| Talos sampsoni | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Articulated foot | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Family: | †Troodontidae |
| Genus: | †Talos Zannoet al.,2011 |
| Species: | †T. sampsoni |
| Binomial name | |
| †Talos sampsoni Zannoet al., 2011 | |
Talos is anextinctgenus ofcarnivorousbird-liketheropoddinosaur, an advancedtroodontid which lived during the lateCretaceousperiod (lateCampanian, about 76Ma) in the geographic area that is nowUtah, United States.
Talos is known only from theholotype specimenUMNH VP 19479, a partialpostcranialskeleton of a subadult individual including the hindlimbs, pelvis, vertebral fragments, chevrons and the leftulna. It was discovered and collected in 2008 by M. J. Knell during the Kaiparowits Basin Project, initiated by theUniversity of Utah in 2000, from theKaiparowits Formation within theGrand Staircase–Escalante National Monument. It was first named byLindsay E. Zanno, David J. Varricchio, Patrick M. O'Connor, Alan L. Titus, and Michael J. Knell in2011 and the type species isTalos sampsoni. Thegeneric name comes fromTalos, a giant bronzeautomaton inGreek mythology and is intended to be a pun on the English wordtalon. Thespecific name honorstelevision paleontologist Dr.Scott D. Sampson for researching and collecting fossils during the Kaiparowits Basin Project.[1]
Talos is atroodontid, a group of small, bird-like,gracilemaniraptorans. All troodontids have many unique features of the skull, such as closely spacedteeth in the lower jaw, and large numbers of teeth. Troodontids have sickle-claws andraptorialhands, and some of the highest non-avianencephalization quotients, meaning they were behaviourally advanced and had keen senses.[2]Talos is approximately 2 metres (6.6 ft) in length, and its weight has been estimated at thirty-eight kilograms.Talos had a sickle claw. That of the specimen was damaged during life, possibly in an attack on prey.[1]
In 2011Talos was assigned to theTroodontidae. Acladistic analysis indicated it formed aclade of derived troodontids together withByronosaurus,Saurornithoides,Zanabazar andTroodon.[1]
The only known specimen ofTalos was recovered at the Kaiparowits Formation, in southern Utah.Argon-argon radiometric dating indicates that the Kaiparowits Formation was deposited between 76.1 and 74.0 million years ago, during the Campanian stage of the LateCretaceous period.[3][4] During the Late Cretaceous period, the site of the Kaiparowits Formation was located near the western shore of theWestern Interior Seaway, a large inland sea that split North America into two landmasses,Laramidia to the west andAppalachia to the east. The plateau where dinosaurs lived was an ancient floodplain dominated by large channels and abundant wetlandpeat swamps, ponds and lakes, and was bordered by highlands. The climate was wet and humid, and supported an abundant and diverse range of organisms.[5] This formation contains one of the best and most continuous records of Late Cretaceous terrestrial life in the world.[6]
Talos shared itspaleoenvironment withtheropods such asdromaeosaurids,ornithomimids likeOrnithomimus velox,tyrannosaurids likeTeratophoneus,armored ankylosaurids such asAkainacephalus johnsoni, theduckbilled hadrosaursParasaurolophus cyrtocristatus andGryposaurus monumentensis, theceratopsiansUtahceratops gettyi,Nasutoceratops titusi andKosmoceratops richardsoni and theoviraptorosaurianHagryphus giganteus.[7] Paleofauna present in the Kaiparowits Formation includedchondrichthyans (sharks and rays),frogs,salamanders,turtles,lizards andcrocodilians. A variety of earlymammals were present includingmultituberculates,marsupials, andinsectivorans.[8]
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