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A microraptorine (Dinosauria-Dromaeosauridae) from the Late Cretaceous of North America.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 Mar 31; 106(13):5002-7.PN

Abstract

The fossil assemblages of the Late Cretaceous of North America are dominated by large-bodied dinosaur species. Associated skeletons of small dinosaurs are exceedingly rare, and small (<10 kg) carnivorous theropods have not previously been reported from these beds. Here, we describe a small dromaeosaurid from the 75-million-year-old Dinosaur Park Formation of Alberta, Canada. Hesperonychus elizabethae gen. et sp. nov. is represented by a pelvic girdle from an animal weighing approximately 1,900 g. Despite its size, the pubes and ilia are coossified, indicating that the animal was somatically mature. This is the smallest carnivorous, nonavian dinosaur known from North America. Phylogenetic analysis of Hesperonychus reveals that it is not closely related to previously described North American dromaeosaurids. Instead, Hesperonychus is a member of the dromaeosaurid clade Microraptorinae, a group containing the 4-winged Microraptor and the feathered Sinornithosaurus, both from the Lower Cretaceous Jehol Group of China. Hesperonychus is the youngest known member of this lineage, extending the temporal range of the clade by 45 million years, and it is the first microraptorine known from North America, providing further evidence for an affinity between the dinosaur faunas of North America and Asia. Study of fossil collections from the Dinosaur Park and Oldman formations of Alberta has revealed numerous isolated bones of small, basal dromaeosaurids, which are tentatively referred to Hesperonychus. These fossils suggest that small dromaeosaurids were a significant component of the carnivore community in this Late Cretaceous biota.

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Authors+Show Affiliations

Longrich NR
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, Canada. longrich@ucalgary.ca
Currie PJ
No affiliation info available

MeSH

AnimalsDinosaursFossilsNorth AmericaPaleontologyPhylogenyPredatory Behavior

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Language

eng

PubMed ID

19289829

Citation

Longrich, Nicholas R., and Philip J. Currie. "A Microraptorine (Dinosauria-Dromaeosauridae) From the Late Cretaceous of North America." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 106, no. 13, 2009, pp. 5002-7.
Longrich NR, Currie PJ. A microraptorine (Dinosauria-Dromaeosauridae) from the Late Cretaceous of North America. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009;106(13):5002-7.
Longrich, N. R., & Currie, P. J. (2009). A microraptorine (Dinosauria-Dromaeosauridae) from the Late Cretaceous of North America. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 106(13), 5002-7. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0811664106
Longrich NR, Currie PJ. A Microraptorine (Dinosauria-Dromaeosauridae) From the Late Cretaceous of North America. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 Mar 31;106(13):5002-7. PubMed PMID: 19289829.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - A microraptorine (Dinosauria-Dromaeosauridae) from the Late Cretaceous of North America. AU - Longrich,Nicholas R, AU - Currie,Philip J, Y1 - 2009/03/16/ PY - 2009/3/18/entrez PY - 2009/3/18/pubmed PY - 2009/5/8/medline SP - 5002 EP - 7 JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America JO - Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A VL - 106 IS - 13 N2 - The fossil assemblages of the Late Cretaceous of North America are dominated by large-bodied dinosaur species. Associated skeletons of small dinosaurs are exceedingly rare, and small (<10 kg) carnivorous theropods have not previously been reported from these beds. Here, we describe a small dromaeosaurid from the 75-million-year-old Dinosaur Park Formation of Alberta, Canada. Hesperonychus elizabethae gen. et sp. nov. is represented by a pelvic girdle from an animal weighing approximately 1,900 g. Despite its size, the pubes and ilia are coossified, indicating that the animal was somatically mature. This is the smallest carnivorous, nonavian dinosaur known from North America. Phylogenetic analysis of Hesperonychus reveals that it is not closely related to previously described North American dromaeosaurids. Instead, Hesperonychus is a member of the dromaeosaurid clade Microraptorinae, a group containing the 4-winged Microraptor and the feathered Sinornithosaurus, both from the Lower Cretaceous Jehol Group of China. Hesperonychus is the youngest known member of this lineage, extending the temporal range of the clade by 45 million years, and it is the first microraptorine known from North America, providing further evidence for an affinity between the dinosaur faunas of North America and Asia. Study of fossil collections from the Dinosaur Park and Oldman formations of Alberta has revealed numerous isolated bones of small, basal dromaeosaurids, which are tentatively referred to Hesperonychus. These fossils suggest that small dromaeosaurids were a significant component of the carnivore community in this Late Cretaceous biota. SN - 1091-6490 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/19289829/A_microraptorine__Dinosauria_Dromaeosauridae__from_the_Late_Cretaceous_of_North_America_ L2 - http://www.pnas.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&amp;pmid=19289829 DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -