After the Chinese Linhevenator, yet, another troodontid, Talos sampsoni, has just been described in the current issue of PLoS ONE. This one is from the distinct and quite specific fauna of the Kaiparowits formation of Utah, which included the unique ceratopsians Kosmoceratops, Utahceratops and Nasutuceratops, the tyrannosaurid Teratophoneus, the hadrosaur Gryposaurus and the Oviraptosaur Hagryphus. Talos is essentially known from remains of the hindlimbs plus a few other bits such as some vertebrae, and a left ulna. It was probably similar in shape to the other derived troodonts with short forelimbs, long legs and had a sickle claw on each foot.
References:
Lindsay E. Zanno, David J. Varricchio, Patrick M. O'Connor, Alan L. Titus and Michael J. Knell. 2011. A new troodontid theropod, Talos sampsoni gen. et sp. nov., from the Upper Cretaceous Western Interior Basin of North America. PLoS ONE 9 (6): e24487.
This is adorable. I've always loved Troodontidae. Thanks for posting. What does its name mean?
ReplyDeleteTalos, (Greek) referring to the mythological, fleetfooted protector of Crete, often depicted as winged, who succumbed to a wound on the ankle. The name is also a play on the English word ‘‘talon’’ meaning a sharply hooked claw.
ReplyDelete"sampsoni", in honor of Scott D. Sampson, architect of the Kaiparowits Basin Project.
Thanks. I appreciate it. :)
ReplyDelete