A newly analyzed fossil reveals a bizarre dinosaur species, Manipulonyx reshetovi, that stalked the Late Cretaceous swamps of Mongolia 67 million years ago. Unlike any other known dinosaur, this creature possessed a specialized forelimb designed for snatching eggs.
A Thief in the Night
The Manipulonyx was roughly the size of a modern dog, but its hand was uniquely adapted for predation. Instead of typical dinosaur fingers, it had a giant claw, two smaller digits, and spikes to firmly grip the smooth shells of eggs. This specialized anatomy suggests that Manipulonyx was an egg thief, likely targeting nests of larger dinosaur species.
Baffling Discovery
Paleontologists were stunned by the fossil, unearthed in the Gobi Desert in 1979. Stephen Brusatte, a paleontologist at the University of Edinburgh, described it as “flabbergasting,” noting the hand’s resemblance to something more akin to a lobster or starfish than a dinosaur. The hand’s structure challenges previous assumptions about dinosaur limb evolution.
The Alvarezsaurid Family
Manipulonyx belonged to the alvarezsaurid family, a group of small dinosaurs often mistaken for flightless birds due to their reduced forearms and single large claw. However, Manipulonyx ’s hand takes this adaptation to an extreme, demonstrating a highly specialized predatory behavior. The Gobi Desert was a hotspot for dinosaurs like armored ankylosaurs, dome-headed pachycephalosaurs, and the Tarbosaurus (a relative of the Tyrannosaurus rex ).
The discovery of Manipulonyx provides further evidence that dinosaurs evolved in a surprising range of forms, and that even small predators could develop highly specialized hunting strategies. The species’ adaptation shows that evolutionary pressures can drive organisms to develop bizarre and effective survival mechanisms.
