Cretaceous |
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P. remotus Karhu & Rautian, 1996 (type) |
Parvicursor (meaning "small runner") is a genus of tiny maniraptoran dinosaur with long slender legs for fast running. At only about 39 cm (~15 in) from snout to end of tail, and 162 grams (5.7 ounces) in weight, it is currently the smallest non-avian dinosaur known from an adult specimen.[1]
Like other members of the family Alvarezsauridae, the forelimbs of Parvicursor were short and stubby, with hands all but completely reduced to a single large claw, possibly useful for opening tough termite mounds or other types of digging. It is unlikely that the claw could have served much for defence, as it was short and not adapted for flexible movements — it is more likely it would do as the animal's name implies: cursor means runner.
Parvicursor is known from Late Cretaceous Campanian sediments at Khulsan, Mongolia. It is only known from one incomplete specimen, mostly pelvis and hind legs. Close relatives include Shuvuuia and Mononykus, and together with these it is classified in the alvarezsaurid subfamily Mononykinae.
[edit] References
- ^ Which was the smallest dinosaur? Royal Tyrrell Museum. Last accessed 2008-05-23.
- Karhu, A.A. and Rautian, A.S. (1996). "A new family of Maniraptora (Dinosauria: Saurischia) from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia". Paleontological Journal Russian Academy of Sciences 30(5): 583-592.
[edit] External links
- Parvicursor remotus in the Dinosaur Encyclopedia
- Parvicursor from Palaeos (technical)
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