Boreonykus

Boreonykus is an extinct genus of dromaeosaurid dinosaur, that lived during the Late Cretaceous in the area of present Canada.

Boreonykus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous 73 Ma
↓
Restoration
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Theropoda
Family: †Dromaeosauridae
Subfamily: †Velociraptorinae
Genus: †Boreonykus
Bell & Currie, 2015
Type species
Boreonykus certekorum
Bell & Currie, 2015

Fragmentary dromaeosaurid remains were discovered in the eighties at the Pipestone Creek site in central Alberta during excavations of a bonebed containing at least twenty-seven individuals of the ceratopsid Pachyrhinosaurus lakustai.[1] They were initially partly referred to a Saurornitholestes sp.[2]

The type species Boreonykus certekorum was named and described by Phil Bell and Philip John Currie in 2015. The genus name is a variation of "Boreonychus", "northern claw". The specific name certekorum honors the Certek Heating Solutions company, that works in the oil industry, and provided financial support for the excavations.[1]

The holotype specimen of Boreonykus, TMP 1989.055.0047, was found in a layer of the Wapiti Formation in central Alberta, which dates from the late Campanian, 73.27 ± 0.25 million years ago. It consists of a right frontal bone. Fourteen loose teeth have been referred to the species, as well as several postcranial bones, perhaps of the same individual: the specimen TMP 1988.055.0129, a rear caudal vertebra; UALVP 53597, a claw of the second finger, and the specimen TMP 1986.055.0184.1, a sicle claw of the foot.[1]

A single autapomorphy, unique derived trait, was indicated: the ridges bordering the fronts of the depressions around the supratemporal fenestrae form an acute angle of 55° together, pointing to the rear.[1]

Boreonykus was, within the Dromaeosauridae, placed in the Velociraptorinae. It was seen as both an indication of faunal provincialism and a quick species turn-over rate.[1]

References
  1. Bell, P. R.; Currie, P. J. (2015). "A high-latitude dromaeosaurid, Boreonykus certekorum, gen. et sp. nov. (Theropoda), from the upper Campanian Wapiti Formation, west-central Alberta". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 36 (1). doi:10.1080/02724634.2015.1034359.
  2. Tanke, D. H.; Carpenter, K. (2001). "The dinosaurs of Alberta (exclusive of Aves)". Mesozoic Vertebrate Life. Indiana University Press. pp. 279–297. ISBN 0-253-33907-3.
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