Genus
Valid Extinct

Trierarchuncus

Fowler et al. 2020

Trierarchuncus is a monotypic genus of alvarezsaurid theropod which includes a single species, Trierarchuncus prairiensis, mainly known from fossils found in deposits of the Hell Creek Formation in Montana. It is the youngest known alvarezsaurid and one of the last non-avian dinosaurs, going extinct during the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, which occurred approximately 66 million years ago.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
6
Group
Dinosaures
Carnivore Ground dwelling, solitary Terrestrial
Trierarchuncus
click to enlarge
Griffe de Trierarchuncus prairiensis de trois centimètres. Collection Max Rouger. © Max Rouger · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Dinosauria Unranked clade
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Theropoda Unranked clade
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Neotheropoda Unranked clade
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Averostra Unranked clade
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Tetanurae Unranked clade
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Coelurosauria Unranked clade
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Alvarezsauria Infraorder
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Alvarezsauroidea Unranked clade
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Alvarezsauridae Family
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Trierarchuncus Genus
Fossil sites 6 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇺🇸 United States
6
Geological formations
Hell Creek
6
Temporal distribution
Maastrichtian (72.2–66 Ma)
6
Species (1)
Trierarchuncus prairiensis 72 Ma
Images 1
Bibliography
Original description
D. W. Fowler, J. P. Wilson, and E. A. Freedman Fowler, C. R. Noto, D. Anduza, J. R. Horner. 2020. Trierarchuncus prairiensis gen. et sp. nov., the last alvarezsaurid: Hell Creek Formation (uppermost Maastrichtian), Montana. Cretaceous Research 116:104560 DOI ↗
Bibliography (2)
W. J. Freimuth and J. P. Wilson. 2021. New manual unguals of Trierarchuncus prairiensis from the Hell Creek Formation, Montana, and the ontogenetic development of the functional alvarezsaurid hand claw. Cretaceous Research 119:104698 DOI ↗
D. W. Fowler, J. P. Wilson, and E. A. Freedman Fowler, C. R. Noto, D. Anduza, J. R. Horner. 2020. Trierarchuncus prairiensis gen. et sp. nov., the last alvarezsaurid: Hell Creek Formation (uppermost Maastrichtian), Montana. Cretaceous Research 116:104560 DOI ↗