Alvarezsaurus
Alvarezsaurus is a small dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of Argentina, about 86–83 million years ago. It measured about two meters in length and weighed 20 kilograms.
| Alvarezsaurus Temporal range: Upper Cretaceous | |
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| Family: | Alvarezsauridae |
| Genus: | Alvarezsaurus Bonaparte, 1991 |
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A. calvoi Bonaparte, 1991 (type) | |
It was named by paleontologist Jose Bonaparte in 1991. It walked on two legs, had a long tail, and its leg structure suggests that it was a fast runner.[1] It may have eaten insects. It was more basal than other, better-known, members of its family, such as Mononykus and Shuvuuia.
In popular culture
Alvarezsaurus was featured in the Discovery Channel television series Dinosaur Planet. It was shown as a predator of young Saltasaurus, although these species did not exist at the same time. Alvarezsaurus lived about five million years before Saltasaurus.
References
- Paul, Gregory S. 2010. The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs. Princeton University Press, p126.
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