Noasaurus

Noasaurus ("Northwestern Argentina lizard") is the name given to a carnivorous dinosaur genus of the late Campanian-Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous). It was a small (less than eight feet long) theropod, specifically a ceratosaur, discovered by Jaime Powell and José Bonaparte in northwestern Argentina. It was originally thought to have had a toe claw similar to that of dromaeosaurs, but independently developed, but this is now discredited: the "toe claw" was probably actually on the animal's hand.

Compared to those avian-theropods, Noasaurus is old fashoned. It is likely a close relative of the larger abelisaurs that shared its habitat; they are both derived from the same Ceratosaurus-type basal ceratosaurian ancestor. The discovery of Masiakasaurus, a closely related animal from Madagascar, provides evidence for this new theory: it doesn't have a dromaeosaur-style toe claw.

The type species, Noasaurus leali, was described by Bonaparte and Powell in 1980.