Theropod Dinosaur Foot Claw

Fossil Description: This is a fine example of a pedal ungual (foot claw) from a dinosaur coming from the Lower Cretaceous Albian Stage deposits of the Kem-Kem Basin, Morocco. Claws are far less commonly found than teeth; indeed, while I have seen literally hundreds of teeth of this dinosaur offered, only a literal handful of claws are available. In life, the claw would have been covered in a horny sheath that would have made it at least a third larger. This claw was labeled as “Ornithomimid” by the source, but that taxon is not well known from the region. While it is surely threropod in origin, the exact taxon is in doubt.

Onthimomids were generally slender and lightly-framed dinosaurs, yet reached lengths of 20 feet or more. They are of particular scientific interest in their potential to elucidate more about the ancestral linkage to and origin of birds. Some scientists conjecture that ornithomimids were not only fast runners, but were maybe the fastest of all dinosaurs based their long hindlimbs. Additionally, the front of the face was beak-like, resembling that of an ostrich.