Nedcolbertia

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Nedcolbertia is a small theropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous Cedar Mountain Formation in Utah. Its only described species, Nedcolbertia justinhofmanni, lived during the Valanginian stage about 139–134 million years ago. The three partial skeletons that define the genus were found in 1993 near Cisco, and the species was named in 1998 to honor paleontologist Edwin H. Colbert (“Ned”) and six-year-old Justin Hofmann, a contest winner who helped inspire the name.

The holotype, CEUM 5071, is a juvenile partial skeleton missing the skull. The two paratypes, CEUM 5072 and 5073, are also fragmentary and skull-less subadults. All three specimens were found disarticulated and heavily eroded at the surface and are housed at the College of Eastern Utah Prehistoric Museum. The holotype measures about 1.5 meters long, while the paratypes were around 3 meters when fully grown, indicating the animals grew larger than the holotype.

In anatomy, Nedcolbertia’s vertebrae were not very hollow. The thumb claw is larger than the second claw, and the pubic bone has a large posterior process with a small or absent anterior process. The femur has a lower lesser trochanter than the greater trochanter, and the fourth trochanter is well developed. Its foot is not arctometatarsal, and there is no enlarged second toe claw. These features helped scientists place Nedcolbertia in the broad group Tetanurae, with a provisional link to Coelurosauria.

Its exact classification has been debated. A 2016 review of similar ornithomimosaur material suggested Nedcolbertia is an ornithomimosaur, while a 2024 study by Cau proposed it could belong to Allosauroidea, though Cau’s analysis placed it within Megalosauroidea. Because the remains are limited and worn, scientists continue to refine Nedcolbertia’s relationships.

Overall, Nedcolbertia is an Early Cretaceous theropod from Utah with uncertain affinities, known from a few juvenile to subadult skeletons that show a mix of features making its exact place in the theropod family tree not yet certain.