Alvarezsaurus
genus of reptiles (fossil)
Alvarezsaurus is a small dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of Argentina, about 86–83 million years ago. It measured about two meters in length and weighed 20 kilograms.
| Alvarezsaurus Temporal range: Upper Cretaceous
| |
|---|---|
| |
| Skeleton restoration | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
| Class: | |
| Superorder: | |
| Order: | |
| Suborder: | |
| Family: | Alvarezsauridae
|
| Genus: | Alvarezsaurus Bonaparte, 1991
|
| Species | |
|
A. calvoi Bonaparte, 1991 (type) | |
It was named by paleontologist Jose Bonaparte in 1991. It walked on two legs, had a long tail, and its leg structure suggests that it was a fast runner.[1] It may have eaten insects. It was more basal than other, better-known, members of its family, such as Mononykus and Shuvuuia.
In popular culture
changeAlvarezsaurus was featured in the Discovery Channel television series Dinosaur Planet. It was shown as a predator of young Saltasaurus, although these species did not exist at the same time. Alvarezsaurus lived about five million years before Saltasaurus.
References
change- ↑ Paul, Gregory S. 2010. The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs. Princeton University Press, p126.
