Boreonykus is an extinct genus of dromaeosaurid dinosaur, that lived during the Late Cretaceous in the area of present Canada.
| Boreonykus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous,
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Family: | †Dromaeosauridae |
| Genus: | †Boreonykus Bell & Currie, 2015 |
| Type species | |
| †Boreonykus certekorum Bell & Currie, 2015
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Fragmentary dromaeosaurid remains were discovered in the eighties at the Pipestone Creek site in central Alberta during excavations of a bonebed containing at least twenty-seven individuals of the ceratopsid Pachyrhinosaurus lakustai.[1] They were initially partly referred to a Saurornitholestes sp in 2001.[2]
The type species Boreonykus certekorum was named and described by Phil Bell and Philip John Currie in 2015. The genus name is a variation of "Boreonychus", "northern claw". The specific name certekorum references the Certek company, that works in the oil industry and provided financial support for the excavations.[1]
The holotype specimen of Boreonykus, TMP 1989.055.0047, was found in a layer of the Wapiti Formation in central Alberta, which dates from the late Campanian, 73.27 ± 0.25 million years ago. It consists of a right frontal bone. Fourteen loose teeth have been referred to the species, as well as several postcranial bones, perhaps of the same individual: the specimen TMP 1988.055.0129, a rear caudal vertebra; UALVP 53597, a claw of the second finger, and the specimen TMP 1986.055.0184.1, a sickle claw of the foot.[1]
A single autapomorphy, unique derived trait, was indicated: the ridges bordering the fronts of the depressions around the supratemporal fenestrae form an acute angle of 55° together, pointing to the rear.[1]
Boreonykus was, within the Dromaeosauridae, placed in the Velociraptorinae. It was seen as both an indication of faunal provincialism and a quick species turn-over rate.[1] However, in 2021, Boreonykus was recovered within the Dromaeosaurinae, restricting the distribution of velociraptorines only to Asia.[3]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Bell, P. R.; Currie, P. J. (2015). "A high-latitude dromaeosaurid, Boreonykus certekorum, gen. et sp. nov. (Theropoda), from the upper Campanian Wapiti Formation, west-central Alberta". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 36 (1): e1034359. doi:10.1080/02724634.2015.1034359.
- ^ Tanke, D. H.; Carpenter, K. (2001). "The dinosaurs of Alberta (exclusive of Aves)". Mesozoic Vertebrate Life. Indiana University Press. pp. 279–297. ISBN 0-253-33907-3.
- ^ Averianov, A. O.; Lopatin, A. V. (2021). "A New Theropod Dinosaur (Theropoda, Dromaeosauridae) from the Late Cretaceous of Tajikistan". Doklady Earth Sciences. 499 (1): 570–574. Bibcode:2021DokES.499..570A. doi:10.1134/S1028334X21070047. S2CID 239088573.
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