Chirostenotes, Gilmore, 1924

Currie, P. J., 1987, Theropods of the Judith River Formation of dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada, Fourth Symposium on Mesozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems, Drumheller, Alberta: Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology, pp. 51-60 : 55

Although frontals of caenagnathids are currently unknown from Dinosaur Provincial Park, one can predict that they will be bulbous and lightly built, like those of Oviraptor . The isolated parietal ( TMP 81.19.252 ) shows that the frontals are separated from each other caudally by a rostral process of the fused parietals, and that the frontal broadly overlaps the parietal posterolaterally.

There is no cranial material known for elmisaurids from either Mongolia or Alberta. Currie and Russell (in preparation) have expressed an opinion that the elmisaurid Chirostenotes is congeneric with Caenagnathus , and therefore that the taxon Elmisauridae is invalid. Unfortunately, there is no way of solving this dilemma until better specimens are recovered.

A lower jaw described by Gilmore (1924) was tentatively assigned to " Chirostenotes ". If Chirostenotes and the toothless Caenagnathus are congeneric, then NMC 343 represents another theropod that can be characterized by long, slender jaws bearing teeth with extremely fine serrations. It is possible that this animal is the one that had the frontal that has been assigned to Erlicosaurus.