Dinosaurs A to Z
Alvarezsauridae

Mononychus mo-NO-nychu

Generic theropod body-plan outline
You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Mononychus 1 m (3.3 ft) long
as long as 2 people standing fingertip to fingertip
generic theropod body plan, scaled to length — not a silhouette of Mononychus
Length
1 m (3.3 ft)
Period
Late Cretaceous (83.6–66 Mya)
Food
Carnivore
Clade
Alvarezsauridae

Mononychus is a alvarezsauridae known from the Cretaceous period, of uncertain origin. Most of what’s published comes from a small number of specimens, and the fuller picture of how it lived is still being worked out.

What we know

  • Originally named by Perle et al. 1993.