ELMISAURUS
a caenagnathid theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia.
Pronunciation: ELL-me-SOR-us
Meaning: Foot lizard
Author/s: Osmólska (
1981)
Synonyms: See
below
First Discovery: Ömnögovi, Mongolia
Discovery Chart Position: #286
Elmisaurus rarus
(Rare Foot Lizard)Etymology
Elmisaurus is derived from the Mongolian "ölmyi" ("foot"), because the type specimen consists of a foot, and the Greek "sauros" (lizard).
The
species epithet,
rarus, means "rare" in Latin.
Chirostenotes rarus (Osmólska, 1981)
Nomingia gobiensis? (Barsbold et al., 2000)
Discovery
The remains of
Elmisaurus were discovered in the Nemegt Formation, Ömnögovi (South Gobi) aimag (province), Mongolia, by a Polish-Mongolian paleontological expedition in 1970.
The
holotype (ZPAL MgD-I/172) is a left foot. Add to this two paratypes: ZPAL MgD-I/98 (a right hand and foot) and ZPAL MgD-I/20 (the partial left foot of a larger individual), and that is all that is currently known of
Elmisaurus.
Estimations
Timeline:
Era: Mesozoic
Epoch: Late Cretaceous
Stage: Maastrichtian
Age range: 70 mya
Stats:
Est. max. length: ?
Est. max. hip height: ?
Est. max. weight: ?
Diet: Omnivore
References
• Osmólska H (1981) "Coossified tarsometatarsi in theropod dinosaurs and their bearing on the problem of bird origins. (
pdf)
Palaeontologica Polonica, 42: 79-95.
• Currie PJ (1989) "The first records of
Elmisaurus (Saurischia, Theropoda) from North America".
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 26(6): 1319-1324.
• Rothschild B, Tanke DH and Ford TL (2001) "Theropod stress fractures and tendon avulsions as a clue to activity". Page 331-336 in Tanke and Carpenter (eds.) "
Mesozoic Vertebrate Life".
• Currie PJ (2005) "Theropods, including birds". Page 367-397 in Currie and Koppelhus (eds.) "
Dinosaur Provincial Park: A Spectacular Ancient Ecosystem Revealed".
• Funston G (2020) "Caenagnathids of the Dinosaur Park Formation (Campanian) of Alberta, Canada: anatomy, osteohistology, taxonomy, and evolution".
Vertebrate Anatomy Morphology Palaeontology, 8: 105–153. DOI: 10.18435/vamp29362.
Time stands still for no man, and research is ongoing. If you spot an error, or want to expand, edit or add a dinosaur, please use
this form. Go
here to contribute to our FAQ.
All dinos are GM free, and no herbivores were eaten during site construction!
To cite this page:
Atkinson, L.
"
ELMISAURUS :: from DinoChecker's dinosaur archive".
‹
http://www.dinochecker.com/dinosaurs/ELMISAURUS›. Web access: 07th Mar 2026.
