Editing Parvicursor

{{Short description|Extinct genus of dinosaurs}}
{{Italic title}}
{{speciesbox
| image = Parvicursor.jpg
| image_caption = A reconstruction of ''Parvicursor'' sitting on a [[nest]]
| name = ''Parvicursor''
| fossil_range = <br>[[Late Cretaceous]], {{fossilrange|72}}
| display_parents = 3
| genus = Parvicursor
| parent_authority = [[A.A. Karhu|Karhu]] & [[Aleksandr Sergeevich Rautian|Rautian]], 1996
| species = remotus
| authority = Karhu & Rautian, 1996
| synonyms = *?''[[Ceratonykus oculatus]]'' <small>Alfanov & Barsbold, 2009</small><ref name="Averianov">{{cite journal| vauthors = Averianov AO, Lopatin AV |title=A re-appraisal of ''Parvicursor remotus'' from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia: implications for the phylogeny and taxonomy of alvarezsaurid theropod dinosaurs |journal=Journal of Systematic Palaeontology |year=2022 |volume=19 |issue=16 |pages=1097–1128 |doi=10.1080/14772019.2021.2013965 |s2cid=247222017 }}</ref>
*?''[[Linhenykus monodactylus]]'' <small>Xu ''et al.'', 2011</small><ref name=dyke2011/>
}}

'''''Parvicursor''''' (meaning "small runner") is a [[genus]] of tiny [[maniraptora]]n [[dinosaur]] with long slender legs for fast running.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090707122027/http://www.palaeos.com/Vertebrates/Units/350Aves/350.250.html#Parvicursor ''Parvicursor''] from Palaeos (technical)</ref>

== Discovery and naming ==
The holotype '''PIN no. 4487/25''', mostly consisting of vertebrae, the [[pelvis]] and the right hindlimb, was discovered in 1992 and described in 1996.<ref>Karhu, A.A. and Rautian, A.S. (1996). "A new family of Maniraptora (Dinosauria: Saurischia) from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia". ''Paleontological Journal'' ''Russian Academy of Sciences'' 30(5): 583-592.</ref> It was discovered in [[Barun Goyot Formation]] of Khulsan, [[Mongolia]], dated at approximately 72 million years old.<ref name="Averianov" /> 

== Description ==
At only about {{convert|39|cm|in ft}} from snout to end of tail, and {{cvt|162|g}} in weight, it was initially seen as one of [[Dinosaur size|the smallest]] non-avian dinosaurs known from an adult specimen.<ref name="technosaurs">[http://www.technosaurs.ca/tag/default.aspx?id=114 Which was the smallest dinosaur?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706204350/http://www.technosaurs.ca/tag/default.aspx?id=114 |date=2011-07-06 }} Royal Tyrrell Museum. Last accessed 2008-05-23.</ref> However, in 2022 its [[holotype]] was concluded to represent a juvenile individual.<ref name="Averianov"/>
[[Image:Alvarezsaurid_scale_martyniuk.png|thumb|left|Size of ''P. remotus'' (green) compared to other small alvarezsaurids]] 
Like other members of the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Alvarezsauridae]], the forelimbs of ''Parvicursor'' were short and stubby, with hands all but completely reduced to a single large claw, possibly useful for opening tough [[termite]] mounds or other types of digging. It is unlikely that the claw could have served much for defense, as it was short and not adapted for flexible movements &mdash; it is more likely it would do as the animal's name implies: ''cursor'' means ''runner''.

Close relatives include ''[[Shuvuuia]]'' and ''[[Mononykus]]'', and together with these it is classified in the alvarezsaurid subfamily [[Parvicursorinae]].

