Paraxenisaurus normalensis, a large deinocheirid ornithomimosaur from the Cerro del Pueblo Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Coahuila, Mexico

New ornithomimosaur material discovered from the Upper Cretaceous Cerro del Pueblo Formation of Coahuila, Mexico is described herein. The material includes postcraneal elements from several individuals, which are assigned to a new genus and species, Paraxenisaurus normalensis. This new taxon is characterized by the presence of a strongly curved and laterally compressed manual ungual I with a distally placed flexor tubercle divided by a deep sulcus and a deeply concave proximal, elliptical-shaped articular surface; a metacarpal III that has an expanded proximal articular end, which is similar in width to metacarpal II; a combination of posterior caudal vertebrae, where the most anterior vertebrae possess low dorsoventral prezygapophyses with nearly vertical articulation surfaces, while the most posterior vertebrae have prezygapophyses that face ventromedially; a non-arctometatarsalian pes, where the proximal end of metatarsal III is expanded and has a proximal ovoid outline; the presence of an attachment site for pedal digit I in the posterior surface of the distal quarter of metatarsal II; an expanded medial condyle of metatarsal II; a transversely wide distal end of metatarsal III, which has a semi-ginglymoid articular surface; distinctively broad and ventrally curved pedal unguals that depending on the digit, the proximodorsal process changes its position adopting a lip-shaped appearance; a rounded, large foramen on the medial side of each pedal ungual and the presence of a deep ventral fossa that surrounds a strongly developed, ridge-like flexor tubercle. This combination of characteristics separate Paraxenisaurus normalensis from other ornithomimosaurs previously described in North America and in other parts of the world. Phylogenetic analysis shows that within Ornithomimosauria, Paraxenisaurus normalensis is recovered as a deinocheirid ornithomimosaur, along with Garudimimus brevipes and Deinocheirus mirificus. Therefore, the finding of Paraxenisaurus normalensis in the Cerro del Pueblo Formation of Coahuila, Mexico represents the first record of the Deinocheiridae family in the Campanian of North America. •New ornithomimosaur material discovered in the Cerro del Pueblo Formation of Coahuila, Mexico is described.•The characteristics of this material allow the recognition of a new genus and species, Paraxenisaurus normalensis.•Phylogenetic analysis recovers Paraxenisaurus normalensis within the Deinocheiridae family.•Paraxenisaurus normalensis is the f