Albertonykus

†Albertonykus is an alvarezsaurid theropod from the Late Cretaceous (~72-66 Ma) of Alberta, Canada. A tiny feathered insectivore, roughly the size of a starling (~0.6m), it possessed a single robust forelimb claw used to excavate wood-boring insects. Named by Longrich and Currie in 2009, it is the smallest non-avian dinosaur known from North America.

Diet & Feeding

Carnivore

Albertonykus was a meat-eating predator. Carnivorous dinosaurs were active hunters or scavengers, equipped with sharp teeth and claws for catching and consuming prey. They occupied the top of the food chain in their ecosystems.

Time Period

Cretaceous Late Mesozoic Era

Albertonykus lived during the Cretaceous Late period of the Mesozoic Era, approximately 100.5 to 66.0 million years ago.

The final age of dinosaurs, featuring iconic species like Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops, and Velociraptor. Dinosaurs reached their peak diversity before the catastrophic asteroid impact at the Chicxulub crater ended the Mesozoic Era.