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| Barsboldia | |
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| Sacrum of the holotype | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | †Ornithischia |
| Clade: | †Ornithopoda |
| Family: | †Hadrosauridae |
| Subfamily: | †Saurolophinae |
| Genus: | †Barsboldia Maryańska &Osmólska, 1981 |
| Type species | |
| †Barsboldia sicinskii Maryańska & Osmólska, 1981 | |
Barsboldia (meaning "ofBarsbold", a well-knownMongolianpaleontologist) is agenus of largehadrosauriddinosaur from theearly MaastrichtianNemegt Formation ofÖmnogöv',Mongolia. It is known from a partialvertebral column, partialpelvis, and someribs.
In 1970, a Polish-Mongolian expedition near the Nemegt found the skeleton of an ornithopod and first assigned it toSaurolophus angustirostris. However, two Polish paleontologists,Teresa Maryańska andHalszka Osmólska, came to the conclusion that it was alambeosaurine that had to represent a separate species. They named and describedBarsboldia sicinskii based on the holotype specimen ZPAL MgD-1/110. The genus name honors the Mongolian paleontologist Rinchen Barsbold, while the species name honors Wojciech Siciński, the technician at the Warsaw Paleobiological Institute who prepared the skeleton. The holotype specimen, found in a layer of theNemegt Formation dating to the early Maastrichtian, consisted of a partial skeleton consisting of nine backvertebrae, ninehip vertebrae, fifteen tail vertebrae, a leftilium, parts of the left and rightpubis, several ribs, and a few fragments of the hind limbs, with the backbone largely articulated. The anterior and posteriormost portions of the skeleton were lost due to erosion.[1]
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Barsboldia was a large hadrosaur, previously estimated at 10 metres (33 ft) in length and 5 metric tons (5.5 short tons) in body mass.[2] In 2011, the tibial length was measured at 1.4 m (4.6 ft), rivaling that ofShantungosaurus at 1.47 m (4.8 ft) and that ofMagnapaulia at 1.36 m (4.5 ft); this indicates thatBarsboldia could have possibly reached within the range of 12–14 metres (39–46 ft) in total body length.[3] Similar toOuranosaurus, the most distinctive features ofBarsboldia are found in theneural spines. These are very tall, particularly over the hips, and were described as second only to those ofHypacrosaurus altispinus and the tips of those found in the first few vertebrae of the tail are club-shaped,[1] possibly a sign of old age.[4]
Maryańska and Osmólska described their new genus as alambeosaurine (or hollow-crested duckbill), the first from the Nemegt Formation, although it lacked a skull. However, the sacrum has a keel along the bottom, a possible lambeosaurine feature,[5] and the bones closely resemble those ofHypacrosaurus.[4][6] With only one partial skeleton known, and no skull, the genus has been considereddubious[5] or a possible lambeosaurine of uncertain placement.[7] A newer study published in 2011 suggests thatBarsboldia is actually a validsaurolophine.[8]
The followingcladogram was recovered in the 2011 phylogenetic analysis ofHadrosauroidea by Prieto-Márquez (the relationships within Lambeosaurinae and between basal hadrosauroids aren't shown).[8]
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As a hadrosaurid,Barsboldia would have been a largebipedal/quadrupedalherbivore, eatingplants with a sophisticated skull that permitted a grinding motion analogous tochewing, and was furnished with hundreds of continually-replacedteeth. If it was a lambeosaurine, it would have had a hollow crest formed out of expanded skull bones containing the nasal passages, with a function relating to identification by sight and sound.[7]
