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sharp-clawed runner
Hesperonychus
Say it like this: “hes-puh-ruh-NIE-kus”
Hesperonychus elizabethae
Hesperonychus ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in Canada.
- When
- Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago
- Named in
- 2009 · Longrich, N. R.; Currie, P. J.
- Hip height
- 0.2 m · 1 ft
- Length
- 1 m · 3 ft
- Weight
- 2 kg · 4 lb
- Found in
- Canada · Dinosaur Park
- Food and walking
- Carnivore · Two legs
- Kind
- sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
- Family branch
- Microraptorinae
The story in short
Hesperonychus was formally named in 2009 by N. R. Longrich and P. J. Currie. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.
Fossils referred to Hesperonychus date to the Late Cretaceous (Campanian), roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago. Finds come from Canada, including the Dinosaur Park Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Hesperonychus at a length near 1 m, hips about 0.2 m high, and a body mass around 2 kg.
On the family tree it sits in Microraptorinae, among the theropod dinosaurs.
Close relatives
Changyuraptor
Changyuraptor yangi
Early Cretaceous (Barremian) · roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago
Graciliraptor
Graciliraptor lujiatunensis
Early Cretaceous (Barremian) · roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago
Jian
Jian changmaensis
Early Cretaceous (Aptian) · roughly 121.4 to 113.2 million years ago