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''Parvicursor'' (meaning "small runner") is a genus of tiny maniraptoran dinosaur with long slender legs for fast running. At only about 39 cm (~15 in) from snout to end of tail, and 162 grams (5.7 ounces) in weight, it is one of the smallest non-avian dinosaurs known from an adult specimen.〔(Which was the smallest dinosaur? ) Royal Tyrrell Museum. Last accessed 2008-05-23.〕 Like other members of the family Alvarezsauridae, the forelimbs of ''Parvicursor'' were short and stubby, with hands all but completely reduced to a single large claw, possibly useful for opening tough termite mounds or other types of digging. It is unlikely that the claw could have served much for defense, as it was short and not adapted for flexible movements — it is more likely it would do as the animal's name implies: ''cursor'' means ''runner''. ''Parvicursor'' is known from Late Cretaceous Campanian sediments at Khulsan, Mongolia. The type species, ''P. remotus'', is only known from one incomplete specimen, mostly pelvis and hind legs. Close relatives include ''Shuvuuia'' and ''Mononykus'', and together with these it is classified in the alvarezsaurid subfamily Alvarezsauridae. There may be a second, yet-unnamed, species of ''Parvicursor''. Two specimens of tiny alvarezsaurids were described by Suzuki ''et al.'' in 2002. These authors considered the specimens to be juvenile ''Shuvuuia'', which lived in the same formation.〔Suzuki, S., Chiappe, L.M., Dyke, G.J., Watabe, M., Barsbold, R., Tsogtbaatar, K. (2002). "A new specimen of ''Shuvuuia deserti'' Chiappe, ''et al.'' 1998 from the Mongolian Late Cretaceous with a discussion of the relationships of alvarezsaurids to other theropod dinosaurs." ''Contributions in Science, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County'', 494: 1–18.〕 However, a study by Nick Longrich and Phil Currie in 2009 suggested that several characters of the skeleton, including fused wrist and pelvic bones, indicated that these specimens were in fact adults of a tiny alvarezsaurid species. A phylogenetic analysis found that they grouped together with ''Parvicursor'', and the authors provisionally referred them to ''Parvicursor sp.'' pending further study. It has been suggested that ''Linhenykus'' may be a junior synonym of ''Parvicursor''. ==References== 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Parvicursor」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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