Bonapartenykus
Bonapartenykus was a meat-eating dinosaur that lived in South America near the end of the Age of Dinosaurs. It was one of the biggest members of its family, the alvarezsauroids, and it had a special claw on each hand.1
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Fun facts
Bonapartenykus is the largest known alvarezsauroid, measuring up to 3.3 metres (10.8 feet) long and weighing up to 72 kilograms (159 pounds).1
Its fossils were found with two incomplete eggs and many eggshell pieces, which were given their own scientific name, Arriagadoolithus.1
The eggs were found less than 20 centimetres (7.9 inches) away from the skeleton, so scientists think they may belong to Bonapartenykus.1
Bonapartenykus had a fused hip bone and a fused shoulder blade, which are unusual features that help scientists tell it apart from other dinosaurs.1
It lived between 72 and 66 million years ago, during the Maastrichtian age of the Late Cretaceous period.2
The name 'ultimus' means 'latest', because it was one of the youngest alvarezsauroids from South America.1
Most asked questions about Bonapartenykus
?How big was Bonapartenykus?
It was about 2.5 to 3.3 metres (8.2 to 10.8 feet) long and weighed 43 to 72 kilograms (95 to 159 pounds). That makes it the largest known alvarezsauroid.1
?What did Bonapartenykus eat?
It was a meat-eating dinosaur, so it probably ate small animals like lizards or insects. Its special claw may have helped it catch prey.1
?Did Bonapartenykus lay eggs?
Yes, its fossils were found with two eggs and many eggshell pieces nearby. Scientists think the eggs belonged to Bonapartenykus and gave them the name Arriagadoolithus.1
?When did Bonapartenykus live?
It lived between 72 and 66 million years ago, near the end of the Age of Dinosaurs. Its name 'ultimus' means 'latest' because it was one of the youngest alvarezsauroids from South America.1
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Myth buster
Myth: Some people think Bonapartenykus was a bird because it had feathers and a beak-like snout.
Truth: Bonapartenykus was a dinosaur, not a bird. It belonged to a group called alvarezsauroids, which are close relatives of birds but still dinosaurs.1
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Bonapartenykus
- Named by
- Agnolin et al. 20122
- Group
- Meat-eating dinos
- Family / clade
- Alvarezsauroidea2
- Classification
- Theropoda2
- Age of the rocks
- 72 to 66 million years (Maastrichtian)2
- Rock formations
- Allen2
- Countries
- Argentina2
- Fossil records
- 3 in the Paleobiology Database2
- Discovery
- The first skeleton was found in Argentina and was described in 2009 as an unknown alvarezsaurid. In 2012, scientists Federico Agnolin, Jaime Powell, Fernando Novas, and Martin Kundrát named it Bonapartenykus ultimus.1
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure if the eggs found with Bonapartenykus really belong to it, because they were not inside the body. They might belong to another animal.1
Where the facts come from
- Bonapartenykus (en.wikipedia.org)
- Bonapartenykus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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