Mononykus
Mononykus (/məˈnɒnɪkəs/ mə-NON-ik-əs, sometimes /ˌmɒnoʊˈnaɪkəs/ MON-oh-NY-kəs; meaning "one claw") is a genus of alvarezsaurid dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous in what is now Asia on the Nemegt Formation, about 70 million years ago.
| Mononykus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, ~ | |
|---|---|
| Reconstructed skeleton at the American Museum of Natural History | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Family: | †Alvarezsauridae |
| Subfamily: | †Parvicursorinae |
| Tribe: | †Mononykini |
| Genus: | †Mononykus Perle et al., 1993 |
| Type species | |
| †Mononykus olecranus Perle et al., 1993 | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Mononychus olecranus Perle et al., 1993 (preoccupied generic name) | |
Mononykus was a very small theropod, estimated around 1 to 1.2 metres (3.3 to 3.9 ft) in length with a weight of 3.5 kilograms (7.7 lb). As in Shuvuuia, Mononykus likely developed a shaggy feathering. It was lightly built with long, thin legs and highly reduced and specialized forelimbs that were likely used for foraging termite mounds or other insect colonies.
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