Elmisaurus

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Elmisaurus
Temporal range:
Ma
↓
Skeletal restoration showing known elements (including those of Nomingia)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Theropoda
Family: †Caenagnathidae
Subfamily: †
Elmisaurinae
Genus: †Elmisaurus
Osmólska
, 1981
Species:
†E. rarus
Binomial name
†Elmisaurus rarus
Osmólska, 1981
Synonyms

Elmisaurus (meaning "foot sole lizard") is an

theropod belonging to the Oviraptorosauria
.

Discovery

Frontal bone, indicating the presence of a crest

In 1970, a paleontological Polish-Mongolian expedition discovered two fragmentary specimens of a small theropod in the

metatarsus. The specific name means "rare" in Latin. The holotype, ZPAL MgD-I/172, consists of a left metatarsus fused with the tarsalia. There are two paratypes: ZPAL MgD-I/98, consisting of a right hand and foot, and ZPAL MgD-I/20, the upper part of the left metatarsus of a larger individual.[1]

In a 2001 study conducted by Bruce Rothschild and other paleontologists, 23 foot bones referred to Elmisaurus were examined for signs of stress fracture, but none were found.[2]

A second species, E. elegans, was named in 1989 by

William Arthur Parks in 1933, based on specimen ROM 781, a foot.[4] Currie also referred the material of the American form Caenagnathus sternbergi, based on a jaw fragment, to Elmisaurus elegans. Due to their poor preservation and geographical distance from the type species, the classification of the American forms has been contentious. In 1997, Hans-Dieter Sues stated that this supposed second species of Elmisaurus should be referred to Chirostenotes, as C. elegans,[5] though this position was not accepted by Currie.[6] Other researchers, including Teresa Maryańska, Halszka Osmólska, and their colleagues, followed Sues in reassigning E. elegans to Chirostenotes.[7] In 2020, Gregory Funston assigned the material to the new genus and species Citipes.[8]

A 2021 article by Funston and colleagues suggested Nomingia is a synonym of Elmisaurus.[9]

Classification

Life restoration

The cladogram below follows an analysis by Longrich et al. in 2013, which found Elmisaurus to be a caenagnathid.[10]

Caenagnathidae

Microvenator celer

unnamed

Gigantoraptor erlianensis

unnamed

Caenagnathasia martinsoni

Elmisaurus rarus

Caenagnathinae

Citipes elegans

Leptorhynchos gaddisi

Hagryphus giganteus

unnamed

Chirostenotes pergracilis

Caenagnathus collinsi

Anzu wyliei

See also

References

  1. ^ Osmólska, H. (1981). Coossified tarsometatarsi in theropod dinosaurs and their bearing on the problem of bird origins. Palaeontologica Polonica 42:79-95.
  2. ^ Rothschild, B., Tanke, D. H., and Ford, T. L., 2001, Theropod stress fractures and tendon avulsions as a clue to activity: In: Mesozoic Vertebrate Life, edited by Tanke, D. H., and Carpenter, K., Indiana University Press, p. 331-336.
  3. ^ Currie, P.J. (1989). "The first records of Elmisaurus (Saurischia, Theropoda) from North America." Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 26(6):1319-1324
  4. ^ Parks, W.A. (1933). New species of dinosaurs and turtles from the Upper Cretaceous formations of Alberta. University of Toronto Studies, Geological Series 34:1-33.
  5. ^ Sues, H.-D. (1997). "On Chirostenotes, a Late Cretaceous oviraptorosaur (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from western North America." Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 17(4):698-716.
  6. ^ Currie, P.J., 2005, "Theropods, including birds". In: Currie, P.J. and Koppelhus E.B. (eds). Dinosaur Provincial Park, a spectacular ecosystem revealed, Part Two, Flora and Fauna from the park. Indiana University Press. pp. 367-397
  7. ^ Maryanska, Osmolska and Wolsan, (2002). "Avialan status for Oviraptorosauria." Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 47(1): 97-116.
  8. S2CID 221067979
    .
  9. PMID 34252154
    .
  10. S2CID 128444961
    .
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Elmisaurus&oldid=1199460537"