Pronunciation: chee-OO-pah-NY-kuhs
Meaning: Qiupa claw
Author/s: Li et al. (2018)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Henan, China
Discovery Chart Position: #981
Qiupanykus zhangi
(Zhang' Qiupa Claw)Etymology
Qiupanykus is derived from "Qiupa" (for Qiupa town, where the specimen was found) and the Greek "onyx" (claw), which is a common suffix for alvarezsaurian dinosaurs with a single functional digit in the form of a proportionately huge clawed thumb.
The species epithet, zhang, honors Shuancheng Zhang for his logistic support with fossil searching and excavations in the field.
Discovery
The remains of Qiupanykus were discovered in the Qiupa Formation at Guanping, Qiupa Town, Luanchuan
County, Henan Province, China, in 1989.The holotype (41HIII- 0101, housed in the collections of the Henan Geological Museum at Zhengzhou) is a partial skeleton. In a cruel twist, it was found associated with eggshells that are thought to belong to an oviraptorid dinosaur, suggesting dinosaurs once suspected of being egg snatchers were prone to having their eggs snatched.
