Elmisaurus

foot lizard

• elmyi (elmii) · Mongolian · foot, sole of the foot
• sauros · Greek · lizard

The name combines the Mongolian word elmyi, meaning "foot" or "sole of the foot", with the Greek sauros, "lizard". It refers to the distinctive, fused foot bones (the arctometatarsalian-type metatarsus) of the original specimens. The type species is Elmisaurus rarus.

Named by

Osmólska

Year named

1981

Period

Late Cretaceous

Stage

Maastrichtian

Found in

Nemegt Formation, Gobi Desert, Mongolia

A small, feathered theropod dinosaur, regarded as a caenagnathid oviraptorosaur. A North American species once assigned to it, "Elmisaurus elegans", is now usually placed in Citipes/Chirostenotes. The exact age and the details of the original foot-bone interpretation are given with moderate confidence.