== Taxonomy ==
There may be a second, yet-unnamed, species of ''Parvicursor''. Two specimens of tiny alvarezsaurids were described by Suzuki ''et al.'' in 2002. These authors considered the specimens to be juvenile ''[[Shuvuuia]]'', which lived in the same formation.<ref name="suzukietal2002">{{cite journal | last1 = Suzuki | first1 = S. | last2 = Chiappe | first2 = L.M. | last3 = Dyke | first3 = G.J. | last4 = Watabe | first4 = M. | last5 = Barsbold | first5 = R. | last6 = Tsogtbaatar | first6 = K. | year = 2002 | title = A new specimen of ''Shuvuuia deserti'' Chiappe, ''et al.'' 1998 from the Mongolian Late Cretaceous with a discussion of the relationships of alvarezsaurids to other theropod dinosaurs | journal = Contributions in Science, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County | volume = 494 | pages = 1–18 }}</ref> However, a study by Nick Longrich and [[Phil Currie]] in 2009 suggested that several characters of the skeleton, including fused wrist and pelvic bones, indicated that these specimens were in fact adults of a tiny alvarezsaurid species. A [[phylogenetic]] analysis found that they grouped together with ''Parvicursor'', and the authors provisionally referred them to ''Parvicursor sp.'' pending further study.<ref name=LC08>{{cite journal |last=Longrich |first=Nicholas R. |author2=Currie, Philip J. |year=2009 |title=''Albertonykus borealis'', a new alvarezsaur (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Early Maastrichtian of Alberta, Canada: Implications for the systematics and ecology of the Alvarezsauridae |journal=Cretaceous Research |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages= 239–252|doi=10.1016/j.cretres.2008.07.005 |bibcode=2009CrRes..30..239L }}</ref>

It has been suggested that ''[[Linhenykus]]'' and ''[[Ceratonykus]]'' may be junior synonyms of ''Parvicursor''.<ref name=dyke2011>{{Cite journal | last1 = Dyke | first1 = G. J. | last2 = Naish | first2 = D. | doi = 10.1073/pnas.1101602108 | title = What about European alvarezsauroids? | journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | volume = 108 | issue = 22 | pages = E147 | year = 2011 | pmid =  21540333| pmc = 3107280| bibcode = 2011PNAS..108E.147D | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref name="Averianov"/>

== Phylogeny ==
''Parvicursor'' in a [[cladogram]] after Fowler ''et al''. (2020):<ref name=Fowler2020>{{cite journal |author1=Denver W. Fowler |author2=John P. Wilson |author3=Elizabeth A. Freedman Fowler |author4=Christopher R. Noto |author5=Daniel Anduza |author6=John R. Horner |year=2020 |title=''Trierarchuncus prairiensis'' gen. et sp. nov., the last alvarezsaurid: Hell Creek Formation (uppermost Maastrichtian), Montana |journal=Cretaceous Research |volume=116 |pages=Article 104560 |doi=10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104560 |s2cid=225630913 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2020CrRes.11604560F }}</ref>

{{clade|style=font-size:90%;line-height:90%
|label1=[[Alvarezsauroidea]]
|1={{clade
|1=''[[Aorun]]''
|2={{clade
|1=''[[Haplocheirus]]''
|2={{clade
|1={{clade
|1=''[[Tugulusaurus]]''
|2=''[[Xiyunykus]]''}}
|2={{clade
|1=''[[Bannykus]]''
|2={{clade
|1=''[[Bonapartenykus]]''
|2={{clade
|1=''[[Patagonykus]]''
|2={{clade
|1=''[[Achillesaurus]]''
|label2=[[Alvarezsauridae]]
|2={{clade
|1=''[[Alvarezsaurus]]''
|2={{clade
|1=''[[Albertonykus]]''
|label2=[[Parvicursorinae]]
|2={{clade
|1=''[[Shuvuuia]]''
|2=''[[Ceratonykus]]''
|3=''[[Kol ghuva|Kol]]''
|4=''[[Linhenykus]]''
|5=''[[Mononykus]]''
|6=''[[Trierarchuncus]]''
|7='''''Parvicursor'''''
|8=''[[Albinykus]]''
|9=''[[Xixianykus]]'' }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}


{{Portal|Dinosaurs}}
{{Maniraptora|M.}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q383329}}

[[Category:Alvarezsauridae]]
[[Category:Dinosaur genera]]
[[Category:Maastrichtian dinosaurs]]
[[Category:Baruungoyot Formation]]
[[Category:Fossil taxa described in 1996]]
[[Category:Dinosaurs of Mongolia]]