Balaur
Balaur is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur that lived in southern Europe during the Upper Cretaceous, about 70 million years ago.
| Balaur Temporal range:
Upper Cretaceous, 70 mya | |
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| Balaur bondoc displaying its double sickle claws in a kicking action | |
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| Superfamily: | Dromaeosauroidae
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| Genus: | Balaur
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The specimen is unique: unlike most other dromaeosaurs, it had two sickle claws on each foot, not just one.[1] It had a reduced and presumably nonfunctional third finger, consisting of only one rudimentary phalanx.[1][2]
The specimen was discovered in 2010. Balaur lived on a large prehistoric island called Hateg Island. Seventy million years ago, sea levels were much higher than they are today. Europe was an archipelago of islands.[3]
Possibly because it was relatively isolated from other dinosaurs, Balaur developed unique features. It was a small 1.8–2.1 metres (5.9–6.9 ft).[1] This is an example of island dwarfism.
There is one known species, Balaur bondoc. Balaur was a velociraptorine. Studies have shown that it is most closely related to the famous Asian dromaeosaurid Velociraptor.
Balaur Media
A dragon sculpture in Romania.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Csiki Z. et al 2010.. An aberrant island-dwelling theropod dinosaur from the late Cretaceous of Romania. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 107 (35) (2010). p. 15357–15361. doi:10.1073/pnas.1006970107.
- ↑ BBC News – Beefy dino sported fearsome claws. Bbc.co.uk. 2010-08-31. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11137905. Retrieved 2010-09-01.
- ↑ Stein K.. Small body size and extreme cortical bone remodeling indicate phyletic dwarfism in Magyarosaurus dacus (Sauropoda: Titanosauria). Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 107 (20) (2010). p. 9258–9263. doi:10.1073/pnas.1000781107.