Linhenykus

Linhe claw

• Linhe · Chinese (place name) · city in Bayannur, Inner Mongolia
• onykus (onyx) · Greek · claw

The name combines Linhe, a city in the Bayannur region of Inner Mongolia near where the fossils were found, with the Greek word for "claw". It follows the naming pattern of the related alvarezsaur Mononykus ("one claw"). The type species, L. monodactylus, is named for its single functional finger on each hand.

Named by

Xu et al.

Year named

2011

Period

Late Cretaceous

Stage

Campanian

Found in

Wulansuhai Formation, Bayan Mandahu, Inner Mongolia, China

A small alvarezsauroid theropod (Parvicursorinae). It is notable as the first known alvarezsauroid with only one functional finger on each hand.