''Zanabazar'' (meaning "

Zanabazar Öndör Gegeen Zanabazar, , , "High Saint Zanabazar"; 1635–1723 (born Eshidorji) was the sixteenth '' Jebtsundamba Khutuktu'' and the first ''Bogd Gegeen'' or supreme spiritual authority, of the Gelugpa (Yellow Hat) lineage of Tibetan Buddhism ...

") is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of large

troodontid Troodontidae is a clade of bird-like theropod dinosaurs. During most of the 20th century, troodontid fossils were few and incomplete and they have therefore been allied, at various times, with many dinosaurian lineages. More recent fossil disco ...

dinosaurs from the

Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', ...

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

. The genus was originally named by

Rinchen Barsbold , Rinchyengiin Barsbold, born December 21, 1935 in Ulaanbaatar) is a Mongolian paleontologist and geologist. He works with the Institute of Geology, at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. He is an expert in vertebrate paleontology and Mesozoic stratigraphy. Bar ...

as the new species ''Saurornithoides junior''. In 2009 it was reclassified as its own genus and species, ''Zanabazar junior'', named after the first spiritual figurehead of

Tibetan buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

. The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of sever ...

includes a

skull The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, th ...

vertebrae The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates, Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristi ...

, and right hindlimb. ''Zanabazar'' was one of the largest and most

derived Derive may refer to: * Derive (computer algebra system), a commercial system made by Texas Instruments * ''Dérive'' (magazine), an Austrian science magazine on urbanism *Dérive, a psychogeographical concept See also * *Derivation (disambiguatio ...

troodontids.

History of discovery

The holotype was discovered in 1964 from the Bügiin Tsav locality of the

Nemegt Formation The Nemegt Formation (also known as Nemegtskaya Svita) is a geological formation in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia, dating to the Late Cretaceous. The formation consists of river channel sediments and contains fossils of fish, turtles, crocodilians, ...

and initially described by

as a new species of ''

Saurornithoides ''Saurornithoides'' ( ) is a genus of troodontid maniraptoran dinosaur, which lived during the Late Cretaceous period. These creatures were predators, which could run fast on their hind legs and had excellent sight and hearing. The name is deri ...

'' (''S. junior'') in 1974. This specimen, IGM 100/1, includes a nearly complete

and braincase, part of the pelvis, some tail

, and parts of the right hindlimb. In 2009 a review of the genus found that the support for ''S. junior'' in the same genus as ''S. mongoliensis'' was lacking.

Mark Norell Mark Allen Norell (born July 26, 1957) is an American paleontologist, acknowledged as one of the most important living vertebrate paleontologists. He is currently the chairman of paleontology and a research associate at the American Museum of Na ...

and colleagues re-classified the species in the new genus ''Zanabazar'', which they named in honor of

, the first spiritual head (Bogd Gegen) of

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

in Outer Mongolia.

Description

''Zanabazar'' were large troodontids reaching in length and weighing . They are the largest known Asian troodontids, with a skull length of . At the time of the discovery of the genus, the only other troodontids that appeared to be larger than it were specimens from Alaska, however, ''

Latenivenatrix ''Latenivenatrix'' (meaning "hiding huntress") is a genus of troodontid known from one species, ''L. mcmasterae''. Along with the contemporary ''Stenonychosaurus'', it is known from the non-tooth fossils formerly assigned to the genus ''Troodon ...

'' are now considered the largest troodontids with in length. The preserved vertebrae in IGM 100/1 are completely fused, indicating that this individual was an adult at the time of death.

Classification

While originally included in ''Saurornithoides'', within the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Saurornithoididae Troodontidae is a clade of bird-like theropod dinosaurs. During most of the 20th century, troodontid fossils were few and incomplete and they have therefore been allied, at various times, with many dinosaurian lineages. More recent fossil disco ...

, ''Zanabazar'' is now thought to be a derived member of Troodontidae.

The

cladogram A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an evolutionary tree because it does not show how ancestors are related to ...

below shows the phylogenetic position of ''Zanabazar'' among other troodontids following a 2014 analysis.

References

External links

Skull of IGM 100/1 at Digimorph
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zanabazar (Dinosaur) Late Cretaceous dinosaurs of Asia Troodontids Fossil taxa described in 2009 Taxa named by Mark Norell Taxa named by Rinchen Barsbold Nemegt fauna