Hesperonyx

Hesperonyx lived about 152 to 149 million years ago, during the Kimmeridgian stage of the Late Jurassic.3

Its name means 'western claw' because it was found in the western region of Portugal and its fossils include a claw.1

The only known skeleton, called ML 2700, includes bones from the left forelimb and hindlimb, such as a hand claw, shin bone, and foot bones.1

Hesperonyx was a dryomorphan, a group of plant-eating dinosaurs that are close relatives of the larger iguanodonts.3

The fossils were found in 2021 during a joint field season by FCT NOVA and Museu da Lourinhã.2

It lived in a warm, seasonal climate with rivers and floodplains, alongside other dinosaurs like Draconyx and Eousdryosaurus.2

Hesperonyx had a reduced first toe (metatarsal I), which is unusual and helps scientists tell it apart from other dinosaurs.2