Bonapartenykus
| Bonapartenykus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous,
| |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Clade: | †Patagonykinae |
| Genus: | †Bonapartenykus Agnolin et al., 2012 |
| Species: | †B. ultimus
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| 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 nandu, a modern-day Patagonian flightless bird.[5]
The eggs of Bonapartenykus were considered unique enough for them to be designated to a new family of egg, the Arraigadoolithidae, so named for the owner of the site where the discovery was made.[3][4]
References
- ^ a b c d Bob Strauss. "Bonapartenykus". About.com. The New York Times Company. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
- ^ a b c Jennifer Viegas (April 11, 2012). "Dinosaur Mom Died with Eggs Still Inside Her". Discovery News. Discovery Communications. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
- ^ a b Federico L. Agnolin, Jaime E. Powell, Fernando E. Novas and 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.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Nola Doyle-Burr (April 11, 2012). "Which came last, the dinosaur or the egg?". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
- ^ "Bird-like dinosaur found with eggs in Patagonia". BBC News. BBC. April 12, 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
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