Jaculinykus

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Jaculinykus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 72–71  Ma
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Jaculinykus holotype.png
Holotype specimen and skeletal reconstruction
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Theropoda
Family: Alvarezsauridae
Subfamily: Parvicursorinae
Genus: Jaculinykus
Species:
J. yaruui
Binomial name
Jaculinykus yaruui
Kubo et al., 2023

Jaculinykus (meaning "Jaculus claw") is an extinct genus of alvarezsaurid theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Baruungoyot Formation of Mongolia. The genus contains a single species, J. yaruui, known from a nearly complete articulated skeleton including bones of the skull. Jaculinykus is notable for its unique hand, which has a hypertrophied first digit and greatly reduced second digit, which is intermediate between the tridactyl hand of Shuvuuia and monodactyl hand of Linhenykus . [1]

Discovery and naming

Occurrence of alvarezsaurids in Mongolia (Jaculinykus at center, zone 4) Mongolian alvarezsaurids stratigraphic occurrence.png
Occurrence of alvarezsaurids in Mongolia (Jaculinykus at center, zone 4)

The Jaculinykus holotype specimen, MPC-D 100/209, was discovered in sediments of the Baruungoyot Formation (Nemegt locality), of Ömnögovi Province, Mongolia. The specimen consists of a nearly complete skeleton with most of the skull. [1]

In 2023, Kubo et al. described Jaculinykus yaruui as a new genus and species of parvicursorine alvarezsaurid based on these fossil remains. The generic name, "Jaculinykus", combines a reference to the Jaculus, a small dragon in Greek mythology with the Greek word "onykus," meaning "claw". The specific name "yaruui" is derived from "yaruu" ("яаруу"), the Mongolian word for "speedy" or "hasty". [1]

Classification

Life restoration Jaculinykus yaruui.png
Life restoration

Jaculinykus was added to a phylogenetic analysis and found to be in the clade Parvicursorinae, in a clade consisting of all alvarezsaurs from the Nemegt Basin. The cladogram from Kubo et al. (2023) is shown below: [1]

Alvarezsauria

Paleoecology

Restoration of the sleeping posture Jaculinykus life restoration.png
Restoration of the sleeping posture

Fossils of Ondogurvel , another parvicursorine alvarezsaurid, as well as fossils of Nemegtomaia , an oviraptorosaur, are also known from the Nemegt locality of the Mongolian Barun Goyot Formation. [2] Other localities from the formation have yielded dinosaurs including additional alvarezsaurids ( Ceratonykus, Khulsanurus , and Parvicursor ), [1] as well as dromaeosaurs ( Hulsanpes , [3] Kuru , and Shri [4] ), oviraptorosaurs ( Conchoraptor and Heyuannia ), [5] a sauropod ( Quaesitosaurus ), [6] ceratopsians ( Bagaceratops and Breviceratops ), [7] a pachycephalosaur ( Tylocephale ), [8] and ankylosaurs ( Saichania , [9] Tarchia , [10] and Zaraapelta [11] ).

Related Research Articles

<i>Avimimus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Avimimus, meaning "bird mimic", is a genus of oviraptorosaurian theropod dinosaur, named for its bird-like characteristics, that lived in the late Cretaceous in what is now Mongolia, around 85 to 70 million years ago.

<i>Conchoraptor</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Conchoraptor is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaurs that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous epoch, about 70 million years ago. It is known from the Barun Goyot and Nemegt formations of Mongolia.

<i>Saichania</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Saichania is a genus of herbivorous ankylosaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period of Mongolia and China.

<i>Bagaceratops</i> Protoceratopsid dinosaur genus from the Late Cretaceous

Bagaceratops is a genus of small protoceratopsid dinosaurs that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous, around 72 to 71 million years ago. Bagaceratops remains have been reported from the Barun Goyot Formation and Bayan Mandahu Formation. One specimen may argue the possible presence of Bagaceratops in the Djadochta Formation.

<i>Tylocephale</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Tylocephale is a genus of pachycephalosaurid dinosaur, a group of dome-headed, herbivorous ornithischians, that lived during the Late Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous in what is now Mongolia. It is known from a partial skull and associated mandible that were unearthed in 1971 by a Polish-Mongolian Expedition to the Barun Goyot Formation of the Gobi Desert. The specimen was described in 1974 by Polish paleontologists Teresa Maryańska and Halszka Osmólska as a new genus and species.

Kuru is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod from the Late Cretaceous Barun Goyot Formation of Mongolia. The genus contains only a single species, the type species Kuru kulla, which is known from a fragmentary skeleton including a partial skull.

<i>Tarchia</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Tarchia is a genus of herbivorous ankylosaurid dinosaur from the late Cretaceous of Mongolia.

