Bonapartenykus (meaning "Bonaparte's claw", named after José Bonaparte)[2] is a genus of alvarezsaurid theropod dinosaurs known from the Late Cretaceous(Campanian/Maastrichtian stage) Allen Formation of northwestern Patagonia, Argentina. The type species is B. ultimus.[3] An adult female of B. ultimus has been discovered with two eggs that may have still been inside its oviducts,[1][2] although some evidence suggests that the eggs may have been incubated in a nest.[4] The size of the adult female has been estimated as at least 8.5 feet (2.6 m),[5][2] and the weight of Bonapartenykus has been estimated as 100 pounds (45 kg).[1] Its diet probably consisted of insects.[1] Paleontologist Fernando Novascompared its bones to those of the ñandú, a modern-day Patagonian flightless bird.[6]
The eggs of Bonapartenykus were considered unique enough for them to be given a new parataxonomic name, Arriagadoolithus, which was classified in a new oofamily, the Arriagadoolithidae, so named for the owner of the site where the discovery was made.[3][4]
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