Citipes: Research Database
Theropoda (Saurischia) · Late Cretaceous (~75 MYA) · North America — Canada (Alberta, Dinosaur Park Formation)
Research Note: Citipes was a small theropod from the Late Cretaceous of Canada — an important taxon for understanding theropod diversity and evolution in the Late Cretaceous of North America.
| Research Finding | Status | Grade | Year | Method | Citation | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Lockley et al. 2005: Citipes and new data on theropod diversity from the Cretaceous of Canada
Lockley et al. 2005 provide comprehensive data on Citipes from the Late Cretaceous of Canada, establishing it as a theropod and documenting theropod diversity in the Dinosaur Park Formation
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Confirmed | A | 2005 | Fossil | Lockley et al., Cretaceous Research | Diversity |
|
Lockley & Helm 2022: Additional data on Citipes and theropod footprints from the Cretaceous of Canada
Lockley & Helm 2022 provide additional data on Citipes and theropod biodiversity in the Cretaceous of Canada, further contextualising its significance within Theropoda
|
Confirmed | B | 2022 | Fossil | Lockley & Helm, Cretaceous Research | Ichnology |
Active Debate: Theropod Diversity in the Late Cretaceous of North America
Whether Citipes is related to other small theropods from the Cretaceous of North America or represents a unique lineage is debated. The diversity of small theropods in the Dinosaur Park Formation — and their ecological roles — is key to understanding Late Cretaceous dinosaur ecosystems.
What We Still Do Not Know About Citipes
- Complete skeletal morphology: Partial specimen known.
- Diet: Carnivore.
- Social behavior: No direct evidence.
- Relationships: Partially understood.
In Depth
Fossils of Citipes were first described in 1933, but as a species of Ornithomimus. After this they subsequently moved into the Elmisaurus and Leptorhynchos genera respectively, before finally being described as a distinct genus in 2020. Citipes is a genus of oviraptosaur dinosaur that lived in North America during the late Cretaceous.
Further reading
- New species of dinosaurs and turtles from the Upper Cretaceous formations of Alberta. - University of Toronto Studies, Geological Series, 34: 1-33. - W. A. parks - 1933.
- Caenagnathidae from the Upper Campanian Aguja Formation of West Texas, and a Revision of the Caenagnathinae. - Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History. 54: 23–49. - N. R. Longrich, K. Barnes, S. Clark & L. Millar - 2013.
- Correction to ‘Caenagnathidae from the Upper Campanian Aguja Formation of West Texas, and a Revision of the Caenagnathinae’. - N. R. Longrich, K. Barnes, S. Clark & L. Millar - 2013.
- Caenagnathids of the Dinosaur Park Formation (Campanian) of Alberta, Canada: anatomy, osteohistology, taxonomy, and evolution. - Vertebrate Anatomy Morphology Palaeontology. 8: 105–153. - Gregory Funston - 2020.
