| Heptasteornis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Holotypetibiotarsus bone as depicted in 1913 | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Family: | †Alvarezsauridae |
| Genus: | †Heptasteornis Harrison &Walker, 1975 |
| Species: | †H. andrewsi |
| Binomial name | |
| †Heptasteornis andrewsi Harrison & Walker, 1975 | |
Heptasteornis is the name given to adubiousgenus ofalvarezsauriddinosaur from the LateCretaceous. The type (and only known) species isHeptasteornis andrewsi, described as a presumed gigantic prehistoricowl in 1975. It was previously included inElopteryx nopcsai and indeed theholotypes of both were believed to be from the same individual as they were discovered, and initially were assigned the same specimen number. This appears to be in error however (see below).[1]
The material was discovered inRomania byFranz Nopcsa, in the lateMaastrichtianSânpetru Formation (Rognacianfaunal stage, deposited c. 68 - 66million years ago) of theHaţeg Basin inTransylvania. Thescientific name means "C.W. Andrews' Transylvanian bird", after the namer ofElopteryx,[2] andAncient Greekhepta (ἑπτά) "seven" +asty (άστυ) "city" +ornis (όρνις) "bird"; theLatinseptum urbium[3] or theGermanSiebenbürgen - meaning "seven cities" or "seven castles" - were common names for the Transylvanian region throughout the centuries.
The material was originally limited to a mere two brokendistaltibiotarsi,BMNH A4359 and A1528. Thetaxonomic status andsystematic placement of these bones was much disputed and they were often consideredjunior synonyms ofBradycneme orElopteryx. Given the fragmentary nature of the fossils, little could be resolved andHeptasteornis was (and still is) considered anomen dubium by many.[4]
While Naish and Dyke in 2004 also classifiedHeptasteornis as anomen dubium, they reassessed it as an indeterminatealvarezsaurid, the first to be known from Europe, and this theory, originally proposed in 1988, has since withstood further scrutiny.Bradycneme andElopteryx on the other hand seem to be more advancedmaniraptoran theropods.[5]
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