Papiliovenator

Papiliovenator; Temporal range: 83.6–72.1 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Campanian
	Holotype skull diagram
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Dinosauria
Clade:	Saurischia
Clade:	Theropoda
Family:	†Troodontidae
Genus:	†Papiliovenator; Pei et al., 2022
Species:	†P. neimengguensis
Binomial name
	†Papiliovenator neimengguensis; Pei et al., 2022

Papiliovenator (meaning "butterfly hunter", after a butterfly-shaped feature on its first two dorsal vertebrae) is a genus of troodontid theropod dinosaur from the Bayan Mandahu Formation of Inner Mongolia, China. The type and only species is Papiliovenator neimengguensis.^[1]

Description[]

The holotype, BNMNH-PV030, is a partial, semi-articulated subadult skeleton consisting of a nearly complete cranium and other postcranial bones. Uniquely, its snout was short and subtriangular, more similar to that of Early Cretaceous troodontids such as Mei long than the long, low snouts of Late Cretaceous troodontids. This and other unique traits of irs skeleton suggest a high diversity of troodontid morphotypes in the Late Cretaceous Gobi Desert.

Classification[]

Pei et al. recover Papiliovenator as the earliest-diverging member of a clade consisting of all Late Cretaceous troodontids except for Almas ukhaa.^[2]^[3]

Dromaeosauridae

Troodontidae

Sinovenator

	Mei

	Jinfengopteryx

Sinusonasus

Jianianhualong

Sinornithoides

EK Troodontid

Almas

Papiliovenator

Troodontinae

Xixiasaurus

Gobivenator

Byronosaurus

Troodontinae

Zanabazar

Linhevenator

	Saurornithoides

	Latenivenatrix

sensu Hartman et al., 2018

sensu Currie et al., 2017

References[]

^ Pei, R.; Qin, Yuying; Wen, Aishu; Zhao, Q.; Wang, Z.; Liu, Z.; Guo, W.; Liu, P.; Ye, W.; Wang, L.; Yin, Z.; Dai, R.; Xu, X. (2022). "A New Troodontid from the Upper Cretaceous Gobi Basin of Inner Mongolia, China". Cretaceous Research. 130: Article 105052. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2021.105052.
^ Hartman, Scott; Mortimer, Mickey; Wahl, William R.; Lomax, Dean R.; Lippincott, Jessica; Lovelace, David M. (2019-07-10). "A new paravian dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of North America supports a late acquisition of avian flight". PeerJ. 7: e7247. doi:10.7717/peerj.7247. ISSN 2167-8359. PMID 31333906.
^ van der Reest, A.J.; Currie, P.J. (2017). "Troodontids (Theropoda) from the Dinosaur Park Formation, Alberta, with a description of a unique new taxon: implications for deinonychosaur diversity in North America". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 54 (9): 919–935. doi:10.1139/cjes-2017-0031. hdl:1807/78296.

[1] Pei, R.; Qin, Yuying; Wen, Aishu; Zhao, Q.; Wang, Z.; Liu, Z.; Guo, W.; Liu, P.; Ye, W.; Wang, L.; Yin, Z.; Dai, R.; Xu, X. (2022). "A New Troodontid from the Upper Cretaceous Gobi Basin of Inner Mongolia, China". Cretaceous Research. 130: Article 105052. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2021.105052.

[2] Hartman, Scott; Mortimer, Mickey; Wahl, William R.; Lomax, Dean R.; Lippincott, Jessica; Lovelace, David M. (2019-07-10). "A new paravian dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of North America supports a late acquisition of avian flight". PeerJ. 7: e7247. doi:10.7717/peerj.7247. ISSN 2167-8359. PMID 31333906.

[LS2017-3] van der Reest, A.J.; Currie, P.J. (2017). "Troodontids (Theropoda) from the Dinosaur Park Formation, Alberta, with a description of a unique new taxon: implications for deinonychosaur diversity in North America". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 54 (9): 919–935. doi:10.1139/cjes-2017-0031. hdl:1807/78296.

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