Look up · dinosaur 415 of 1,425
sharp-clawed runner
Elopteryx
Say it like this: “ee-LOP-tuh-rix”
Elopteryx nopcsai
Elopteryx ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in Romania.
- When
- Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago
- Named in
- 1913 · Andrews, C. W.
- Hip height
- Not established
- Length
- Not established
- Weight
- Not established
- Found in
- Romania · Sânpetru
- Food and walking
- Carnivore · Two legs
- Kind
- sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
- Family branch
- Maniraptora
The story in short
Elopteryx was formally named in 1913 by C. W. Andrews. The name means “marsh wing.”
Fossils referred to Elopteryx date to the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian), roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago. Finds come from Romania, including the Sânpetru Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.
The fossils of Elopteryx are too incomplete for a responsible length, hip height, or weight, so those fields are left blank on purpose.
On the family tree it sits in Maniraptora, among the theropod dinosaurs.
Close relatives
Archaeornithoides
Archaeornithoides deinosauriscus
Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago
Bradycneme
Bradycneme draculae
Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago
Fukuivenator
Fukuivenator paradoxus
Early Cretaceous (Aptian) · roughly 121.4 to 113.2 million years ago