Arkansaurus
Name:
Arkansaurus
(Arkansas lizard).
Phonetic: Ar-kan-sor-us.
Named By: R. K. Hunt & J. H.
Quinn - 2018.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Saurischia, Ornithomimosauria.
Species: A. fridayi (type).
Diet: Uncertain.
Size: Unknown due to lack of remains.
Known locations: USA, Arkansas.
Time period: Albian to Aptian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Partial foot consisting of
three metatarsals, four phalanges, and three claws.
First
discovered in 1973, Arkansaurus was due to be
formally named in
1977, tragically however the papers author Dr. James H. Quinn
was killed in a fall while searching for fossils. Because the paper
was not formally published, the name Arkansaurus
was technically not
valid. The name Arkansaurus however was not
unknown and even got
printed in popular science. Arkansaurus was even
named the state
dinosaur of Arkansas in 2017, and in 2018 a paper formally
describing the genus was published.
As
a dinosaur, Arkansaurus was an ornithomimosaur.
At the time of
writing Arkansaurus is known only from a single
partially preserved
foot. The claws of the foot have strong curves, something that
makes Arkansaurus stand out from other
ornithomimosaurs that usually
have flat claws. Many relative genera of ornithomimosaurs have been
confirmed to have been feathered. By association it is likely that
Arkansaurus would have had a feather covering,
but the extent and
placement is unknown.
Further reading
- A new ornithomimosaur
from the Lower Cretaceous Trinity Group of Arkansas. Journal of
Vertebrate Paleontology 38(1):e1421209:1-12. - R. K.
Hunt & J. H. Quinn - 2018.
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