Jaculinykus
| Jaculinykus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, | |
|---|---|
| Holotype specimen and skeletal reconstruction | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Family: | †Alvarezsauridae |
| Subfamily: | †Parvicursorinae |
| Genus: | †Jaculinykus |
| Species: | †J. yaruui |
| Binomial name | |
| †Jaculinykus yaruui Kubo et al., 2023 | |
Jaculinykus (meaning "Jaculus claw") is an extinct genus of alvarezsaurid theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Baruungoyot Formation of Mongolia. The genus contains a single species, J. yaruui, known from a nearly complete articulated skeleton including bones of the skull. Jaculinykus is notable for its unique hand, which has a hypertrophied first digit and greatly reduced second digit, which is intermediate between the tridactyl hand of Shuvuuia and monodactyl hand of Linhenykus.