Haplocheirus
Haplocheirus was a small, speedy meat-eating dinosaur that lived in what is now China. It had a long, slender skull and lots of sharp teeth for catching small animals. Scientists think it was one of the earliest relatives of the weird, one-clawed alvarezsaur dinosaurs.1
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Fun facts
Haplocheirus had more teeth than most other meat-eating dinosaurs, with up to 74 teeth in its jaws.1
Its name means 'simple hand' because its hand bones were simpler than those of later relatives.1
The only known fossil of Haplocheirus is almost perfectly preserved in three dimensions, which is very rare for a Jurassic dinosaur.1
It was one of the largest early alvarezsauroids, but still only about as long as a small car.1
The fossil of Haplocheirus was found with the bones of a crocodile-like reptile lying next to it.1
Most asked questions about Haplocheirus
?How big was Haplocheirus?
It was about 2 metres (6.6 ft) long and weighed around 21 kilograms (46 lb), though an adult might have weighed up to 41 kilograms (90 lb).1
?What did Haplocheirus eat?
It ate small vertebrates, like lizards and early mammals, using its many sharp teeth.1
?When did Haplocheirus live?
It lived about 160 million years ago, during the Late Jurassic Period.1
?Is Haplocheirus a dinosaur?
Yes, it is a theropod dinosaur and one of the earliest relatives of the alvarezsaur group.1
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Myth buster
Myth: Some people think Haplocheirus used its strong thumb to dig for insects, like an anteater.
Truth: Scientists are not sure. Its teeth and skull suggest it ate small vertebrates, not insects.1
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Haplocheirus
- Named by
- Choiniere et al. 20104
- Group
- Meat-eating dinos
- Family / clade
- Alvarezsauroidea4
- Classification
- Theropoda4
- Age of the rocks
- 162 to 155 million years (Oxfordian)4
- Rock formations
- Shishugou4
- Countries
- China4
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
- Discovery
- Haplocheirus was named in 2010 by Jonah Choiniere and colleagues based on a nearly complete skeleton found in the Shishugou Formation of China.13
- Still debated
- Scientists debate whether Haplocheirus is truly an early alvarezsauroid or belongs to a different group of theropods.1
Where the facts come from
- Haplocheirus (en.wikipedia.org)
- PBDB Collection (paleobiodb.org)
- PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
- Haplocheirus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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