Hagryphus
Encyclopedia
Hagryphus is an oviraptorosauria
n theropod dinosaur
from the Upper Cretaceous
Period of what is now Utah
. To date, only a single species is known, H. giganteus. The holotype
was discovered in the Kaiparowits Formation
(Late Campanian
) in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
of southern Utah. Radiometric dating
indicates that the beds where the specimen was found date to between 76 and 75 million years ago. Designated UMNH VP 12765, the type specimen resides in the collections of the Utah Museum of Natural History
in Salt Lake City. It consists of an incomplete but articulated left manus and the distal portion of the left radius. Both the semilunate and radiale are preserved.
Other known species
of North America
n oviraptorosaurs include Elmisaurus
rarus, Microvenator
celer, and Chirostenotes
pergracilis. This group of dinosaurs is better known from the Cretaceous of Asia
, where forms such as Khaan
mckennai, Conchoraptor
gracilis and Oviraptor
philoceratops have been discovered.
Oviraptorosaurs are characterized by a shortened snout, massive endentulous jaws and extensively pneumatized skulls, often sporting elaborate crests, the function of which remains unknown. The toothless jaws may indicate a diet of eggs but these theropods likely fed on small vertebrate
s as well. Evidence suggests that they were feathered and some paleontologists
consider them to be true bird
s (see the main article Oviraptorosauria
for further information).
Oviraptorosauria
(Barsbold, 1976). H. giganteus is estimated to be 30-40% larger than the next largest known North American oviraptorosaur, Chirostenotes.
Oviraptorosauria
Oviraptorosaurs are a group of feathered maniraptoran dinosaurs from the Cretaceous Period of what are now Asia and North America. They are distinct for their characteristically short, beaked, parrot - like skulls, with or without bony crests atop the head...
n theropod dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
from the Upper Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
Period of what is now Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. To date, only a single species is known, H. giganteus. The holotype
Holotype
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
was discovered in the Kaiparowits Formation
Kaiparowits Formation
The Kaiparowits Formation is a sedimentary rock formation found in the Kaiparowits Plateau in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, in the southern part of Utah in the western United States. It is over 2800 feet thick, and is Campanian in age...
(Late Campanian
Campanian
The Campanian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous epoch . The Campanian spans the time from 83.5 ± 0.7 Ma to 70.6 ± 0.6 Ma ...
) in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument contains 1.9 million acres of land in southern Utah, the United States. There are three main regions: the Grand Staircase, the Kaiparowits Plateau, and the Canyons of the Escalante. President Bill Clinton designated the area as a U.S. National...
of southern Utah. Radiometric dating
Radiometric dating
Radiometric dating is a technique used to date materials such as rocks, usually based on a comparison between the observed abundance of a naturally occurring radioactive isotope and its decay products, using known decay rates...
indicates that the beds where the specimen was found date to between 76 and 75 million years ago. Designated UMNH VP 12765, the type specimen resides in the collections of the Utah Museum of Natural History
Utah Museum of Natural History
The Natural History Museum of Utah is a museum located at the Rio Tinto Center on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The museum shows exhibits of natural history subjects, specifically about Utah's natural history...
in Salt Lake City. It consists of an incomplete but articulated left manus and the distal portion of the left radius. Both the semilunate and radiale are preserved.
Other known species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n oviraptorosaurs include Elmisaurus
Elmisaurus
Elmisaurus is an extinct genus of dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous. It was a theropod belonging to the Oviraptorosauria. Its fossils have been found in Asia and North America. It is known from only its feet and hands....
rarus, Microvenator
Microvenator
Microvenator is a genus of dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous Cloverly Formation in what is now south central Montana. Microvenator was an oviraptorosaurian theropod. The holotype fossil is an incomplete skeleton, most likely a juvenile, with a living length of about four feet. The adult size of...
celer, and Chirostenotes
Chirostenotes
Chirostenotes is a genus of oviraptorosaurian dinosaur from the late Cretaceous of Alberta, Canada. The type species is Chirostenotes pergracilis. Some researchers recognize a second species, C...
pergracilis. This group of dinosaurs is better known from the Cretaceous of Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, where forms such as Khaan
Khaan
Khaan was an oviraptorid dinosaur that was found in the Djadochta Formation of Mongolia and lived in the Late Cretaceous Period , 75 million years ago....
mckennai, Conchoraptor
Conchoraptor
Conchoraptor is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaur from the late Cretaceous Period of what is now Asia.-Description:...
gracilis and Oviraptor
Oviraptor
Oviraptor is a genus of small Mongolian theropod dinosaur, first discovered by the paleontologist Roy Chapman Andrews, and first described by Henry Fairfield Osborn, in 1924...
philoceratops have been discovered.
Oviraptorosaurs are characterized by a shortened snout, massive endentulous jaws and extensively pneumatized skulls, often sporting elaborate crests, the function of which remains unknown. The toothless jaws may indicate a diet of eggs but these theropods likely fed on small vertebrate
Vertebrate
Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
s as well. Evidence suggests that they were feathered and some paleontologists
Paleontology
Paleontology "old, ancient", ὄν, ὀντ- "being, creature", and λόγος "speech, thought") is the study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments...
consider them to be true bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s (see the main article Oviraptorosauria
Oviraptorosauria
Oviraptorosaurs are a group of feathered maniraptoran dinosaurs from the Cretaceous Period of what are now Asia and North America. They are distinct for their characteristically short, beaked, parrot - like skulls, with or without bony crests atop the head...
for further information).
Size
As the species name indicates, Hagryphus giganteus was a particularly large oviraptorosaur, estimated to have been approximately 3 meters (10 ft) long, which makes it one of the largest members of the cladeClade
A clade is a group consisting of a species and all its descendants. In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life". The idea that such a "natural group" of organisms should be grouped together and given a taxonomic name is central to biological...
Oviraptorosauria
Oviraptorosauria
Oviraptorosaurs are a group of feathered maniraptoran dinosaurs from the Cretaceous Period of what are now Asia and North America. They are distinct for their characteristically short, beaked, parrot - like skulls, with or without bony crests atop the head...
(Barsbold, 1976). H. giganteus is estimated to be 30-40% larger than the next largest known North American oviraptorosaur, Chirostenotes.