Have you heard Linhenykus Monodactylus? Before we talk about the New Dinosaur, let’s admit that all of us are fans of ancient creatures.
It would be both exciting and terrifying to see your dead loved one come back to life, right?
We are quite familiar with the scenario where several people listen and guess the facts about ancient times.
With such stretched bodies, these creatures have been among the many things that attract us the most. Our joy multiplies by seeing their skeleton’s remains.
After that, there come animatronic dinosaurs that give us a glimpse of how these creatures resembled and behaved.
New Dinosaur: Introduction
While we love to hear from scientists about any new information about ancient creatures, this monster has emerged.
It has been discovered in the north-eastern parts of China. Its name is Linhenykus Monodactylus.
Moreover, it is one of the Theropod dinosaurs that include other names like the Tyrannosaurus and the Velociraptor.
This creature has an incomplete skeleton discovered in about 84 million years old fossil.
Also, this dinosaur was carnivorous and has been the throne as the most known basal member of the Parvicursorinae.
Its specific name is a reference to the that it is the only non-avian dinosaur to have had a single digit.
Body Structure
It was a small-sized dinosaur, with a femur stretching up to 7 centimeters.
Moreover, the ostrich resembling dinosaur had double stubby, single clawed front limbs among other creatures that categorized it as an Alvarezsaurs.
Being a member of Alvarezsauroids, it had front limbs that with a single massively enlarged second digit.
Similar to its other members, this one had a single solid digit with a robust claw.
With evolution, the alvarezsauroids species have had their third and fourth digits diminished.
That marks Linhenykus to be the only alvarezsaurid with a one-second digit. Besides, it differs from others by the extra digging finger.
Although it has a reduced metacarpal, the finger bones of the third digit have been wholly lost.
We don’t find the fourth digit in this dinosaur. But its third metacarpal raises a possibility that such a finger is absent in Linhenkyus.
Additional Characteristics of New Dinosaur
Linhenykusus was an insectivorous dinosaur. It thoroughly used its claws to dig out ants, termites, nests as the case with the modern insect eaters.
Linhenykus dig out ant and termite nests with its downward-pointing nails. Besides, its claw was similar to those that we find in the present anteaters.
It was able to stabilize itself by only standing with the back limbs. Moreover, the highly modified hind-legs contributed to its fast escape from prey.
The extensiveness of the hind legs compared to that of the femoral, promoted energy efficiency during flight. It was also helpful to make them run fast.
Facts About Linhenykus Monodactylus
Here are some most exciting, quick facts about this dinosaur.
- It lived in the cretaceous era.
- It occupied terrestrial habitats in Asia.
- Moreover, it reproduced by asexual production, laying of eggs.
- Paleontologists have discovered two of its specimens.
Over to You!
This creature has resurfaced and joined the joy of many dinosaur lovers. Thus, with the realistic dinosaur suits and baby dinosaur puppets, the dinosaur world will never be a tale anymore. It will always live with us.
So, let’s embrace it fully.
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how fast could it run?!