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Alpkarakush kyrgyzicus

Alpkarakush is derived from the Kyrgyz "Alp" (brave, courageous, heroic, valiant), "kara" (black) and "kush" (bird), and is the name of a character (funnily enough, a brave black bird) that often comes to the help of heroes in critical moments in the ‘Manas’ epos, one of the central mythological elements in Kyrgyz culture.
The species epithet, kyrgyzicus, refers to the Kyrgyz Republic. ZooBank registry: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:2ABC5B5C-7119-4D12-842F-1CB9D88CF2CB. The first remains of Alpkarakush were discovered in the Balabansai Formation at FTU-1 site (FTU for Fergana-Tashkumyr-Uurusai) in the Uurusai Valley, close to the town of Tashkumyr, Jalal-Abad Oblast, Kyrgyzstan, by a team led by Aizek A. Bakirov in 2006, with further fossils being discovered in 2014, 2016-17, and 2023.
The holotype is a partial skeleton, including three skull bones (IGB 2-1, 2-2, 2-9), two back vertebrae (IGB 2-10, 2-11), two vertebral spines (IGB 2-12, 2-13), a fragment of vertebral arch (IGB 2-22), five hip vertebrae (IGB 2-14, 2-15), several ribs (IGB 2-16, 2-17, 2-18, 2-19, 2-20, 2-21), a finger bone (IGB 2-24), a claw (IGB 2-47), hip bones (IGB 2-25, 2-26, 2-27, 2-28, 2-29, 2-30, 2-31), two thighs (IGB 2-32, 2-33), two shins (IGB 2-34, 2-35), an almost complete left calf (IGB 2-36, 2-37), both ankles and heels (IGB 2-38, 2-39), and foot bones (IGB 2-40, 2-41, 2-42, 2-43, 2-44, 2-45, 2-46). A fragmentary skeleton of a smaller individual from the same locality, including hip bones (IGB 2-49, 2-50, 2-51, 2-52, 2-53), and a right shin (IGB 2-48) represents a paratype. Further referred material includes a wishbone (IGB 2-23) and several isolated teeth (IGB 2-3, 2-4, 2-5, 2-6, 2-7, 2-8, 2-27) from the same locality. However, some of the teeth may belong to scavengers. Rauhut OWM, Bakirov AA, Wings O, Fernandes AE and Hübner TR.