Bonapartenykus

Bonapartenykus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 70 Ma[1]
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Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Order: Saurischia
Suborder: Theropoda
Family: †Alvarezsauridae
Genus: †Bonapartenykus
Agnolin et al., 2012
Species: †B. ultimus
Binomial name
Bonapartenykus ultimus
Agnolin et al., 2012

Bonapartenykus (named in honor of José Bonaparte)[2] is a genus of alvarezsaurid theropod dinosaurs known from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian/Maastrichtian stage) of northwestern Patagonia, Argentina. The type species is B. ultimus.[3] An adult female of B. ultimus has been discovered with two eggs that may have still been inside its oviducts,[1][2] although some evidence suggests that the eggs may have been incubated in a nest.[4] The size of the adult female has been estimated as at least 8.5 feet (2.6 m),[2] and the weight of Bonapartenykus has been estimated as 100 pounds (45 kg).[1] Its diet probably consisted of insects.[1] Paleontologist Fernando Novas compared its bones to those of the ñandú, a modern-day Patagonian flightless bird.[5]

The eggs of Bonapartenykus were considered unique enough for them to be given a new parataxonomic name, Arriagadoolithus, which was classified in a new oofamily, the Arriagadoolithidae, so named for the owner of the site where the discovery was made.[3][4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Bob Strauss. "Bonapartenykus". About.com. The New York Times Company. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 Jennifer Viegas (April 11, 2012). "Dinosaur Mom Died with Eggs Still Inside Her". Discovery News. Discovery Communications. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
  3. 1 2 Federico L. Agnolin; Jaime E. Powell; Fernando E. Novas & Martin Kundrát (June 2012). "New alvarezsaurid (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from uppermost Cretaceous of north-western Patagonia with associated eggs". Cretaceous Research. 35: 33–56. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2011.11.014.
  4. 1 2 Nola Doyle-Burr (April 11, 2012). "Which came last, the dinosaur or the egg?". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Bird-like dinosaur found with eggs in Patagonia". BBC News. BBC. April 12, 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2012.


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