Scipionyx shih-piːohnihks,_-shihpiː-OH

Scipionyx ( ) was a genus of theropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous Pietraroja Formation of Italy, around 113 million years ago.

There is only one fossil known of Scipionyx, discovered in 1981 by an amateur paleontologist and brought to the attention of science in 1993. In 1998 the type species Scipionyx samniticus was named, the generic name meaning “Scipio’s claw”. The find generated much publicity because of the unique preservation of large areas of petrified soft tissue and internal organs such as muscles and intestines. The fossil shows many details of these, even the internal structure of some muscle and bone cells. It was also the first dinosaur found in Italy. Because of the importance of the specimen, it has been intensely studied.