MONONYKUS
an alvarezsaurid theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia.
Pronunciation: moh-no-NY-kus
Meaning: One claw
Author/s: Perle
et al. (
1993)
Synonyms: Mononychus olecranus
First Discovery: Ömnögovi, Mongolia
Acta Ordinal: #389
Mononykus olecranus
Etymology
Mononykus is derived from the Greek "mono" (one, single) and "onykh" (claw), named for a short, robust forelimb possessing a single stout claw. It was originally named
Mononychus (with a "ch" instead of a "k") in 1993, but was changed later the same year because German entomologist Johann Schueppel had already assigned that name to a beetle.
The
species epithet,
olecranus, is derived from the Greek "ole-kranon" (elbow head), and makes no sense on face value. However, it refers to the bony outgrowth that forms the pointy part of the elbow, to which the triceps attach, and as that of
Mononychus is particularly large it must have anchored a lot of muscle, giving the forearms unexpected strength for their small size.
Synonyms
Mononychus olecranus (Perle
et al., 1993)
Discovery
The first remains of
Mononykus were discovered in the
Nemegt Formation at Bugeen Tsav (aka Bugin Tsav, Bugin Tsav), Ömnögovi Province, Mongolia, by B. Namsarai - a preparator at the Mongolian Museum of Natural History - during the 1987 Soviet-Mongolian Paleontological expedition.
The
holotype (IGM N107/6) is a complete braincase, small fragments of skull bones, and a partial skeleton minus the tail.
Estimations
Timeline:
Era: Mesozoic
Epoch: Late Cretaceous
Stage: Campanian-Maastrichtian
Age range: 71-68 mya
Stats:
Est. max. length: 0.9 meters
Est. max. hip height: ?
Est. max. weight: 6 Kg
Diet: Omnivore
References
• Perle A, Norell MA, Chiappe LM and Clark JM (1993) "
Flightless bird from the Cretaceous of Mongolia".
Nature, 362(6421): 623-626. DOI: 10.1038/362623a0.
• Perle A, Norell MA, Chiappe LM and Clark JM (1993) "Correction: Flightless bird from the Cretaceous of Mongolia".
Nature, 363: 188. DOI: 10.1038/363188a0.
• Perle A, Chiappe LM, Barsbold R, Clark JM and Norell MA (1994) "
Skeletal Morphology of Mononykus olecranus (Theropoda: Avialae) from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia".
American Museum novitates: 3105.
• Chiappe LM, Norell MA and Clark JM (2002) "The Cretaceous short-armed Alvarezsauridae.
Mononykus and its kin". In "
Mesozoic Birds: Above the Heads of Dinosaurs".
• Senter P (2005) "Function in the stunted forelimbs of
Mononykus olecranus (Theropoda), a dinosaurian anteater".
Paleobiology, 31(3): 373-381.
• Senter PJ (2023) "Restudy of shoulder motion in the theropod dinosaur
Mononykus olecranus (Alvarezsauridae)".
PeerJ, 11: e16605. DOI: 10.7717/peerj.16605.
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To cite this page:
Atkinson, L.
"
MONONYKUS :: from DinoChecker's dinosaur archive".
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http://www.dinochecker.com/dinosaurs/MONONYKUS›. Web access: 04th Aug 2026.
