Shuvuuia

Shuvuuia

“bird”

CLASSIFICATION

Shuvuuia  Chiappe, Norell & Clark, 1998TYPE SPECIES: S. deserti Chiappe, Norell & Clark, 1998

Animalia Vertebrata Tetrapoda Sauropsida Archosauromorpha Ornithodira Dinosauria Sauropodomorpha

see also: Genus Index, Classification

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MEASUREMENTS

LENGTH: 1 m

see also: World Records

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TIME

Campanian?

see also: Ages of the Mesozoic

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PLACE

Mongolia

see also: Paleo-Maps

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REMAINS

• 2 skulls, postcranial material

see also: Anatomy

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ESSAY

This is the only alvarezsaurid for which the skull material is well-known. Its jaw shows definite avian characteristics. This turkey-sized creature was quite similar to Mononykus. Some bones previously assigned to Mononykus have been reassigned to Shuvuuia. Chemical analysis of Shuvuuia seems to reveal that it had feathers, or at least feather-like structures.

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