Haplocheirus is a
genus of
alvarezsauroid theropod dinosaur. It is the most basal member of its
clade. It is the oldest known alvarezsauroid, predating all other members by about 63 million years. This also makes it about 15 million years older than the oldest known
bird Archaeopteryx.
Haplocheirus was described in 2010 from a fossil specimen found from the 160-million-year-old
Shishugou Formation in the
Junggar Basin of northwestern
China. The
type species is
H. sollers, meaning "simple-handed skillful one", referencing its hypothesized behavior of using its three-fingered hands for activities other alvarezsauroids couldn't, such as catching prey.