The Big Dinosaur Podcast

Episode 218 is all about Mononykus, an Alvarezsaurid with tiny arms but big claws that lived in the Late Cretaceous in what is now Mongolia.

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In this episode, we discuss:

News:

• Eubrontes tracks may have been made by a sauropodomorph instead of a predator source
• UV vision may have helped dinosaurs see their way through dense forests source
• There may have been an increase in asteroid impacts near the beginning of the Mesozoic source
• The lawsuit regarding Bears Ears monument status will be heard in Washington D.C. source
• Paris the Parasaurolophus sculpture has “laid an egg” (really grown a mushroom) source
• The Japanese manga series One Piece has a story arc with a group of dinosaur pirates source
• The mobile game Dino People lets you build a very simple dinosaur civilization source

The dinosaur of the day: Mononykus

• Alvarezsaurid that lived in the Late Cretaceous in what is now Mongolia (Nemegt Formation)
• Small, about 3.3 ft (1 m) long
• Had long, skinny legs
• Bipedal, could probably run fast
• Lived in open flood plains
• Had large eyes, may have hunted at night (less risky, and also cooler outside)
• Had a small skull and small, pointed teeth
• Had stubby forearms and one long claw on each arm (about 3 in, 7.5 cm long)
• Not clear why its arms were this way, possible it used the claws to break open termite mounds or get to ants
• Probably ate insects and small animals (lizards and mammals)
• Could have used to dig burrows or dig into nests or catch prey
• Phil Senter in 2005 found that Mononykus could not have used its forelimbs to grasp prey or dig burrows, but used for “scratch-digging or hook-and-pull movements such as are used by extant anteaters and pangolins to open tough insect nests. Mononykus likely occupied a niche equivalent to that of an anteater or pangolin, an unusual niche for a dinosaur.”
• Named in 1993 by Perle, Norell, Chiappe, and Clark
• Originally named Mononychus, in 1993, renamed later in 1993 to Mononykus because the name Mononychus was already the name of a beetle
• Type species is Mononykus olecranus
• Name means “one claw”
• Species name means “elbow head”
• Only known from the holotype, which includes part of the skull, verebrae, all four limbs, thoracic girdle (connects the arms on each side), and parts of the ilium and pubis
• Holotype found in the 1987 Soviet-Mongolian Paleontological Expedition, by Namsarai B., a preparator at the Mongolian Museum of Natural History
• Originally Mononykus was thought to be a primitive bird (had a ridge that ran down its sternum, like in modern birds) that couldn’t fly
• Had fused wrist bones, like modern birds
• Other specimens have been referred to Mononykus (ones with partial tails, and complete skulls), but those were later found to be Shuvuuia (many Mononykus reconstructions are based on Shuvuuia)
• In the original description of Mononykus, a specimen that had been found during one of Roy Chapman Andrews expeditions (housed at the AMNH) was thought to also be Mononykus. But based on other specimens being referred to Shuvuuia, and the fact that Monoykus came from the Nemegt Formation and this specimen came from an older formation, Djadochta Formation, it’s probably not Mononykus
• Often depicted as having feathers (feathers have been found on Shuvuuia)
• Can see Mononykus in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (in the Lockwood estate museum)
• Also in Jurassic Park III: Park Builder (though it’s known as it’s original name Mononychus)

Fun Fact: Dinosaurs formed in their eggs in a very similar way to how humans form in their womb

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This episode is brought to you in part by Indiana University Press. Their Life of the Past series is lavishly illustrated and meticulously documented to showcase the latest findings and most compelling interpretations in the ever-changing field of paleontology. Find their books at iupress.indiana.edu