Pronunciation: boh-ree-o-NY-kus
Meaning: Boreal Forest claw
Author/s: Bell and Currie (2015)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Alberta, Canada
Discovery Chart Position: #910
Boreonykus certekorum
(Certek's Boreal claw)Etymology
Boreonykus is derived from "Boreal" (for the modern day Boreal
Forest where the type specimen was found) and and the Greek "onyx" (claw).
The species epithet, certekorum, pays tribute to Certek Heating Solutions for their continued support of palaeontology in the northeast of Alberta Province (known as the "Peace Region").
ZooBank registry: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:EB87FA77-D3A2-41CF-9410-7516E29E4449.
Discovery
The remains of Boreonykus were discovered in the "Pachyrhinosaurus lakustai bonebed" at Pipestone
Creek, "Unit 3" of the Wapiti Formation, 19 km south of the town of
Wembley, Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada, by Darren Tanke in the 1980s.
The holotype (TMP 1989.055.0047) is a bone from the right side of the skull known as the frontal. Referred material includes fourteen tooth crowns (TMP 1986.055.0007, TMP 1986.055.0009, TMP 1986.055.0027, TMP 1986.055.0038, TMP 1987.055.0148, TMP 1987.055.0149, TMP 1987.055.0329, TMP 1987.055.0333, TMP 1989.055.0707, TMP 1989.055.1005, TMP 1989.055.1141, TMP 1989.055.1162 and TMP 1987.055.1523), a toe claw (TMP 1986.055.0184), a claw from the second finger (UALVP 53597) and a rear tail vertebra (TMP 1988.055.0129).
