#kiyacursor

Reconstruction of the noasaurid Kiyacursor longipes from the Early Cretaceous of the Kemerovo Region (Russia). The partial skeleton of this dinosaur was found in 2023 at the Shestakovo 1 locality. It consists of the left scapulocoracoid, humeri, cervical and trunk vertebrae and ribs, and most of the articulated hind limbs. In addition, a partial cervical vertebra was attributed to Kiyacursor. The holotype could have reached 2.5 meters in length, but histology of the leg bones showed that it was not fully grown. The hind legs are long, with a very narrow metatarsus, which indicates the ability to run quickly. Unlike other cursorial theropods, Kiyacursor has a highly developed third (middle) metatarsal and reduced second and fourth. The humeri are very small. Due to the lack of a skull, it is difficult to judge the diet of the animal. Kiyacursor is part of a fauna characterized by the presence of relics from the Jurassic period.

(Type specimen of Kiyacursor longipes, from Averianov et al., 2024)

Meaning of name: Kiyacursor = Kiya River runner [in Latin]; longipes = long foot [in Latin]

Age: Early Cretaceous (Aptian)

Where found: Ilek Formation, Kemerovo Oblast, Russia

How much is known: Partial skeleton of one individual including several vertebrae and limb bones. A partial neck vertebra found at the same site may belong to the same individual.

Notes: Kiyacursor was a ceratosaurian theropod. It resembles the Late Jurassic ceratosaurs Elaphrosaurus of Tanzania and Limusaurus of China in having relatively elongate lower legs and feet, suggesting that it was well adapted for fast running. The type specimen of Kiyacursor is estimated to have been 2.5 m long in total body length, but it probably had not finished growing when it died.

Although ceratosaurs are known from the Late Cretaceous of Europe and especially the Southern Hemisphere, Kiyacursor is the youngest known ceratosaur from Asia. In addition to Kiyacursor, the Ilek Formation has produced fossils of various other animals that are more characteristic of Jurassic ecosystems, including certain types of proto-salamanders, proto-crocodylians, and proto-mammals. This may indicate that what is now Western Siberia acted as a "lost world" for some Jurassic animal groups during the Early Cretaceous.

(Select bones and schematic skeletal of Kiyacursor longipes [scale bar refers only to the skeletal and not to the photographs of bones], from Averianov et al., 2024)

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