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Alvarezsaurus facts for kids

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Alvarezsaurus
Temporal range: Upper Cretaceous
Alvarezsaurus.jpg
Skeleton restoration
Scientific classification
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Family:
Alvarezsauridae
Genus:
Alvarezsaurus

Bonaparte, 1991
Species

A. calvoi Bonaparte, 1991 (type)

Alvarezsaurus is a small dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of Argentina, about 86-83 million years ago. It measured about 2 meters in length and weighed 20 kilograms.

It was named by paleontologist Jose Bonaparte in 1991. It walked on two legs, had a long tail, and its leg structure suggests that it was a fast runner. It may have eaten insects. It was more primitive than other, better-known members of its family, such as Mononykus and Shuvuuia.

In popular culture

Alvarezsaurus was featured in the Discovery Channel television series Dinosaur Planet, which speculated that it was a predator of young Saltasaurus, although these species did not exist at the same time, Alvarezsaurus being about 5 million years older than Saltasaurus.

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See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Alvarezsaurus calvoi para niños

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