- Parvicursor
Taxobox | name = "Parvicursor"
fossil_range =Late Cretaceous
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Sauropsida
superordo =Dinosaur ia
ordo =Saurischia
subordo =Theropoda
familia =Alvarezsauridae
genus = "Parvicursor"
genus_authority = Karhu &Rautian , 1996
subdivision_ranks =Species
subdivision ="P. remotus" Karhu & Rautian, 1996 (type)"Parvicursor" (meaning "small runner") is a
genus of tinymaniraptora ndinosaur with long slender legs for fast running. At only about 39 cm (~15 in) from snout to end of tail, and 162 grams (5.7 ounces) in weight, it is currently the smallest non-avian dinosaur known from an adult specimen. [http://www.technosaurs.ca/tag/default.aspx?id=114 Which was the smallest dinosaur?] Royal Tyrrell Museum. Last accessed 2008-05-23.]Like other members of the family
Alvarezsauridae , the forelimbs of "Parvicursor" were short and stubby, with hands all but completely reduced to a single large claw, possibly useful for opening toughtermite mounds or other types of digging. It is unlikely that the claw could have served much for defence, as it was short and not adapted for flexible movements — it is more likely it would do as the animal's name implies: "cursor" means "runner"."Parvicursor" is known from Late Cretaceous
Campanian sediments at Khulsan,Mongolia . It is only known from one incomplete specimen, mostlypelvis and hind legs. Close relatives include "Shuvuuia " and "Mononykus ", and together with these it is classified in the alvarezsaurid subfamilyMononykinae .References
* Karhu, A.A. and Rautian, A.S. (1996). "A new family of Maniraptora (Dinosauria: Saurischia) from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia". "Paleontological Journal" Russian Academy of Sciences 30(5): 583-592.
External links
* [http://www.dinoruss.org/de_4/5a6b538.htm "Parvicursor remotus" in the Dinosaur Encyclopedia]
* [http://www.palaeos.com/Vertebrates/Units/350Aves/350.250.html#Parvicursor "Parvicursor"] from Palaeos (technical)
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