Hesperonyx
{{distinguish|Hesperonychus|Hesperomys}}
{{Short description|Genus of ornithopod dinosaurs}}
{{Speciesbox
| fossil_range = Late Jurassic,
{{fossilrange|Kimmeridgian|Kimmeridgian|late Kimmeridgian}}
| image = Hesperonyx Skeletal.svg
| image_caption = Skeletal reconstruction
| display_parents = 2
| genus = Hesperonyx
| parent_authority = Rotatori et al., 2024
| species = martinhotomasorum
| authority = Rotatori et al., 2024
}}
Hesperonyx (meaning "western claw") is an extinct genus of dryomorphan ornithopod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic Lourinhã Formation of Portugal. The genus contains a single species, Hesperonyx martinhotomasorum, known from bones of the fore- and hindlimbs.
Discovery and naming
File:Lourinhã Hesperonyx martinhotomasorum.jpg
The Hesperonyx holotype specimen, ML 2700, was discovered in 2021 in sediments of the Lourinhã Formation (Porto Novo Member) along the beach at Porto Dinheiro. The specimen consists of bones from the left forelimb (a hand claw, ulnare, and partial metacarpal) and hindlimb (the tibia, fibula, most of metatarsals I–IV, remains of five phalanges, and three toe claws).{{Cite journal|last1=Rotatori |first1=F. M. |last2=Ferrari |first2=L. |last3=Sequero |first3=C. |last4=Camilo |first4=B. |last5=Mateus |first5=O. |last6=Moreno-Azanza |first6=M. |title=An unexpected early-diverging iguanodontian dinosaur (Ornithischia, Ornithopoda) from the Upper Jurassic of Portugal |year=2024 |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=43 |issue=4 |at=e2310066 |doi=10.1080/02724634.2024.2310066 }}{{Cite web |date=19 March 2024 |title=New dinosaur species discovered in Portugal |url=https://www.theportugalnews.com/news/2024-03-19/new-dinosaur-species-discovered-in-portugal/87070 |website=The Portugal News}}
In 2024, Rotatori et al. described Hesperonyx martinhotomasorum as a new genus and species of ornithopod dinosaurs based on these fossil remains. The generic name, "Hesperonyx", combines "Hesperus" (or the "Evening Star"), after the Greek god whose name also references the western direction—referencing the holotype locality in the west region of Portugal—with the Greek suffix "-onyx", meaning "claw". The specific name, "martinhotomasorum", combines the last names of Micael Martinho and Carla Alexandra Tomás, honoring their efforts in fossil curation and preparation at the Museu da Lourinhã.
Description
Classification
File:Hesperonyx_martinhotomasorum.png]]
Rotatori et al. (2024) included Hesperonyx in two phylogenetic analyses, recovering it in contrasting locations within the Dryomorpha. In their parsimony analyses (both with equal and implied weighting), Hesperonyx was placed as a basal member of the clade of non-dryosaurid dryomorphans. However, in their Bayesian analysis, Hesperonyx was recovered as a basal member of the Dryosauridae. More precise affinities could not be concluded due to the paucity of remains. Their results are displayed in the cladograms below:
{{col-begin|width=75%}}
{{col-2}}Topology 1: Parsimony analysis (equal weighting)
{{clade
|{{clade
|1=Tenontosaurus spp.
|2={{clade
|2={{clade
|1=Elasmaria
|label2=Dryomorpha
|2={{clade
|label1=Dryosauridae
|1={{clade
|2={{clade
|1=Valdosaurus
|3=Dryosaurus spp. }} }}
|4={{clade
|1=Hesperonyx
|2={{clade
|1=Uteodon
|2={{clade
|1=SHN.015.JJS.LPP
|2={{clade
|1=Draconyx
|label2=Ankylopollexia
|2={{clade
|2=Camptosaurus
}} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }}|label1=Iguanodontia}}
{{col-2}}Topology 2: Bayesian analysis
{{clade
|{{clade
|1={{clade
|1=Tenontosaurus spp.
|2=Elasmaria }}
|label3=Dryomorpha
|3={{clade
|label1=Dryosauridae
|1={{clade
|1=Hesperonyx
|2={{clade
|1=Dryosaurus spp.
|2={{clade
|2={{clade
|2=Valdosaurus }} }} }} }}
|3={{clade
|1=Uteodon
|label2=Ankylopollexia
|2={{clade
|1=Camptosaurus
}} }} }} }}|label1=Iguanodontia}}
{{col-end}}
Paleoenvironment
The Lourinhã Formation is one of the major fossiliferous formations of Portugal, preserving many species of dinosaurs, some of which are also known from the contemporaneous Morrison Formation of North America.{{cite journal|last1=Antunes|first1=M.T.|last2=Mateus|first2=O.|year=2003|title=Dinosaurs of Portugal|url=http://docentes.fct.unl.pt/sites/default/files/omateus/files/antunes_mateus_2003_dinosaurs_of_portugal.pdf|journal=Comptes Rendus Palevol|volume=2|issue=1|pages=77–95|doi=10.1016/S1631-0683(03)00003-4|bibcode=2003CRPal...2...77A }}{{cite journal|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0088905|pmid=24598585|title=Torvosaurus gurneyi n. sp., the Largest Terrestrial Predator from Europe, and a Proposed Terminology of the Maxilla Anatomy in Nonavian Theropods|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=9|issue=3|pages=e88905|year=2014|last1=Hendrickx|first1=Christophe|last2=Mateus|first2=Octávio|bibcode=2014PLoSO...988905H|pmc=3943790|doi-access=free}}{{Cite journal | doi = 10.7717/peerj.857| title = A specimen-level phylogenetic analysis and taxonomic revision of Diplodocidae (Dinosauria, Sauropoda)| journal = PeerJ| volume = 3| pages = e857| year = 2015| last1 = Tschopp | first1 = E. | last2 = Mateus | first2 = O. V. | last3 = Benson | first3 = R. B. J. | pmid=25870766 | pmc=4393826| doi-access = free}}{{open access}}{{cite journal|url=http://docentes.fct.unl.pt/omateus/publications/new-long-necked-sauropod-mimic-stegosaur-and-evolution-plated-dinosaurs | author=Mateus, O., Maidment S., & Christiansen N. |title= A new long-necked 'sauropod-mimic' stegosaur and the evolution of the plated dinosaurs| journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences | volume=276 | issue=1663 | pages=1815–21 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2008.1909 | year=2009 | pmid=19324778 | pmc=2674496}} Hesperonyx is the third named iguanodontian known from this formation, after Draconyx and Eousdryosaurus.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Ornithopoda|O.}}
{{taxonbar|from1=Q124975016}}
Category:Kimmeridgian dinosaurs
Category:Taxa named by Octávio Mateus