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Albinykus baatar

Osteichthyes - Alvarezsauridae

Taxonomy
Albinykus baatar was named by Nesbitt et al. (2011). Its type specimen is IGM 100/3004, a set of limb elements, and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Khugenetjavkhlant, which is in a Santonian/Campanian alluvial fan sandstone in the Javkhlant Formation of Mongolia.

Entered
by M. Oreska (authorized by M. Carrano) on 2011-02-17; modified by M. Carrano on 2013-10-27

Synonymy list
YearName and author
2011Albinykus baatar Nesbitt et al.
2012Albinykus baatar Agnolin et al. p. 47
2023Albinykus baatar Averianov et al. p. 69
2023Albinykus baatar Kubo et al. p. 25

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
—Bilateria
—EubilateriaAx 1987
—Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
classOsteichthyes
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
—Tetrapoda
—Reptiliomorpha
—Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
—Cotylosauria()
—Amniota
—Sauropsida
classReptilia
subclassEureptilia()
—Romeriida
—Diapsida()
RankNameAuthor
—Archosauromorpha(Huene 1946)
—Crocopoda
—ArchosauriformesGauthier 1986
—Eucrocopoda
—Archosauria()
informalAvemetatarsalia
—Ornithodira
—Dinosauromorpha
—Dinosauriformes
—Dinosauria()
—Theropoda()
—Neotheropoda
—AverostraPaul 2002
—Tetanurae
—Coelurosauria()
infraorderAlvarezsauria
—Alvarezsauroidea()
familyAlvarezsauridae
subfamilyParvicursorinae()
genusAlbinykus
speciesbaatar

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

†Albinykus baatar Nesbitt et al. 2011
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Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
S. J. Nesbitt et al. 2011Albinykus is placed within Alvarezsauridae based on the derived presence of the following characters (see Phylogenetic Results): an extreme arctometatarsalian condition with metatarsal III abbreviated and excluded from the proximal surface (character 203(3) of Turner et al., 2007), and the anterior surface of metatarsal III concave (character 69(1) of Longrich and Currie, 2009). We use the stem definition of Alvarezsauroidea (Bonaparte, 1991) and the node defintion of Alvarezsauridae (Bonaparte, 1991) following Choiniere et al. (2010).
The combination of the following unique character state combination within the clade further differentiates the new taxon: a short metatarsal I with a rounded proximal tip (unknown in Alvarezsaurus and Patagonykus); well-pronounced and knob-likecrest for attachment of the M. iliofibularis on the fibula proportionally larger than other alvarezsaurids; phalanx IV-4 longer than both IV-2 and IV-3; and the presence of a deep groove on the anterior face of the ascending process of the astragalus. A small flange on the lateral side of the distal end of metatarsal IV is shared exclusively with Parvicursor, Shuvuuia, and Mononykus within Alvarezsauridae.
Albinykus differs from all other alvarezsaurids by the presence of complete fusion between the tibia and proximal tarsals but because little is known about alvarezsaurid ontogeny, we elect to exclude this character state from the main body of the diagnosis. Fusion of the distal tarsals to the metatarsals and of the proximal portions of the metatarsals to each other are also noteworthy in the new taxon. However, metatarsal fusions slightly vary between the right and left leg of the new specimen.