Noasaurus

Noasaurus; Temporal range: Upper Cretaceous
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Sauropsida
Superorder:	Dinosauria
Order:	Saurischia
Suborder:	Theropoda
Infraorder:	Ceratosauria
Superfamily:	Abelisauroidea
Family:	Noasauridae
Genus:	Noasaurus
Binomial name
	Noasaurus leali; Bonaparte & Powell, 1980

Noasaurus was a small meat-eating dinosaur. It lived at a time when some of the biggest dinosaurs ever to live were roaming South America. Although it had some of the same characteristics as raptors that lived in North America and Asia, it was not a close relative. This little hunter is a good example of how dinosaurs filled lots of roles in the environment. Not only were dinosaurs the biggest hunters, but they were also among the smallest.

It was discovered by Jaime Powell and José Bonaparte in northwestern Argentina. Its unique foot claw has caused a great deal of discussion regarding the evolutionary lineage of this dinosaur.

Noasaurus Media

Left maxilla of Noasaurus (PVL 4061; Fundación Miguel Lillo, Tucumán, Argentina). (scales bar: 5 cm)
Size comparison of Noasaurus to a human
Carnotaurus DB 2 white background
Silhouette of Deltadromeus. The unknown regions were reconstructed based on Gualicho, Masiakasaurus, and Limusaurus.*References* * Ibrahim, N.; Sereno, P. C.; Varricchio, D. J.; Martill, D. M.; Dutheil, D. B.; Unwin, D. M.; Baidder, L.; Larsson, H.; Zouhri, S.; Kaoukaya, A. (2020). "Geology and paleontology of the Upper Cretaceous Kem Kem Group of eastern Morocco". Z
Limusaurus runner (flipped)
Elaphrosaurus bambergi. Head and hands based on Limusaurus.
Masiakasaurus BW (flipped)
Reconstructed hypothetical skull based on Masiakasaurus