Epichirostenotes

Epichirostenotes
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 72 Ma
Skeletal restoration
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Theropoda
Family: †Caenagnathidae
Subfamily: †Caenagnathinae
Genus: †Epichirostenotes
Sullivan, Jasinski & Van Tomme, 2011
Species:
†E. curriei
Binomial name
†Epichirostenotes curriei
Sullivan, Jasinski & Van Tomme, 2011

Epichirostenotes (meaning "above Chirostenotes", because it lived after the latter genus) is an extinct monotypic genus of oviraptorosaurian dinosaur that lived during the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous epoch of Alberta.

Discovery

Epichirostenotes is known from an incomplete skeleton found in 1923 at the Horseshoe Canyon Formation, in strata dated to about 72 million years ago. It was first named by Robert M. Sullivan, Steven E. Jasinski and Mark P. A. van Tomme in 2011 and the type species is Epichirostenotes curriei. Its holotype, ROM 43250, had been assigned to Chirostenotes pergracilis by Hans-Dieter Sues in 1997.

Description

E. curriei exhibited pronounced twisting of the common crus, and it showed an expanded anterior semicircular canal. Its posterior canal and lateral canal in the inner ear showed an incipient division.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Epichirostenotes". Paleobiology Database. Retrieved 21 September 2026.
  2. ↑ "Epichirostenotes curriei". Paleobiology Database. Retrieved 21 September 2026.
  3. ↑ Robert M. Sullivan, Steven E. Jasinski and Mark P.A. Van Tomme (2011). "A new caenagnathid Ojoraptorsaurus boerei, n. gen., n. sp. (Dinosauria, Oviraptorosauria), from the Upper Ojo Alamo Formation (Naashoibito Member), San Juan Basin, New Mexico" (PDF). Fossil Record 3. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 53: 418–428. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-10-04. Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  4. ↑ Bazzana‐Adams, Kayla D.; Funston, Gregory F.; Evans, David C. (6 July 2026). "Inner Ear Anatomy of Caenagnathidae (Theropoda: Oviraptorosauria) Emphasizes Mosaic Evolution of the Avian Neurosensory System". Journal of Comparative Neurology. 534 (7). doi:10.1002/cne.70180. ISSN 0021-9967. PMC 13334435. PMID 42403367. Retrieved 21 September 2026 – via Wiley Online Library.