Trierarchuncus

trireme captain hook (hooked claw)

• trierarchos · Greek · trireme captain
• uncus · Latin · hook

The name combines the Greek "trierarchos", a trireme (warship) captain, with the Latin "uncus", meaning "hook". The "hook" part fits the large hooked thumb claw typical of alvarezsaurid dinosaurs. I am less sure of the exact reason the authors chose the "trierarch" half, so treat that part of the explanation as tentative.

Named by

Fowler et al.

Year named

2020

Period

Late Cretaceous

Stage

Maastrichtian

Found in

Hell Creek Formation, Montana, USA

A small alvarezsaurid theropod. The type species is Trierarchuncus prolixus. It is one of the last known alvarezsaurids and lived in North America at the very end of the Cretaceous.