Look up · dinosaur 1363 of 1,425
sharp-clawed runner
Xixianykus
Say it like this: “shee-SHYAH-NY-kus”
Xixianykus zhangi
Xixianykus ate meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in China.
- When
- Late Cretaceous (Coniacian · Santonian) · roughly 89.8 to 83.6 million years ago
- Named in
- 2010 · Xu, X.; Wang, De-Y.; Sullivan, C.; Hone, D. W. E.; Han, F. L.; Yan, R. H.; Du, F. M.
- Hip height
- 0.2 m · 1 ft
- Length
- 0.5 m · 2 ft
- Weight
- 1 kg · 2 lb
- Found in
- China · Majiacun
- Food and walking
- Carnivore · Two legs
- Kind
- sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
- Family branch
- Parvicursorinae
The story in short
In 2010, X. Xu and colleagues published the name Xixianykus. The name means “xixia claw.”
It lived in the Late Cretaceous (Coniacian · Santonian), roughly 89.8 to 83.6 million years ago. Finds come from China, including the Majiacun Formation. It was a carnivore and walked on two legs.
Published estimates put Xixianykus at a length near 0.5 m, hips about 0.2 m high, and a body mass around 1 kg.
On the family tree it sits in Parvicursorinae, among the theropod dinosaurs.