Haplocheirus
| Haplocheirus Temporal range: Late Jurassic ~161.2 to 158.7 Ma - | |
|---|---|
| Life reconstruction of Haplocheirus covered in a dense coat of feathers | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Superfamily: | †Alvarezsauroidea (?) |
| Genus: | †Haplocheirus Choiniere et al., 2010 |
| Type species | |
| †Haplocheirus sollers Choiniere et al., 2010 | |
Haplocheirus (/ˌhæplʊuˈkəirəs/, meaning "simple hand") is an extinct genus of theropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic Shishugou Formation of Xinjiang in China. It is generally considered to be an alvarezsauroid, although some researchers have questioned this assignment. The genus contains a single species, H. sollers, which is known from a mostly complete skeleton including the skull.
The quality of the preservation in the only known specimen of Haplocheirus is near-perfect and preserves the animal in three dimensions. This makes Haplocheirus one of the most well-known Jurassic coelurosaurs from anywhere in the world. The specimen has been relatively well-studied in comparison with other comparable taxa like Zuolong or Guanlong, which has allowed researchers to gain insights into the evolution of maniraptorans as well as the sensory capabilities, diet, and ontogeny of primitive coelurosaurs.