Nqwebasaurus

Extinct genus of dinosaur

Nqwebasaurus (; anglicized as /ɪ//ŋ/,/k//w//ɛ//b//ə/'/s//ɔːr//ə//s/ or ,/n//w//ɛ//b//ə/'/s//ɔːr//ə//s/) is a basal coelurosaur and is the basal most member of the coelurosaurian clade Ornithomimosauria from the Early Cretaceous of South Africa. The name Nqwebasaurus is derived from the Xhosa word Nqweba which is the local name for the Kirkwood district, and thwazi is ancient Xhosa for "fast runner". Currently it is the oldest coelurosaur in Africa and shows that basal coelurosaurian dinosaurs inhabited Gondwana 50 million years earlier than previously thought. The type specimen of Nqwebasaurus was discovered by William J. de Klerk who is affiliated with the Albany Museum in Grahamstown. It is the only fossil of its species found to date and was found in the Kirkwood Formation of the Uitenhage Group. Nqwebasaurus has the unofficial nickname "Kirky", due to being found in the Kirkwood.

Nqwebasaurus was first discovered by William J. de Klerk and Callum Ross in July 1996 during a joint expedition led by the Albany Museum in Grahamstown and Stony Brook in New York, United States, where Callum Ross was affiliated at the time. In addition the type specimen is thought to be a late juvenile, although with the type specimen being the only fossil representing its species it is currently not possible to compare the fossil with another member of its species. Nqwebasaurus has a long, three fingered hand which includes a partially opposable thumb with a recurved claw. The claws on its hands differ in shape where the claws of the first and second digits are recurved and the third claw is not. This trait is unusual in theropod dinosaurs, however, it has been observed in some ornithomimosaurs such as Struthiomimus.