Zanabazar

Zanabazar

Zanabazar Fossil range: Late Cretaceous, 70 Ma
Life restoration of Zanabazar junior.
Scientific classification
Class	Reptilia
Superorder	Dinosauria
Order	Saurischia
Suborder	Theropoda
Family	Troodontidae
Genus	Zanabazar Norell et al., 2009
Species	Z. junior (Barsbold, 1974) (type)

Zanabazar is a genus of troodontid dinosaur, which lived during the Late Cretaceous period in Mongolia.

Fossils of this theropod have been found in the Nemegt Formation of Mongolia. Originally classified as a new species of the genus Saurornithoides by Rinchen Barsbold in 1974, based on a small specimen thought to be more closely related to S. mongoliensis than to other troodonts, a 2009 review of the genus found that the support for this idea was lacking. Mark Norell and colleagues re-classified the species in the new genus Zanabazar, which they named in honor of Zanabazar, the first spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism in Outer Mongolia.^[1]

Description[]

Zanabazar is the largest known troodontid, with a skull length of 272mm (10.7 inches). It is significantly larger than all other known troodontids except Troodon.^[1]

History of discovery[]

References[]

^ ^a ^b Norell, M.A.; Makovicky, P.J., Bever, G.S., Balanoff, A.M., Clark, J.M., Barsbold, R. and Rowe, T. (2009). "A Review of the Mongolian Cretaceous Dinosaur Saurornithoides (Troodontidae: Theropoda)". American Museum Novitates 3654: 63.

[Zanabazar-1] Norell, M.A.; Makovicky, P.J., Bever, G.S., Balanoff, A.M., Clark, J.M., Barsbold, R. and Rowe, T. (2009). "A Review of the Mongolian Cretaceous Dinosaur Saurornithoides (Troodontidae: Theropoda)". American Museum Novitates 3654: 63.

[1]