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Bannykus

Say it: BAN-ih-kuss

Name means: “half claw, from the Mandarin word ban (half) and the Greek word onyx (claw)”1 2

Ate: MeatMeat-eating dinosEarly Cretaceous

Bannykus was a meat-eating dinosaur about the size of a large dog. It lived during the Early Cretaceous period, around 125 to 113 million years ago, in what is now Inner Mongolia, China. Bannykus is special because its arms are halfway between those of earlier, longer-armed alvarezsaurians and later ones with very short arms.1 2 3

Lived

121 to 113 million years ago4

Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Inner Mongolia, China1 2 3

Food

Meat2 3

Length

2.77 m2

estimated based on an 8-year-old sub-adult; adult length might be larger

Weight

24 kg to 30 kg1 2

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 8 house cats

as long as 3 dogs nose to tailas long as 15 bananas end to endas heavy as 6 watermelons

How big was Bannykus compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Bannykus lived about 125 to 113 million years ago during the Aptian age of the Early Cretaceous.3

Its arm bones are halfway between the longer arms of older alvarezsaurian dinosaurs and the very short, strong arms of later ones like Shuvuuia.1 2

The only known Bannykus skeleton belonged to an 8-year-old sub-adult that still had some growing to do.1

Its thumb, or digit II, was much larger than its ring finger, or digit IV, but not as extreme as in later alvarezsaurids.1

Bannykus could move its arms in many directions and probably used them for different kinds of digging.2

Scientists found the fossil in 2009, and in 2012 it was displayed in Japan under the nickname 'Wulatesaurus' before getting its official name in 2018.2

Together with another dinosaur named Xiyunykus, Bannykus fills a 70-million-year gap in alvarezsaur evolution, linking earlier and later forms.1 2

AI-made picture of Bannykus — An AI-made picture of how Bannykus might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Bannykus

?What did Bannykus eat?

Bannykus probably ate meat. Scientists found bone fragments in its stomach, which suggests it was a carnivore.2

?How big was Bannykus?

Bannykus was about 2.77 metres (9.1 feet) long and weighed around 24 to 30 kilograms (53 to 66 pounds). That is about the size of a large dog.2

?Could Bannykus dig?

Yes, Bannykus could probably dig. Its arms were good for different kinds of digging motions, but not as specialized as later relatives.2

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Bannykus
Named by: Xu et al. 20184
Group: Meat-eating dinos
Family / clade: Alvarezsauroidea4
Classification: Theropoda4
Age of the rocks: 121 to 113 million years (Aptian)4
Rock formations: Bayangobi4
Countries: China4
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: Bannykus was named in 2018 by Xu Xing and colleagues. The holotype skeleton was found in 2009 at Chaoge, Inner Mongolia, China, and was displayed in Japan in 2012 under the informal name 'Wulatesaurus'.1 2 3

Where the facts come from

Two Early Cretaceous Fossils Document Transitional Stages in Alvarezsaurian Dinosaur Evolution: Current Biology (cell.com)
Bannykus (en.wikipedia.org)
PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
Bannykus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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