Machairasaurus

sword lizard (or curved-knife lizard)

• machaira · Greek · curved knife or short sword
• sauros · Greek · lizard

The name combines the Greek "machaira", a curved, single-edged knife or short sword, with "sauros", meaning lizard. It refers to the animal's long, narrow, curved hand claws, which resemble blades. The type species is Machairasaurus leptonychus, "slender claw".

Named by

Longrich, Currie and Dong

Year named

2010

Period

Late Cretaceous

Stage

Campanian

Found in

Bayan Mandahu (Wulansuhai Formation), Inner Mongolia, China

A small, feathered theropod dinosaur belonging to the Oviraptorosauria. It is known from fragmentary remains, mainly the hand. Some analyses place it among the oviraptorids and others among the caenagnathids.