<i>Heyuannia</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Heyuannia is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous epoch, in what is now China and Mongolia. It was the first oviraptorid found in China; most others were found in neighbouring Mongolia. Two species are known: H. huangi, named by Lü Junchang in 2002 from the Dalangshan Formation; and H. yanshini, originally named as a separate genus Ingenia from the Barun Goyot Formation by Rinchen Barsbold in 1981, and later renamed to Ajancingenia in 2013 due to the preoccupation of Ingenia. The latter name was eventually discarded due to various ethical issues surrounding the author.

<i>Hulsanpes</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Hulsanpes is a genus of halszkaraptorine theropod dinosaurs that lived during the Late Cretaceous in what is now the Barun Goyot Formation of Mongolia, about 75-72 million years ago. The remains were found in 1970 and formally described in 1982 by Halszka Osmólska, who noted that the genus is represented by an immature individual. Hulsanpes represents the first record of the basal dromaeosaurid subfamily Halszkaraptorinae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barun Goyot Formation</span>

The Barun Goyot Formation is a geological formation dating to the Late Cretaceous Period. It is located within and is widely represented in the Gobi Desert Basin, in the Ömnögovi Province of Mongolia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nemegt Formation</span> Geological formation in Mongolia

The Nemegt Formation is a geological formation in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia, dating to the Late Cretaceous. The formation consists of river channel sediments and contains fossils of fish, turtles, crocodilians, and a diverse fauna of dinosaurs, including birds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halszka Osmólska</span> Polish paleontologist

Halszka Osmólska was a Polish paleontologist who had specialized in Mongolian dinosaurs.

<i>Minotaurasaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Minotaurasaurus is a monospecific genus of ankylosaurid dinosaur that lived in Mongolia during the Late Cretaceous in what is now the Djadochta Formation. The type and only species, Minotaurasaurus ramachandrani, is known from two skulls, a cervical vertebra and a cervical half ring. It was named and described in 2009 by Clifford Miles and Clark Miles. The first fossils of Minotaurasaurus were illegally exported out of Mongolia.It has been suggested to be a synonym of Tarchia but more recent publications consider it as a distinct genus.

<i>Ceratonykus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Ceratonykus is a monospecific genus of alvarezsaurid dinosaur from Mongolia that lived during the Late Cretaceous in what is now the Barun Goyot Formation. The type and only species, Ceratonykus oculatus, is known from a fragmentary skeleton, including an incomplete skull, of an adult individual. It was named and described in 2009 by Vladimir Alifanov and Rinchen Barsbold. Its describers questioned the traditional placement of alvarezsaurs in Theropoda, instead suggesting they were ornithischians, but this has not been accepted since. Ceratonykus has an estimated length of 75 centimetres and weight of 760 grams. It has been considered as a possible junior synonym of Parvicursor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bayan Mandahu Formation</span>

The Bayan Mandahu Formation is a geological unit of "redbeds" located near the village of Bayan Mandahu in Inner Mongolia and China and dates from the late Cretaceous Period. Laid down in the Campanian, it is dated somewhat uncertainly to between 75 and 71 mya.

<i>Machairasaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Machairasaurus is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaur which was found in the Bayan Mandahu Formation, China, dating to the late Cretaceous period.

<i>Oksoko avarsan</i> Extinct species of dinosaur

Oksoko is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Asia, that lived in what is now the Nemegt Formation in Mongolia. It includes the type species Oksoko avarsan.

Khulsanurus is an extinct genus of alvarezsaurid theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Barungoyot Formation of the Khulsan Locality in the Gobi Desert region of Mongolia. The type and only species is Khulsanurus magnificus.

<i>Ondogurvel</i> Genus of alvarezsaurid dinosaur

Ondogurvel is a genus of alvarezsaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) Barun Goyot Formation in southern Mongolia. The type and only species is O. alifanovi, known from a partial skeleton consisting of fragments of two last dorsal vertebrae, three anterior sacral vertebrae, right ilium, left and right pubis and ischium, articulated right tibia, fibula, metatarsals II and IV, and phalanges IV-1 and IV-2, right carpometacarpus, left and right manual phalanx II-1, right femur, left pedal phalanx II-1, and fragments of unidentified phalanges.

<i>Natovenator</i> Genus of dromaeosaurid dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous

Natovenator is a genus of halszkaraptorine dromaeosaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Barun Goyot Formation of Mongolia. The genus is known from a single species, N. polydontus. Natovenator is crucial to the understanding of halszkaraptorines due to it providing more support for the semi-aquatic lifestyle that has been proposed for this clade. This discovery is important as the semi-aquatic lifestyles of halszkaraptorines was contested in early 2022.

References

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