Xiyunykus

Western Regions claw

• Xiyu · Chinese · Western Regions (historical Chinese name for the area including modern Xinjiang)
• onykus · Greek · claw

The name combines "Xiyu", a historical Chinese term for the Western Regions that includes modern Xinjiang where the fossils were found, with the Greek word for "claw". The "-nykus" ending echoes other alvarezsaurian names such as Mononykus, which refers to the single large claw on the hand of these small, long-legged theropods.

Named by

Xu et al.

Year named

2018

Period

Early Cretaceous

Found in

Tugulu Group, Junggar Basin, Xinjiang, China

A small alvarezsauroid theropod (type species X. pengi). It is considered a transitional form in alvarezsaurian evolution and was described in the same 2018 paper as Bannykus. The exact geologic stages are uncertain, so they are left blank.