| Dzharacursor | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Clade: | †Ornithomimosauria |
| Family: | †Ornithomimidae |
| Genus: | †Dzharacursor Averianov & Sues,2025 |
| Species: | †D. bissektensis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Dzharacursor bissektensis (Nesov, 1995) | |
Dzharacursor (meaning "Dzharakuduk runner") is a genus ofornithomimid theropod dinosaurs from theLate Cretaceous (Turonian age)Bissekty Formation of Uzbekistan. The type and only species isDzharacursor bissektensis, originally assigned to the genusArchaeornithomimus.
In 1995, Nesov named a new species of ornithomimosaur from theBissekty Formation asArchaeornithomimus bissektensis, based on the holotype N 479/12457, afemur of a juvenile individual, along with other referred specimens including themetatarsals.[1] However, in subsequent studies, the affinity ofA. bissektensis was generally doubted or not mentioned.[2][3][4]
In 2025, Averianov & Sues assigned this taxon to the new genusDzharacursor. The new generic name combines Dzharakuduk, the name of the locality where its fossils were found, with the Latin wordcursor, meaning "runner". They also referred various partial cranial and postcranial materials of several individuals discovered from the same locality for a sufficient diagnosis. These include cranial bones (a premaxilla, frontal, and quadrate), several cervical, dorsal, and caudal vertebrae, sacra, pectoral and pelvic girdles, forelimb bones (humeri, ulnae, metacarpals, phalanges, and unguals), and hindlimb bones (femora, tibiae, fibulae, metatarsals, phalanges, and unguals), most of which were described by Sues & Averianov in 2016.[5][6]
In theirphylogenetic analyses, Averianov & Sues (2025) recoveredDzharacursor as abasal member of the Ornithomimidae, morederived thanArchaeornithomimus. Their results are displayed in thecladogram below:[5]
A femur (ZIN PH 1400/16) referred toDzharacursor may preservemedullary bone, a type ofendosteal bone tissue found in the bones of female birds when preparing to lay eggs. Similar tissues are found in other non-avian dinosaurs and pterosaurs. Based on the size of the individual whose femur was sampled, the presence of this tissue type may indicate thatDzharacursor females reached sexual maturity before somatic maturity.[7]
Dzharacursor coexisted in the Bissekty Formation environment with other theropods, including the carcharodontosaurianUlughbegsaurus, the tyrannosauroidTimurlengia, and the dromaeosauridItemirus.[8]
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