Qiupanykus

Qiupa claw

• Qiupa · Place name (Chinese) · Qiupa Formation / Qiupa, Henan, China
• nykus · Greek · claw (from onyx)

The name combines "Qiupa", the Qiupa Formation in Henan Province, China where the fossils were found, with the Greek "onyx" (claw), in the "-nykus" ending used for several alvarezsaurids such as Linhenykus and Albinykus. It refers to the one-clawed, short-armed hands typical of this group of small theropods.

Named by

Lü et al.

Year named

2018

Period

Late Cretaceous

Stage

Maastrichtian

Found in

Qiupa Formation, Luanchuan County, Henan Province, China

A small alvarezsaurid theropod; the type species is Qiupanykus zhangi. The exact stage of the Qiupa Formation is somewhat uncertain (Late Cretaceous, generally given as Maastrichtian).